This review is from the 31 May 2014 (only just started this account)
We came here for my brothers birthday!
This was my first time eating at this restaurant.
For my main i had spatchcock quinoa. It was light and delicious!
The dessert is linked to Milse's (a dessert place next door) and you can book for a seating there beforehand. Thats what we did. But since then, that's the only time we've ever sat down for dessert at Milse's, because its always so busy!
Anyways, back to Ortolana.
Overall it was a fine dining experince, we sat outside under the heaters (because it was Autumn/Winter). It was a nice environment, under the sparkling lights of Britomart. The service was great, and they give you sparkling water. However, Im not a fan of sparkling water, so i asked for still, and they're happy to do so. They were delicious meals, leaving you feeling light afterwards, and not overly full. :D
My second time here was at the start of March 2015:
We came here for breakfast, around 9:45, and they were already so busy! When we asked for a table, we had a 10 minute wait, so the lady took our name and number. We went window shopping while we were waiting (all the shops were closed in the morning). we came back later to find that our table was ready. It was great because we were seated inside, and it was so windy outside. I noticed that most restaurants in Auckland serve you sparkling water, so i had to ask for tap water (because i don't like sparkling). This meant i got a different glass, which is a smart service system. When it came to ordering, i didn't know what most of it was, so i had to ask the waiter. He was very helpful. I ended up choosing the seasonal greens with poached eggs. I also got a peach and almond smoothie because he said it was very nice, so of course i had to try it! It was presented in a small flat glass and it looked pretty, topped with an edible flower. It was nice, but nothing special. It was a good thing i ordered a drink because it was a long wait before our meals came out. The place was so busy, and the kitchen just couldn't keep up.
When my meal finally arrived I found I had gone past hungry, so i got quite full quickly and i ate fast. My meal consisted of what i think was brown rice, sautéed with zucchini, beans and spinach, with one poached egg, served on a big dish. Of course it wasn't what i was expecting as the name on the menu doesn't give much away. It was a bit salty for my liking, but it was still nice. The open kitchen made the room a bit smoky.
Overall the food was nice but the service was a bit slow. It might be better to go when its not during their peak hours!
My third time here was towards the end of March 2015:
My mum and i walked here for dinner on our last night in Auckland. We got there around 7:20 and it was a 45 minute wait, so we just looked around the shops. Finally we got our call, and our table was ready inside, right by the window in the corner. A nice lady took our orders, and she was very helpful with explaining the dishes to us and answering our questions. My mum got the chicken, which the waitress said was her favourite, and i got the market fish. It wasn't long before our food came.
Mine was presented on a big open dish. It was pan-fried Tarakihi, and the skin was so crispy and delicious! It was served on a bed of Israeli couscous mixed with yellow beans, topped with microgreens and swiss chard, drizzled in a lemon, mint, and coriander dressing. It was divine, full of flavour and the perfect amount!
We booked Milses for dessert, but it was a 1 1/2 hour wait. After a lot of pondering, mum decided to order the peach dessert from their menu while we waited. It consisted of grilled peaches, fresh peaches, passionfruit curd, plum, cream fraiche and a crumble. All of the flavours and textures worked perfectly together.
Our plan was to still go to Milses for dessert, but we decided not to wait so long, so we both ended up getting a black forest gelato stick from Milses to eat there. We also got a matcha cake to take away. Our gelato sticks were served on a plate. It was a valhrona chocolate covered chocolate gelato, with kirsch cherries mixed throughout the gelato, and topped with freeze-dried cherries. The kirsch cherries were a bit strong at first, but then i enjoyed it. They melted quite fast, and they got really messy to eat, so we ate them quick.
Overall it was a fine dining experience lasting 2 hours. The serve great food with amazing flavours, very friendly and helpful staff, but a bit slack on topping up water though. This restaurant never fails to impress, and it was nice to have our first dessert off their menu, instead of going to Milses.
My most recent visit here was in July 2015.
I came here for breakfast one day, and we were lucky enough to be seated straight away. I ordered the gnocchi with a poached eggs, salad leaves, butternut and i think they were cheesy pumpkin seed clusters. It was also topped with a very light shredded cheese, but I couldn't taste it. It was good though because i found the clusters cheesy enough. It was nice, but not as nice as my mums meal
She got whipped yoghurt with granola and poached pears. I tried a bit of hers and the whipped yoghurt was so light and fluffy. The granola added a nice texture, and the poached pears were so sweet and soft! Next time I'll get that dish!
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