gusto - was certainly an experience of two halves. i was in taranaki on business and decided on gusto for dinner. fantastic location on the water with a beautiful outlook, and weird jumping fish in the harbour. started with a nice glass of pinot gris. i ordered the wakanui blue steak with beetroot and kumara, noting the price tag of $39 thinking it must be good. i was asked how well done i wanted the steak by the slightly awkward waitress, and said medium rare (as if there's any other way to have steak!).
the meal came out very quickly, although the presentation was quite odd and not particularly appetising. basically a quartered baked kumara sitting in a pool of beetroot and steak juice with a fairly large steak on top. the steak was very over done, and after i made a couple of cuts, i decided because i was paying $39, i wanted it perfect and sent it back. the second one came out slightly less over done than the previous, but still well over cooked. i must admit i was expecting perfection based on the $39 price tag, so was a little pickier than usual. gusto agreed to reduce the price on the steak down to a more reasonable $25 which i accepted as i was starving by this point.
i somewhat nervously ordered the ginger and vanilla creme brulee for desert. it was a nice textured brulee, although i had to question the chunks of ginger in the bottom, and the homemade chocolate coffee beans and honey walnuts on the side as an odd choice of accompaniment.
all in all, the meal was ok, with the beautiful outlook making up a bit for the poor presentation and quality of the main meal. i left thinking that gusto need to pick a style - local pub serving good honest pub grub at a fair price, or fine dining restaurant with top notch food. the service and casual wait staff weren't in keeping with the menu, or the style of restaurant, nor was the food up to scratch for the price tag. i would go back, but only if i thought they could either up the ante or lower the pricing - i sincerely hope they were just having a bad night!