Food Review: One Tree Grill

One Tree Grill

Two stars

Aha. Suburban luxury in chocolate and beige and, now that it is winter, with the gas fires roaring. Welcome to One Tree Grill, one of the most relaxing restaurants in the city and a perpetually popular hangout for the good folk of Epsom.

The fitout is comfortable and modernist, the service is knowledgeable and attentive, and the wine matches extremely well chosen. And I’ve never struck a disappointing dish.

But nor, to my mild surprise, have I eaten anything genuinely outstanding. It’s been consistently very good; just as consistently undermined on each plate by something a little wrong.

The richly delicious crayfish bisque came with several sorts of fish on top, including salmon. Salmon with crayfish? The duck breast was easily the most succulent I have eaten in a long time, but the Asian flavours it came with were almost impossible to discern. The venison was fine, but its onion and beetroot side was unsubtle and heavy.

There’s more. The goats’ cheese tortellini was also richly delicious, but served with more richness in the form of porcini and pecan nuts, and although this was beautifully cut by the sharpness of a generous watercress garnish, we were advised to get beans on the side, also served rich with butter – and with more nuts. The steak with crayfish was sumptuous and gorgeous, but the shallot tarte tartin it came with (not as shown here) was dull. The coconut blancmange was deliciously subtle, but its sesame praline were like ship’s biscuits. And so on.

The problem has usually been that there is too much going on. Most dishes have too many flavours, so either they make the food too rich, or they neutralise each other, or they add a discordant note. There’s so much good cooking here, but they don’t quite know when to stop. If they could just put out three remarkably well-cooked things on a plate, this kitchen could rank among the very best in the city.

Still, One Tree Grill is hard to fault in its recreation of a stylish home away from home. It’s expensive, but we’re in Epsom, and to its credit you can see where the money goes: there are lots of staff, a liberal use of crayfish and other expensive ingredients, and an excellent wine cellar.

It has a mix-and-match grill section on the menu, which is an odd hangover from an earlier fashion. Better, the specials are organised as a degustation meal: you can order the lot, or pick and choose. And you get an amuse bouche to start: a lovely demi-tasse of soup, on both our recent visits. You can also eat less formally in the lounge area by the bar.

Josselin de Gesincourt, most recently the sommelier at Bracu and before that at Partington’s, has joined the staff. He’s an enthusiastic educator, and if you’re up for wine talk, blind tastings and getting steered towards some of the lesser-known delights on the list, he is definitely your man.
 
Watch the prices, though. “Would you like to try something a little different?” sounds charming in a French accent, but it wasn’t until bill time that we discovered those alternative selections he urged on us cost more than the ones they were replacing.

In contrast, on our second visit, we received excellent wine advice from another staffer, who made an inspired choice for the entrée tasting plate. Later, she made a point of checking if we realised the wine matches we had chosen were the most expensive on the list. Excellent service.

Address: 9 Pah Rd, Epsom, ph 625-6407.
Hours: Lunch, Monday to Friday from 11.30am; dinner, Monday to Saturday from 5pm.
Bill: Entrées $17.50-$19.50; mains $29-$43; desserts $10.50-$15.
Stand-out dish: Roasted duck breast with Sichuan-marinated black rice risotto, crispy braised duck parcel and chilli & coriander glaze.
Noise: Background conversation and quiet jazz.
Chef: Eiji Ota.

How Metro reviews

Metro is the only publication in New Zealand that visits restaurants anonymously at least twice. We pay in full and sample at least two courses on our visits.

One star:  very good but some weaknesses
Two stars: extremely good
Three stars: excellent

Check out more Metro restaurant reviews on www.metrolive.co.nz and in every issue of Metro magazine.

Published 5th Aug 2008

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