Leinster Rd Bistro

WM and I went to the Leinster Rd Bistro for dinner on a Friday night.  WM had heard good things about the food here from friends, and was keen to try.  The restaurant is located in Merivale near the mall on Leinster Road, a little street off Papanui Road (there's a Coffee Culture on the corner). 

Neither of us have been here before.  We have walked passed the restaurant a couple of years ago searching for brunch, and thought it seemed a little formal and maybe even pretentious.  However at night, it seemed to be more relaxed.

We didn't have a reservation, but the waitress managed to squeeze us in.  We were told we only have an hour, which was fine, although we did contemplate having dessert at the bar!  But somehow it was taken care of.  The waitress was friendly and attentive (our water glass was never empty), without being too formal.  As it is a restaurant in Merivale, we noticed most of the diners were middle age and above, although some younger people drifted in after 8.30pm.

To save room for dessert, we skipped the entrees and went straight for the mains.  There was a good variety of mains, including specials with pasta, risotto, and fish of the day.  We were impressed with the menu, and thought many dishes sounded interesting.  But at the end we went for the standards, steak and chicken.

I decided to go for the steak, as it's been a while since I've had a decent one.  There were options of rib eye and beef fillet, and I went with the fillet.  I had the aged beef fillet ($38), medium rare, with potato rosti, braised mushrooms, slow roasted vine tomatoes, and blue cheese mousse.  The beef fillet was cooked perfectly.  Very tender and almost melt in the mouth.  I couldn't taste much of the blue cheese, just as well, since I'm not a big fan.  The dish was also topped with a big dollop of butter, so bad but tasted so good.  The butter and the jus really enhanced the taste of the steak and the potato rosti.  The slow roasted vine tomatoes were sweet and tasty.  Rather than "mushrooms" as stated in the menu, the dish came with one large grilled portobello mushroom.  It was meaty and juicy, and had soaked up all the steak juice and the jus.  Delicious!  A great dish, and I was very happy after eating this.

WM had the free range chicken ballantine ($33) - stuffed chicken with pumpkin and nutmeg puree, buttered brussel sprouts, and crispy parsnip chips.  She was very proud of herself after finishing the whole dish including all the brussel sprouts.  Unfortunately brussel sprouts can never taste very good, no matter how much butter had been put in!  The chicken ballantine on the other hand, was very tasty.  It was tender and full of flavour.  The rest of the dish was good too.

Even though we were both pretty full, we couldn't resist the dessert.  The restaurant's dessert menu sounded interesting.  There was creme brulee with rhubarb, and chocolate fondant.  We decided to share the pear tarte tatin with cinnamon ice cream ($15).  This was beautifully presented with a caramel halo.  The pear tarte tatin was gorgeous, with thinly sliced caramelised pear and crispy pastry.  Served warm and topped with amazing cinnamon ice cream.  WM was particularly inspired by the cinnamon ice cream, and vowed to try and make her own!

We had a good time at Leinster Rd Bistro, and really enjoyed the gorgeous food.  The price range is on the high side, but probably reflects the type of restaurant and the location.

The Leinster Rd Bistro is open Monday to Friday 8.30am till late, Saturday 10.30am till late, and Sunday 10am till 4pm.


Leinster Rd Bistro
158 Leinster Road
Merivale
Christchurch
(03) 355 3055
www.leinsterbistro.com