Hearty Bistro Fare
Christchurch, New Zealand
Cuisine Style: Contemporary, New Zealand
Dined in March 2015
By: Sean Overpeck (CFE)
April 23rd, 2017 they served their final meal
Early in March, 2015, I returned to Christchurch from an eight month tour in Antarctica, and the top of my restaurant visits was the Harlequin Public House. It was listed on places to visit on my last trip in august 2013 when i was on my way to McMurdo, Antarctica. HPH is across from a beautiful Victorian Street clock Tower and is nestled in an old wooden villa, just a short walk from the older, earthquake damaged part of Christchurch. HPH is the second venture of Chef and owner Jonny Schwass, with his first venture being a seasonal restaurant that is the talk of Canterbury.
Follow Wine, dine, and Play:
HPH's Last Day 23rd April 2017
Harlequin Public House will be closing the doors for the last time this Sunday 23rd April.
We would like to thank all of our loyal supporters, suppliers and staff both past and present.
We have loved showing you the hospitality love in the challenging environment of post earthquake Christchurch. We have kicked a few goals over the past few years which has given us much to smile about.
It is now time to move on to some new challenges. We have some exciting things planned both short and long term (all totally focused on our beloved Canterbury region).
If you are in the neighbourhood over the next few days please stop by and raise a glass to the future.
Thank You All & Much Love from The HPH Crew.
Review basics:
| Wine selections by region: Scroll below the main review section to see the tasting notes of the wines chosen. |
6 of 10 France: A). Bordeaux: (Haut Médoc, Cotes de Castillon, Médoc). B). Bourgogne: (Chablis). C). Loire: (Sancerre, Chinon). D). Other: Côtes du Rhône,Banyuls Spain: La Rioja New Zealand: A). Canterbury: (Waipara, Banks Peninsula) B). Marlborough: (Wairau Valley, Waihopi Valley) C). Hawke's Bay: (Havelock North,Te Awanga) D). Otago: (Central Otago, Cromwell, Bendigo, Waitaki/Bannockburn) E). Other: Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Gisborne, Waiheke Island, Wellington, Nelson, Martinborough, North Canterbury, and Kumeu. South Africa: Cape Peninsula, Constantia, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Swartland-Western Cape California: Sonoma, Napa, |
| Restaurant style: | Casual |
| Dress code: | Smart casual, Casual, or Conservative attire |
| Reservations: | Not Required, but recommended Make reservation through eveve.com, or by contacting the restaurant directly. See contact info below the review section |
| Walk-ins: | Accepted, but not guaranteed |
| Child policy: |
The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in attendance. Hire a Babysitter. See Alinea Baby Gate, god I love Alinea. |
| Cuisine style: | Contemporary, Bistro, Modern, New Zealand (Kiwi), International, & Vegetarian |
| Music styles: | Background instrumental |
| Experiences: | Place for foodies, Lounge, Business parties, Romantic, Hot spot, Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Rustic, Classy, and a Neighborhood gem. |
| Gratuities: | Industry standard is 18-20% added to parties of 6 or more |
| Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express | |
| Parking: | street parking |
| Transport options: | Bus, taxi, limousine, personal vehicle, and walking |
| The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails. | |
| Noise level: | Low |
| Smoking: | Nonsmoking restaurant, but a smoking patio |
| Patio: | Yes |
Chef:
Chef Jonny Schwass
Picture courtesy of Harlequin Public House Webpage
Food price per person
(Excluding tax & gratuity)
Price chart:
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - Under 75.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur's
My food bill:
|
Currency: | Price chart: | |
| $106.00 | United States Dollar (USD) | $$$ | |
| £68.00 | Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP) | ££ | |
| €95.00 | European Union (EUR) | €€ | |
| $129.00 | Canadian Dollar (CAN) | $$$ | |
| $134.00 | Australian Dollar (AUS) | $$$ | |
| ¥658.00 | Chinese Yuan (CNY) | ¥¥¥¥¥ |
From restaurants home page:
A beautifully restored old wooden villa is home to Harlequin Public House, the latest venture of well-known Christchurch chef Jonny Schwass. Inside it’s cosy and sophisticated, with wood panelling, high ceilings and low lighting. The food is hearty bistro fare – think grilled ox tongue with carrot, duck crackling and mint verde and local produce is king, with the menu even featuring an “honours list” name-checking suppliers. Whole sections of the impressive drinks list are devoted to rum and gin, in addition to extensive beer offerings and a good cross-section of international wine labels.
The Drawing Room
Our Drawing Room in the heart of Harlequin Public House will comfortably hold up to 18 guests seated or 30 guests standing. It is also available for intimate product launches, private business lunches or dinners, and perfectly styled to suit entertaining clients. Larger capacities for off-site catering are also available Christchurch wide
Main review:
I arrived for my reservation at 6:30, enjoying the nice weather on my walk from the hotel to here, nice and warm to me since I had just left Antarctica and the temperature there was 24 Fahrenheit compared to about 75 here in Christchurch’s late summer. One thing i had noticed about Christchurch on this go around and also in Australia where I was heading to next, was that their were Chinese everywhere. Every Restaurant, store, and winery. I later learned that it was the end of the Chinese Lunar New Year and they were all on vacation. The dining room was smaller, separate from the bar and patio area with private dining rooms to the side, and a partial open air kitchen viewed from the dining area. The staff was well groomed, neatly dressed, and very professional. For a table setting the salt and pepper display had a small pepper grinder, and sea salt served in an oyster shell, different but neat all the same.
I reviewed the wine list and settled on a 2011 Hawks Bay Pinot noir called Angel Flower from Pyramid Valley Vineyard, very smooth tasting. (Scroll down below the main review to see wine tasting notes) As I reviewed the menu, though smaller than some restaurants, offered a very good variety, from fresh seafoods of clam, oysters to assorted starters of Whitebait, Snapper, Lamb Neck, and Gnocchi. Their entree’s ranged from Catch of the day know as “Day Boat fish”, Confit of roasted duck, Ribeye, Lamb, and vegetarian options. There were so many good selections, that I broke it all down into five courses with 3 starters, entree, then dessert. In the end, I would leave after 9:00 PM very full, and satisfied to a great meal with top notch service, beating a lot of other Christchurch Restaurants I had eaten at in the past.
My first course was the Tio Point Flat Oysters, from the Hauraki Gulf, cold water oysters similar to the French oyster Belon. They are high meat to shell ratios, plump and firm, with a sweet salty flavor which is both distinct and complexI n New Zealand it is called variously - Bluff oyster, Foveaux Strait oyster, Dredge oyster, Flat oyster, Nelson oyster, and Tasman Bay oysters.Most of the commercial production dredged from the seafloor with large steel dredges is from Foveaux Strait and Tasman Bay where conditions are suitable for a wild catch. two to the serving over ice and a side square glass of Mignonette, (pepper, salt, red wine vinegar, and sweet onion blend).
For the second course, under the second starter section of the menu they offered the Whitebait, Bone Marrow, Snapper Croquettes, Duck Liver Parfait, and a roasted peach salad. I chose the Bone Marrow dish, with a setup of the marrow scrapings removed to the side blended with a jam, and a few pieces of Sourdough bread. This dish lacked the taste I was expecting from the marrow, and the Chef’s use of Parsley was to the extreme. I found that in most of the courses I had, parsley was the main theme of garnish which became boring and mundane. Thank god the food tasted good, otherwise I would have never wished to see another piece of parsley again.
For course number three you could have offerings like Lamb Neck, Mushroom risotto, a large Caesar Salad, or a Gnocchi dish. The lamb sounded interesting but i knew that I would most likely have that as a main entree course, and god knows it may have been covered in parsley. Risotto for $22 New Zealand dollars is not only boring but ouch on the wallet, followed by a Caesar or Gnocchi made me think if I was eating at a New Zealand pub or an Italian Restaurant. I knew that I wanted multiple starters to enjoy a coursed meal, and looked forward to trying each portion of the menu, but nothing in the third section excited me. It reminded me of 1994, god!! So I went back to the first section where I had the yummy oysters and went with the Steak Tartar. Again very heavy on the wallet at $17.00, and for that wonderful wallet burner it was served with French Fries and toasted bread, how exciting!! The raw egg gave it the look and appeal, but the meat had been grinder down and formed into a small patty. It had flavor, and the quality of the meat was good New Zealand Prime beef, but presentation was not there. I like tartar when it is cut up into cubes by hand, and portion is more for the higher price, and maybe even served with some avocado or nice onion blend.
The entree course was next on the list. I could choose the Day Boat fish, or catch of the day as we call it in the states, a 300g (10 ounces) Ribeye steak, priced at $35.00 which is competitive to the U.S. Meat Market. A Confit of Roasted duck which sounded spectacular, a Pork Belly dish which I had eaten at a different Christchurch Restaurant, but still enjoyed, and finally a lamb dish, which as I mentioned earlier, was my choice. Besides I’m in New Zealand, known for the lamb, so it would be sinful not to try it. But at $35.00 for the dish, why was over 35% of the meat selection fat? It did not leave a lot to enjoy, so thank god for the salty roasted chickpeas to fill the protein gap, and the eggplant to give me the vitamins.
The final course which I had with some coffee was a cheese platter. There other dessert selections included chocolate mousse, sticky toffee pudding, cookies, and homemade ice creams, but back in August, I visited the Canterbury Cheesemongers shop, and fell in love with cheese selections of New Zealand, so I had my mind set that dessert would be cheese. You could have the three selections individually or together, running $14.00 each, pricy but well worth it. They had a Cresent Ridge Dairy Goat, a very hard goats milk cheese, Lindis Pass Brie, very soft cow’s milk, and the Windsor Blue, from the Whitestone Cheese Company; by far my favorite blue veined cow’s milk cheese, all three from New Zealand. The dish came with the accompaniments of apples, strawberry’s, nuts, preserves, beets, and fig.
All in all with the few hiccups of parsley and presentation, the night went well, my server Beth was very professional, the atmosphere was excellent, and I enjoyed the evening. As I left I took a snap shot of the kitchen, and as you see, and think of kitchen cleanliness, the first thought on my mind was not of the pots cooking away in the foreground, but of, “Dude, what’s with your hair, wear a hat in the kitchen!!”
Other Christchurch favorites:
Visit other New Zealand Restaurants on Eveve
Cost of wines and other alcoholic beverages:
$110.00 NZD
Tasting Notes:
Wine & Grape:
|
Nose (Bouquet):
|
Palette Experience:
|
| Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir | Some complexity in the nose. Spice, red fruit and a touch of meat but still with that new world brightness. Floral, aromatic tobacco and spice, slate and earth. Good minerality and acidity |
Medium body, light tannins,thinner and a bit short. Probably will become better with a bit of age, but not by enough to justify buying to cellar, |
Wine Regulatory:
COWA: The Central Otago Winegrowers Association, New Zealand
Restaurant address:
32 Salisbury Street
Christchurch
New Zealand 8140
Neighborhood:
Christchurch Central
Cross streets:
Victoria Street & Montreal street
GPS Coordinates:
43° 31' 28.6320'' S
172° 37' 49.1160'' E
Contact Information:
Maître d, reservations:
|
011 64 2 33778669 | |
| Website: | Harlequin Restaurant | |
| Email: | Contact Harlequin | |
| Social Media: |
Facebook Link | |
Monday
|
11:00–1:00 am |
| Tuesday | 11:00–1:00 am |
| Wednesday | 11:00–1:00 am |
| Thursday | 11:00–1:00 am |
| Friday | 11:00–1:00 am |
| Saturday | 11:00–1:00 am |
| Sunday | 11:00–1:00 am |
Standard Time (GMT -0:00)
Proprietor / Manager:
Frederic Fleury
Review by:
Chef Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Chef Sean cooks for soldiers in Afghanistan, 2012:
"Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well."
TTFN
