Lazy Local Lunch

Not a single post for 2016 - shame on me! Ah well, no point in dwelling on the past - more on the whys of those missing posts another time. For now I have a new local (Matakana) dining gem to share with you.

Rothko, the restaurant of the much anticipated...

Matakana locals have been driving past this project in action - a world-class sculptural garden including works by the likes of Monet, Cezanne, Chagall, as well as many more contemporary artists - for several years now.

Finally today, on Monday, 1st May 2017 it officially opened its gates for the first time.

In the meantime, locals were already invited to the soft opening. Naturally the SoulFood family didn't want to miss out on that - so off we went for a lazy local lunch...

Beginning with a portion of flash fried squid with Horopito seasoning ($15) & grilled zucchini, pine nuts & Buffalo curd ($19).

The squid was beautifully tender and the zucchini delish, however this was the "main" portion, which we mentioned to them they may want to think about being a little more generous with in future, and they graciously agreed. :)

Followed by the...

long-line caught fish atop autumn edibles (asparagus, brussle sprouts & nasturtiums) in a bone broth ($32) for Fraeulein SoulFood.

Wild venison with parsnip puree & curls, spiced chocolate sauce, and blackbberry coulis ($37) for Papa SoulFood.

And gnocchi in a blue cheese, onion puree, with baby beet leaves & chopped walnuts ($22) for Mama SoulFood.

While all beautiful in their own right, we all agreed that the gnocchi were the winning dish - slightly crisp on the outside and gorgeously fluffy on the inside in that moreish onion puree. 

This was a particularly pleasant surpise, as usually we've always been disappointed when we decided to give the gnocchi dish a go, but these will be the reason we will be back at Rothko sooner rather than later! 

To finish off: 

Chocolate parfait, passion fruit, rosemary jelly & salted caramel ice cream ($15) - the perfect finish. 

While chocolate and salted caramel isn't the most original combo, what really made this dish for me is the unexpected zing of passionfruit in the mix! 

I am sure we will check out the sculpture park another time - when it isn't raining cats and dogs - and be sure to report about it on here. But in the meantime, I can highly recommend a visit to check out the culinary art.

Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x 

Rothko is at 40 Omaha Flats Rd, Matakana, visit sculptureum.co.nz.