Restaurant Rec: Mr. Morris
Some girlfriends and I have decided we’re going to work our way through the Viva Top Restaurants list, and where better to start than at the top? Last night we checked out Mr. Morris, Michael Meredith’s new restaurant in the CBD. I was especially excited to try this place out because back when we were on our second reconnaissance trip to New Zealand, Jon and I went to his previous restaurant, Meredith, and had an incredible seven course extravaganza. It was spectacular, and I was eager for a repeat.
The restaurant is located on the corner of Galway and Commerce in the Britomart. The entrance is subtle and easy to miss. The atmosphere and interior remind me of good restaurants back in the States, and the service was the best I’ve experienced in New Zealand. They were attentive, but not overbearing. Knowledgable but not obnoxious. They knew to ask if my friend’s capsicum allergy extended to paprika (it doesn’t) and were able to easily accomodate her needs without making a big production out of it. My only complaint about the interior is that there are lots of hard surfaces, and even though the place wasn’t packed, it was still hard to hear the conversations at our table from time to time because all of the background noise carried.
Mr. Morris doesn’t offer a seven course dinner, but it does have a four course kitchen experience which we decided to try. The name is a bit misleading because it is actually four courses plus snacks. And wine pairings are available should you want to completely forgo all decision making responsibilities for the evening - which we did. We started with our snacks - the chicken skin and their famous pain au black pudding. Apparently both dishes are getting rave reviews, and I can see why. The chicken skin topped with chicken liver paté is what I want to eat the next time I’m hungover. It is delicious, elevated bar food that has just the right amount of salt and fat. The pain au black pudding was a mini pain au chocolate with black pudding and was a beautiful mix of sweet chocolate with black pudding (which if you are unfamiliar with, it is a pork blood sausage which I know some people may not be able to get past…)
Course one had me with “okra.” Something I haven’t seen much of in New Zealand. It was combined with fresh clams in a spiced broth and was a delicious start to our meal. I only wish there had been a little bread to sop up the broth with! We paired this was a Chenin Blanc Domaine Mosse ‘Le Rouchefer’ from the Loire Valley and I was pleased to see that we weren’t going to be limited to only Kiwi wines.
Course two was an octopus molé. Octopus is something that is very easy to get wrong, and this was cooked almost to perfection - it was just barely on the chewy side, but overall it was well done. The wine pairing for this dish was a surprise. It was an orange wine - La Perdida 'O Pando' Godello - something I don’t usually enjoy, but the two worked exceptionally well together. (On a side note, the wine list is extensive. There are lots of New Zealand wineries featured, but also quite a few other options including old world wines.)
Course three was probably may favorite. It was a perfectly prepared skin-on chicken with a rice gnocchi and corn. I know chicken isn’t typically the most exciting dish ever, but Mr. Morris takes chicken to the next level, as evidenced by the chicken skin snack and this dish. It was paired with a chardonnay from Burgundy.
The dessert course was a bitter chocolate crumble topped with orange gelato and tapioca foam. Even though its done everywhere now (even my own kitchen!) I still like all of the fun things you can do with foam. The flavours were well balanced and sweet, but not overpowering. It wasn’t so rich that I felt like I was going to fall asleep at the end of the meal.
This is a restaurant I want to take Jon to as it is the type of place we used to go to frequently in our American life pre-kids. As an expat, I miss this sort of place and I hope Mr. Morris will stick around for awhile. By the looks of available reservations, it will!
