Snails On a Plate

Off we go to Le Métropolitain for their special Dine Wellington lunch ($35 for two courses + a glass of wine + coffee/tea). As usual, the place is humming along, and nearly every table is taken.

Following the Dine format, two options are offered for the starter and main. In the spirit of slow-food, we start with snails, in this case skewered en brochette. These come on a grilled baguette topped chunky lardons of smoky gypsy bacon and a sauté of gooey leeks. The latter was the making of the dish, a sweet melt echoed in the second starter, a Lyonnaise onion tart. Judiciously caramelised, the unctuous onions could have been cloying were it not for the addition of savoury herbs – thyme for sure, perhaps a little oregano? The starters were well served by two of the four Wairarapa wines on Le Mét’s Dine menu – a slightly spritzig Fairmont Estate Pinot Gris and the cherried Terra Nova Pinot Noir.

Our first main was cauliflower and lemon risotto with roasted garlic, cumin and mild Espelette chilli, dried and ground to a bright red sprinkle (Espelette being the Basque town in France from whence this chilli originates). The synergy of simple ingredients resulted in a subtle yet sumptuous sauce enveloping the rice. Next up a shift to the dark side: braised veal in an earthy sauce of wild mushrooms – a mixture of fresh and intense dried fellows. The garlicky potato gratin was positively velveteen and did a great job of mopping up the sauce despite already being bathed in cream. The tender veal we ate with a fork, which happily kept a hand free for the remaining two wines – the Martinborough Tiwaiwaka Cabernet Merlot and the Bijou Estate Sauvignon Blanc from Opaki. Oh, and we got a vegetable side: potatoes, fried. (Is there a more gratifying impulse buy than a bowl of French fries and aioli?)

Despite the wee blow-out on the optional extras (two wines and fries, $28), this lunch special was fantastic value, especially when you factor in the ambience and service. But Dine Wellington isn’t the only time Le Mét manages this – they’ve been doing it for years.

Get into it, Wellington – visit Visa Wellington On a Plate.