Eight.Two (2)

82 Hinemoa St, Birkenhead. Ph 419-9082, eightpointtwo.co.nz.
Dinner 7 days. 

Highly Commended: Best Short Drinks List

Eight.Two is a good local bistro that knows its neighbourhood and looks after it well. The original villa has been hollowed out to create a large, airy dining room that opens up in summer to a delightful courtyard out the back and becomes warmly snug in winter. There’s a big and well-chosen list of wines available by the glass, and the service, in the hands of proprietor Lindsay Swannack (above right), is engaging and attentive. Chef Grant Mathie (left) offers a menu anchored in the standards — salmon, pork belly, mushroom risotto, market fish, eye fillet, duck leg and so on. But they are cooked just so and seasoned with care, and those things are often harder to say about restaurant food than should be the case. There are many individual touches, too: we’ve enjoyed the pork belly with an Asian treatment, and the steak, not with the usual vegetables, but with beetroot, artichoke, black garlic, aubergine and lemon. $$$$

3 Spoons

A favourite dish: Roast pork belly with chilli, coriander, lime, cashew and hoisin.

Good seating outside / Takes large groups / Craft beer selection