The Tasting Shed is runner up in the Metro Peugeot Restaurant of the Year 2019 awards for Best Destination Restaurant. To see a full rundown of all our winners, click here.
The Tasting Shed is cheerfully rustic and thoroughly welcoming. A country restaurant in a converted cidery, there are concrete floors, rough timber tables and a wall of repurposed apple crates. It makes for an excellent long lunch, though locals know it as candle-lit and intimate for dinner. In such environs, you’d expect plates designed to be shared, and the relaxed, friendly service. What you wouldn’t expect is a finely calibrated menu that runs from sweet to savoury, and dishes that run from complicated to accomplished. In less assured hands than chef Alok Vasanth an unlikely dish of duck with chilli, Thai basil, coriander, pickled onion, citrus and sweetcorn puree could have collapsed under the weight of its own complexity. The key? The Tasting Shed keeps the focus firmly on the ingredients. Then, there's the irrepressible Ganesh Raj, whose enthusiasm is infectious, and whose easy charm will make your night.
What it offers: Shared-plate options / Good for vegetarians / Outdoor dining / Private room / Takes large groups / Good for kids
A favourite dish: Duck liver parfait with sesame, sugar and chilli
Awards
Runner-up, Best Destination Restaurant
Hours: Lunch Fri-Sun, Dinner Wed-Sun
Bookings: Yes
Price: $$
Chef: Alok Vasanth
609 State Highway 16
Ph 412-6454
thetastingshed.co.nz
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