Salty Pidgin — Restaurant in North Island

Have heard raving reviews of this place and everyone who attended this dinner were curious because of its reputation. We shared 4 entrees and 5 mains plus their Turkish pizza, and because the dessert price was very palatable, we mostly ordered 1 dessert each and didn't share this. The crudo (tarakihi) was nice and fresh but not very distinct in flavour, the orecchiette (like a shell pasta) had a very nice tangy lemon flavour to it and was generally very well like by all the diners, but the sauce was very watery. The biggest surprise of the entrees was the ox tongue, usually my impression of ox tongue is that they can get very hard, but these were extremely tender and fell apart when cut, the flavour was beautiful and it resembled the texture of beef brisket cooked for a very long time. The beetroot was nothing notable and some of us claimed it would be the same if we had cooked it at home in our own kitchen. The mains arrived promptly and the lamb was raved about by many of us, I am personally not a big lamb fan because of its smell, but I must admit it was fall-apart tender, even softer than a beef brisket would. The steak was nice and soft but the flavour was quite generic. The chicken breast to me was as soft as they could be without having them soaked in brine (which means it was still on the dry side) but it was done rather well, the sauce that goes with the chicken breast was beautiful and actually I liked that more than the chicken! I actually really loved the gnocchi because it was infused with a very nice cheesy flavour and a rich side of mushrooms. The fish had quite a strong smell to it but it did not taste old or off, so it must have been some condiment they had used, with the eggplant in the side that had a good kick or spice to it, generally if you like fish this was quite well made. The consensus of the table especially with all the mains that we had, was that the name of the restaurant is present in these dishes - they were all very salty. Every single bite made us reach for that glass of water in front of us, which was topped up very frequently by our lovely attendant. At the end of all over our savory dishes we added the beef kofta Turkish pizza, it was a very cute presentation of a boat shaped pizza, the crust was lovely with a nice texture and the filling was very well liked, it was one of our favourite dishes of the night. Yes it was also very salty! On the other hand, we collectively ordered the chocolate semifreddo, coffee rice pudding and panna cotta. The chocolate was rich, the coffee pudding had a nice coffee flavour to it and the panna cotta was very bland. It was quite funny because the chocolate looked like pate, the rice pudding looked like porridge and the panna cotta looked like tofu. Generally the portion size was on the small side for all the dishes, and even though they had very nice flavours, but the saltiness dominated our impression of this place, albeit the service we received was top notch and the attendant was very knowledgeable and...

Been to this restaurant twice now, once for brunch and another was dinner. Was very impressed with the food for brunch and when the lockdown went to level 1, my friends and I quickly decided that we need to go again. It was a very busy Saturday night and they were really slam so understandably food got to us late 45mins later. To be honest that is all fine as it was a very relaxing Saturday night out. And then suddenly our main arrived, to our shocking surprise because we did order 3 starters and told the server about it and she was alittle shock too and had to check with the kitchen. So basically the food order got messed up and everything was keyed in together so all the food came at the same time instead of starters first then mains. Normally, I wouldn’t rate a restaurant at 5 star for that mess up because it seems to be basic thing to get right. But the manager came up to us and apologized for the mess up and offered to pay for our starters. It was a very nice gesture and it says a lot about the restaurant and the integrity they have towards their customer service. I was very impressed. The manager even wanted to offer us more drinks but I thought to cover our starters was more than enough. And then the food, it was just spectacular, to be so busy and yet still serve up food that is so tasty, I was just blown away. All 3 starters were great(ox tongue, mussels and cauliflower)and that beef fillet was so juicy and tender that my jaw was glad to have a night off lol. And the coffee desert to top the night off really put a huge smile on our faces. Perfect ending to a great night out with friends! I wish I had taken better...

The Penthouse was packed, a wintry Saturday night and we joined the full house to see the 6pm screening of Rocketman. A deeply satisfying movie of the unleashing of creative forces in response to heartless parents and the unloved child who rose to become a superstar. Great music of course. And then to the Salty Pigeon for dinner, a first for us. It was packed, but we were shown a high table near the bar. And then began a delightful experience. The menu revealed easy vegan options in an otherwise meaty menu. This saves embarrassment for having to ask for something special. The second delight was the wine list; varied and quirky with wines from Sardinia, South America and local lesser known places. I asked what the Sardinian wine was like. The waiter said 'I'll give you a taste.' I loved it. It was fresh and light. The wines arrived immediately. The waiter took our orders and our meals came speedily. I had the spiced cauliflower with harissa and a dressed green salad. David had the terrine served with toasted sourdough and pickles. Mine was fresh, light and deeply satisfying. David's was tasty, attractively presented and fulsome. The ambience reflected a low key successful local bistro, with staff who care and know the food and the wines, and food prepared with care, wisdom and a solid understanding of nutrition. We...