I am lucky enough to be one of the performers at Ponsonby’s ‘Prohibition’ Restaurant. Currently I play with Aaron Coddel (Bass) every Tuesday night from 7-10pm, Kim Patterson (Trumpet) on a Thursday evening and with Georgia Wood (Vox) on Fridays 7.30-10.30pm. If you are interested in afternoon ‘Low Tea’ then you can also hear my solo piano stylings every Saturday afternoon 12.30-3.30pm.
This is a VERY stylish restaurant, the owners have an impeccable eye for detail, the food and wine is fantastic and the entertainment isn’t to shabby either!! A review is included at the bottom of this post, thanks.
Prohibition – Five course whisky tasting dinner
Due to a dalliance with a whisky-drinking Thai in Auckland and an overdose of Thai whisky in Koh Samui over ten years ago, Ive shied away from the drink. There are so many other options out there, most of which include a drink made from grapes, with which I prefer to whet the palate when eating a delicious meal. However, when you are invited to an event with a group of good friends for a special occasion, its not on to allow ones old prejudices decide the flavour of the evening.
So it was with a small amount of trepidation, whinging and drama that saw me drawing up to Prohibition Restaurant on Ponsonby Road for a five course dinner with matching whisky. Prohibition itself was in my mind a very favourable venue for an affair such as this, and since I had heard the French head chef Denis Baudet had packed his bags at Rocco and moved all the way across the road to this outrageous place, I was dead keen for visit.
Owners South African Colin Gardner (pictured in the red lounge) and Russian Eduard Gorin opened Prohibitions doors in 2008, and the boys are as outlandish and alternative as the restaurant they have created. The premise is that you step through the doors and into the 1920’s prohibition era – the entire get-up of this restaurant and the staff within a thusly themed (who doesnt like a man in uniform?). What they have done is completely out of the realm of a normal dining-out experience, and they have such heart for the idea that they are only ever improving on it.
We were whisked upstairs to a crowded large dining room and sat at one of the five six-person tables. Here is a cute catch: we had unknowns sit with us which is such a lovely thing, and SO not normal in an upper class restaurant where pretention usually rules. However, this was no ordinary dinner. The patron was Bart from The Whisky Shop in the Elliot Stables, who ushered us through the info and tastes of the individual whiskies before the dishes came out. I gave it a go with the whisky but also ordered a bottle of Kennedy Point Sauvignon Blanc to placate the ever-present wine craving.
Bart explained that 17 whiskies (out of the 550 he supplies at the shop) were brought into the restaurant and there was a tasting to decide on the final five for the dinner. Denis (chef) then took these whiskies to the kitchen and sculpted each dish around them. The food was terribly good and well beyond my expectations.
The first course was simply ingenious. Huge Clevedon oysters sat in a cucumber sea-salt jelly with spoonfuls of sweet roasted scallops covered in wasabi mayonnaise and shredded nori. The seafood was perfection, the flavours of each component strong and so different as to balance beautifully. It was of course very Japanese in flavour, fresh and crisp.
The pan-fried caramelised half poussin with carrot remoulade, shitake mushrooms and chestnuts was covered in a thick red wine sauce, and was sweet and morish. At this point the matching whisky or a Dalmore 12 year old St Etienne Rum finish made me very aware that I had a fiery belly and numb lips. From this point on I watered down my whiskey (this is totally acceptable so said Bart).
The roasted hapuka with buttered leeks and black pudding was another stunner. The fish was succulent and moist, the cooking done with masterful skill, at the exact point of not being raw or over cooked. The black pudding was a great contrasting flavour, bacony and solid and the leeks a favourable soapy come back. On the verge of being happily full we encountered the cheese course. I have never in my life experiences cheeses like it. A Delice de Borgogne was served as soft as butter but sour like a feta. It was strong and creamy and when I saw plates being taken away with morsels left I swiped them back and lapped it up.
Overwhelmed by the tastes, yumminess, lovely people around, whiskey and wine I thought that must be it! Enough. But no, the dessert came out. Again, the best sticky date pudding Ive ever encountered. Created in a way that mimics the LA airport, it had a delicious crispy toffee exterior, was not doughy inside and sat happily furnished with vanilla ice cream and pistachio nuts.
Quickly polishing that off, the table became ensconced in deep discussion over a bottle or carafe of Pinot and a game of cards to finish the night; the setting was too lovely to leave. But we realised the room was emptying so we joined the happy queue to pay, glad of the lovely night with delightful food and an over indulgence of good alcohol.
-Master Bite
PRICE: Five course whisky tasting dinner $135
BOTTOM LINE: This is really a different dining experience. Prepare for a great, delicious and fantastical night.