A pop-up restaurant, what a fabulous concept! WLG is a celebration of the amazing produce and chefs from New Zealand. Set in the old Bayswater Brasserie in Kings Cross, the space was transformed into a little taste of Wellington, for two weeks only. 3 courses will set you back a mere $29, a bargain in anyone’s book! And with some fabulous wines from some of Wellington’s famous boutique wine regions priced at only $7 a glass, it’s much cheaper than a plane fare to experience some of the best that Wellington has to offer. The promotion has now finished, but I wanted to share this post anyway, because I thought it was a really well put together promotion to showcase an amazing region.

Denea and I headed out last Friday night, shortly before the promotion wrapped up, knowing that they were fully booked. But we decided to try out luck and we were rewarded. We took a seat at the bar and had barely finished ordering a glass of The Doctors Riesling before we were whisked away and seated at a communal table. The menu consisted of a shared entrée, a choice of three main courses and a dessert, and was cooked by chef Rex Morgan from Boulcott Street Bistro.

The entrée was a lovely selection of savoury morsels – Lot Eight spiced olives, citrus cured King Salmon gravlax with a really delicious and unique wasabi panna cotta, fried goats cheese balls with Manuka honey and kiwifruit chutney, crispy whitebait with grilled asparagus and caper mayonnaise, and venison rillettes with spiced pear and watercress. My favourite was the goats cheese balls with the kiwi chutney, a flavour combination I never would have thought of, but that worked remarkably well.

For my main, I picked the Horopito seasoned beef with slow roasted tomato and Lot Eight virgin olive oil on potato mash. The beef was really well cooked, and deliciously tender. However for me there was something a little bit lacking about this dish. I was expecting a rich, wrinkled, saucy slow-roasted tomato, but the one on my plate was barely warm. I also think this dish would have benefited from a bit of sweetness and crunch, maybe some fried confit garlic like that which adorned the gnocchi at Circa The Prince.

Denea was particularly pleased with her choice, the Portobello mushrooms and swiss chard baked in filo with braised fennel, olives, goats curd and green lentils. She mentioned that she never usually choses the vegetarian option but was so glad she did. The flavours were deliciously balanced and complex, with the perfect blend of different textures. A really well designed dish.

For dessert, there was a celebration of coffee – Mojo coffee brulee with Whittakers chocolate and orange mousse. The brulee had a great texture and a toffee crust that gave way with a satisfying crack. I like my coffee strong and black so I’m not always a fan of creamy coffee desserts. However the chocolate orange mousse was to die for, sinfully rich with a good kick of orange. Unfortunately Denea is severely allergic and after several attempts at sweet talking the waitstaff, she was brought out a fruit platter and a couple of extra Whittakers chocolates. All in all I thought this was a great promotion. I loved the great design, the great venue, the great produce and the lovely people!