pasture

decent fare - on the expensive side. this restaurant has recently opened for lunch so i had few expectations. i ordered the grilled pimento cheese for $7 which came with an massive mound of french fries. both were good. i ordered the soup of the day -- cream of mushroom - but found it to be oversalted and definately not worth the $5 price tag. i didn't see a cup of soup on the menu.
my friend ordered the pork belly which was verysmallfor a $12 lunch entree, but he said it was tasty. i will give this restaurant another chance, but without some changes i don't expect it to be a regular lunch stop. this restaurant is owned by the same people that own comfort (which i used to be a regular at before my office moved) and six burner, so i am certain they will eventually hit their stride, but for now i would say that it is decent but expensive.

i don't think a lot of the food really stands out on the menu, but where it does stand out is on the plate. thoughtful spins on casual fare surprised me & left our group more than happy with all of thesmallplates & desserts. so good & so fresh. i'll be going back soon.

sophisticated and mind-boggling brilliant. 
pasture is the only restaurant of its kind in auckland, if not new zealand, with a style reminiscent to japanese omakase, where you sit at the kitchen counter with the courses decided by the chef and not disclosed to you before hand.

i have been eyeing this place up for a while now, but have never been able to get a reservation due to the sheer popularity and thesmallsize of the restaurant, however, i somehow managed to get a last minute reservation due to a cancellation, (otherwise the earliest available booking was in two months time). one thing to note is that upon booking a deposit of $50 per person is required and the drinks pairing must be picked during the booking.

i loved the ambience of the restaurant, it is cozy and rustic yet chic, as if you were invited to a chef friend's private kitchen. the counter only seats six and i wouldn't have it any other way. sitting in front of an open kitchen really enhances the dining experience as you can see the next courses being prepared in front of you. there is also something so visceral about sitting in front of an open flame and experiencing the changes in temperature and smell as the meal progresses and meats are being cooked over the fire. this multisensory approach to dining in my opinion really elevates pasture over its fine dining counterparts.

the service at pasture is also second to none. due to thesmallsize of the restaurant, there are no waiters and instead you are served directly by the chefs. the chefs here are amazing - they are friendly, attentive and more than happy to explain all of the dishes and drinks and answer any question you may have. the pace of the meal was also excellent - in total there were 14 courses, lasting just under three hours.

in terms of the food, i do not want to spoil it by revealing too much about the menu as in my opinion the secrecy of the courses only adds to the dining experience. that said, the food at pasture really challenges your perception of food and flavours. the theme of the restaurant is modern fine dining, incorporating new zealand ingredients, however, the menu also has an excellent blend of japanese and scandinavian influences. two of the highlights for me were the diamond shell clams with persimmon and buffalo cream, a combination that seemed so foreign to me yet was absolutely genius and also the muttonbird (something i had never heard of before today and apparently only available for 2-3 weeks per year from stewart island) which tasted nothing like what i expected it. all the other courses were also of excellent quality - they were presented simply yet tasted wonderfully complex.

likewise, the non-alcoholic drinks pairing really challenges your sense of taste and worked wonderfully with the dishes served. the pairing featured a mixture of pressed juices, imitation wine and mocktails; utilising ingredients that i had never before seen in drinks such as artichoke, celeriac and hay. on paper, this might seem slightly gimmicky, but i thoroughly enjoyed the taste of each of the drinks and the complexity they brought into the menu.

one of the potential downsides to this resturant is that there is a particular focus around ageing and fermenting foods and drinks. this means that if you do not enjoy the subtle sour tang and umami that the ageing process incorporates then this restaurant might not be for you.

overall:
ambience 5/5
service 5/5
quality 5/5
portion size 5/5
presentation 5/5
value 5/5

pasture has set the bar extremely high when it comes to high end fine dining in auckland and i feel that the restaurant of the year title was well deserved. this restaurant is really pushing the boundaries of modern haute cuisine in new zealand and i hope more restaurants will follow in its path of downsizing and providing a more intimate dining experience with exclusively kitchen counter seats (one can only dream). that said, the experience does not come cheap - for us, the course menu with non-alcoholic drinks pairing came to $670 for two people, which is well above its competitors in auckland. even so, i still wholeheartedly think that it is worth experiencing the offerings at pasture at least once if you are into fine dining and modern cuisine.

i can see that this place is trying to be trendy.  our server was a little pretentious, and had poor hospitality skills.  

the ribsmallplate was actually pretty good, with nice seasoning and a crispy exterior.  

the pimento cheese was also surprisingly good (i don't typically like pimento cheese), however they were served with ritz crackers, which seems odd to me for a mid to higher range restaurant.  

the clam chowder (manhattan) was tasty as well, and they didn't skimp on including shrimp and clams with it.

i ended up getting the pastrami sandwich for my entree, which was not very impressive, and cold.  i've never had a pastrami sandwich cold, and it was bizarre.  it wouldn't have been a total deal breaker if the sandwich was actually good, but it was not.  the jalapeno slaw might as well have just been cole slaw, as there was no kick at all to it, and nothing that made it jalapeno.

we ended with chocolate chip cookies for dessert, $5 for about a 4-5" cookie.  this was the last straw, the cookie was made with oatmeal, which completely overpowered the chocolate so it ended up tasting like oatmeal raisin, which i do enjoy, but not when i ordered chocolate chip cookies.  when i complained to the server he insisted that it was delicious and made with organic oatmeal and he left.  i had no idea it was delicious until he told me so!  not even a question on if i would prefer something else or if we wanted it off the check.  we didn't eat more than a bite or two, got the check, which did not have the cookies deducted, and paid the bill.

bottom line:
food: some hits, mostly misses, not worth the high cost.
service: abysmal, for this alone i won't come back, but it's not the only reason.

lots ofsmallplates at happy hour. a group of 4 girlfriends enjoying happy hour and great food before attending a show at the coliseum. we had the pimento cheese and boiled peanut hummus snacks. we wanted to try a bunch ofsmallplates so we ordered the fried clams, ham and cheddar croquets, fried falafel, grits and pork mushrooms. we loved them all!! service was good too.

just ok. expected a lot based on reviews and was disappointed. service was great. we went on a very busy night and all the staff were friendly and attentive. oursmallplate appetizers were the highlight of the meal. both entrees were slightly overcooked -- thus spake my foodie dinner partner. my pork chop was so tough, it was difficult to cut into with a steak knife. the chutney topping was delicious.

dessert was also disappointing.

overall, good, but not great.

not impressed. i am not a spoiler or complainer but we were not impressed with the food i had the pasta dish which did not taste of anything i think the chef lost the salt and pepper, my wife ordered the half roast chicken, which half we were not sure! there was no leg or wing and it was asmallpiece of chicken anyway they final straw was we shared asmallbottle of cider 16oz with our meal and we were charged $22 which is ridicules we questioned the price its because it was hand made, will not go there again sorry

fancy lightbulbs meets faulty food. how do you trick people into thinking that you're food is good? serve everything with arugula and charge an exorbitant price for it! put your decor in priority over your lazy cuisine. even if yoursmallplates are mediocre and your entrees are bland the bucks will come rollin' in.

excellent in concept and a beautiful room. i'm a huge fan ofsmallplates, so i don't have any problem with the portions or pricing. interesting tastes, good veggie options. presentation could be better composed on the plate. most items look like salads or side dishes, rather than artful presentations of tasting portions. service was friendly, but not remarkable.

too expensive and they borrow too closely. i getsmallplates, thank you. what irks is how expensive pasture is really is if you are actually interested in eating to satisfy a hunger. it's an spendy place to feel pretty.

as for the food, well, the influences aren't really too moderated. let's play the pasture game, "where'd they get that dish from?"

great food.. hmm, some people seem to have difficulty with the concept of asmallplates restaurant. yes, you are supposed to share plates, but you are also supposed to order several items. the portion size is not large because the intent is that you choose more than one per person. duh. while the cost can add up, the price per dish is reflective of the portion size.

the food here is excellent. this is a great place to take out of town guests who are unfamiliar with richmond/southern cooking. the menu remains unique and inspired despite its traditional basis. hard to choose a favorite dish! only downside is that the dining rooms gets very loud on weekends when the place is packed.

not great. where was the review that said the portions were intended for people to share and why they are large. the portion was snack size with huge costs. defintely over priced, over rated, andsmallfood amt. i wouldn't go back even if someone paid for it (which they did tonight)...my time is worth more