IN BRIEF

Popular neighbourhood bar-bistro with irresistible style.

WHY CHOOSE THIS RESTAURANT?

The fit-out is gorgeous, the wine rack expansive and the experience is a shared venture with a team that truly understands how good food and good wine should interact.

ABOUT THE MENU

The menu is big on flavour and the resulting plates are layered with dashes of technique that are there to enhance, not to complicate. Take the chicken liver parfait crumpet, golden and crispy on the outside, the parfait soft and smooth and unashamedly rich, peppered with crumbles of honeycomb and the lightest drizzle of honey. Or the ceviche, cool and super fresh – as ceviche must always be – in a nuoc cham dressing, splintered with turmeric-pickled onions and hidden beneath razor-thin discs of radish. Seared snapper in a dashi beurre blanc atop a magical bed of barley and sweetcorn and topped with a squid-ink crisp is a definite keeper in the memory bank, and, of course, you can’t have a bistro menu without a steak. The Stanley Avenue sirloin with its rich red jus, fondant potato, crème fraîche and beetroot pickled onions is a beautiful thing.

ABOUT THE CHEF

Jono Beattie hit Stanley Avenue after a stint as sous chef with Micheal Meredith at Mr Morris and prior to that he was head chef and owner of Woodhouse Mountain Lodge Restaurant in Warkworth. Here he’s dishing up a combination of premium ingredients that is comforting and familiar and yet still able to surprise. Judging by the buzz in the room and the food flying off the pass, customers are very happy.

ABOUT THE TEAM

Front man Matt Aitchison knows his way around creating a great restaurant experience having run Masu, Cassia and The French Café and worked with some of the best in the biz. He owns this cool little spot with his sister Kathryn Aitchison, who used to be the restaurant manager at The Engine Room, and North Shore locals Bruce and Lesley Baillie. So, as you will see, you are in great hands.

OF NOTE

Don’t miss the opportunity to have Matt mix you a martini or suggest a wine. You will thank us for it.

52 East Coast Road, Milford
Check website for opening hours
MAINS: $38 – $45
CONTACT: 09 410 0066
WEBSITE: stanleyavenue.co.nz