On My Plate – April

Denise Irvine finds plenty to love at Palate Mark 111

Chefs often talk about a “twist on a classic” as they reinvent a time-honoured dish. You could say the same thing about the reinvented Palate Restaurant, now relocated from Hamilton’s Alma St to SkyCity in the heart of the CBD.

 There is so much that is familiar here: owner-chef Mat McLean in the kitchen, business partner Larissa Muller at front of house, and many of the furnishings are from the former premises. Neatly recycled and repurposed. But there are plenty of new things to admire, the most important being a fresh and clever menu that showcases Mclean’s prized wood-fired asado barbecue in the kitchen.

 Four different areas have been created in the fit-out: a street-side courtyard, two indoor rooms, and another nook in the SkyCity atrium, directly under a unique glazed roof dome, a design feature of the building that was once Hamilton’s Chief Post Office. The atrium seating includes Palate’s chef’s table, which is in direct sight of the asado barbecue.

Often you can look at a menu and decide in a nanosecond what you’re going to have, quickly sifting the same-olds from the stand-outs. Not so fast the other night at Palate, as three of us perused a lovely line-up of appetisers, entrees, mains, pastas and vegetables. All of them reflecting Mclean’s self-described style of complicated simplicity, the way he works the asado barbecue, and his huge commitment to local produce and seasonality.

I was intrigued by an appetiser of grilled venison tongue skewers. It was a kind of flashback to my farm-girl upbringing when my mother often cooked delicious lamb’s tongue.  In a burst of nostalgia, I ordered the tongue and it was next-level on flavour, melt-in-the-mouth beautiful, and served with sweet cipollini onion and a perfect hit of chimichurri. Excellent value, too, at $10 for two decent-sized skewers.

My main was tender local duck tagliatelle plated with endive and walnut pesto, and enhanced by the subtle scent and smokiness of tonka bean.  It was a generous bowl, everything in harmony, and more good value at $25. Not a skerrick went back to the kitchen.

Other dishes at our table included Glory Bay salmon with peach, avocado, coriander and lime, and Greenstone Creek ribeye with gnocchi. Both of them well rated, and we also shared a smoky-earthy side of wood-fired portobello mushrooms, feta and parsley.

In the further interests of supporting local, we had an excellent bottle of the Waikato’s Takapoto Estate Crossing Point Chardonnay from a polished wine list, we were well looked after by the waiting staff, and it seems like the twist on the classic Palate is working pretty damn fine.