Alma – 130 Quay Street, Britomart, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
We went there because…
A group of us went out to farewell a colleague and it was suggested as a great spot to share delicious food in a convivial environment . It was only a matter of time before I visited this establishment as it had received such rave reviews over the past four years, so I was more than curious (albeit a little slow). The main issue had been that I didn’t know where it was, yes I do have a search engine on my computer, but you know, generally you hear about somewhere and then you see it and then you visit it (unless it’s in some obscure location). On the flip side I had driven past this restaurant so many times over those years and wondered why it was so full and what it’s name was. There is a small sign on Gore Street stating the name of the establishment, but as it doesn’t seem to deter customers, I say less must be more.
The food…
We were a table of seven people who all wanted their say over the period of the lunch and therefore we couldn’t spend too much time discussing food options. To make it as easy as possible after the very understanding waiter had given us his lowdown on the food, we passed over to the Spanish speaker in the group to order a selection of recommended dishes (no the waiter wasn’t speaking Spanish and he probably couldn’t). One of us was gluten free and another was vegetarian, this was announced at the beginning and never forgotten throughout the meal.
I have to admit being a bit ignorant when it comes to Spanish food in general, sure I like a good paella or patatas bravas and back in my gluten eating days I loved a churro or four, but I’ve never really properly scratched beneath the surface. What’s more this is specifically Andalusian food, so I’m even less knowledgeable. We started off with the Leek, manchego & guindilla tostada, a little taste delight that was a great introduction to Alma had to offer. This was followed up by the Hummus (that’s all it said on the menu), this was one of the best looking hummuses that I’ve seen and the taste didn’t disappoint (without me thinking, wow that’s next level hummus). There was a magnificent looking flatbread that I assume came with the hummus, the menu just said “Hummus”, I was supplied with a GF vessel for transporting the hummus to mouth, that did the trick, but man I wanted to try the flatbread.
The challenging item on the menu was the Beef tongue, olive, preserved lemon, normally I would say hold the tongue and preserved lemon, just give me the olives, but we had ordered it, so I had to try it. I was having flashbacks to my youth in the 70’s, my grandmother was a big fan of ox tongue, served cold with that jelly, I preyed that this wasn’t a similar recipe handed down the ages, and it wasn’t. I have to say that the the Beef tongue, olive, preserved lemon was a bit of a winner for those of us prepared to try it. I’m not saying that I would order it again, but it went a long way to ending my 50 odd year boycott of this protein.
The Sebiche, chilli, avocado looked and tasted vibrant and the Anchovy & tomato tostada gave me that mouth-watering salty, tomatoey, taste of the sea that I was waiting for since walking in the door.
The Pork pinchitos, pear, coca was next with the pork cooked on a skewer and then served in the coca (flatbread) with the skewer removed. The pork was succulent and moreish and you can see why this is dish comes highly recommended. The most visually appealing dish of the day award went to the Tomato, yoghurt, pimenton, which sounds simple but gives so much more than that.
The drinks…
The wine list is heavily influenced by Spain with some New Zealand guest stars, don’t expect a Hawkes Bay Chardonnay or a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, although there are Albarino’s from both those regions and a Sauvignon Blanc from Roja. Alma also has a decent sherry menu and while there is one Spanish beer, the rest are all from around NZ.
The service…
The service was very good, the waiter was attentive, he sorted dishes for the vegetarian and the gluten free among us and gave his assistance with what to eat and how much we needed and he was pretty accurate with both. as I said earlier the dietary requirement individuals were well looked after. More importantly they didn’t try to throw us out after then meal and when we decided to have one for the road, they said sure (we were gone before dinner service).
The atmosphere…
It was a Thursday lunch time and in late January and it was pumping, there was a cool vibe, need I say more?
The price was…
I don’t think that the price of our rather extended lunch for seven would be a good indicator, but sharing dishes range from $14 to $48 with the sirloin at $85 and the crayfish tail $125.
Overall
It looks good, the food and service were very good and the atmosphere was great. Overall I would give Alma a strong 8.5/10
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