PHOTOGRAPHY BY
anna kidman
30 January 2012
an imperial selection
The new addition to Auckland’s inner city eateries serves up hard to resist tapas for us city dwellers.
We’ve watched with a glowing pride over the past year as our inner city Auckland has transformed from a tired downtown scene into a busting metropolitan of successful establishments and eateries that rival that of great cities like Melbourne. In the heart of our CBD, the newly opened Imperial Lane precinct in downtown Auckland is certainly a stand out – one that checks all our boxes as a savvy downtown eatery. Already fans of their delectable selection of European pastries and breakfast offerings from Danish patisserie Elske, we set out to sample their tapas selection, which are available from midday.
The menu, designed by celebrated head chef Sean Marshall, offers a range oysters, charcuterie, cheese and small tapas plates alongside a great selection of wines, all available by the glass. I am often known to pass up a main course in favour of a selection of small tapas, or better yet, a tasting platter. A style of eating I much prefer when washing it down with a decent glass of wine. It’s safe to say then, that Imperial Lane appears to be the perfect place for me. I suspect I’m not the only one, as on the late Tuesday afternoon we visited, the place was bustling with others who appeared to share a similar mindset. We took our seat ground level in the cobblestone laneway and set about sampling a selection of what the menu had to offer including: Olives, served with boquerones and pecorino shortbread, the tuna sashimi with wasabi, seaweed and fried shallots, the smoked octopus and chorizo, and of course, a charcuterie platter. The charcuterie platter served up a mouthwatering array of traditional Spanish chorizos, salami and prosciutto, alongside duck liver and cognac parfait, a selection of chutneys, all served with crusty bread.
The dishes, which are available both downstairs in the lane, and also upstairs at Everybody’s bistro, are well priced and exceptionally tasty.
Small delicious snacks and platters that are perfectly suited to that in between time of day before heading to dinner, or simply to complement an after work drink. We suspect having the lane just a stone’s throw away from the Denizen offices is going to prove rather dangerous come our late afternoon hunger pains.
