You can now eat at Bellamys
Up until a few months ago you could only eat at Bellamys, in the Beehive, if you were an MP, a staffer, or a guest of an MP.
In case you thought you were missing out on something special, you were not. The food there was okay, but nothing exciting. The buffet was like something at Valentines.
But Bellamys has been taken over by Logan Brown, and now open for members of the public.
The Dom Post has a food review and the summary is:
For enjoy Bellamys food you certainly ought. Apart from the novelty of dining in the Beehive and using the old Bellamy’s silver cutlery, the best reason to come is that Logan Brown now has the catering contract.
Head chef Josh Ross, an alumnus of Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand (but never a student of mine), aims to showcase the best of New Zealand’s produce – appropriately, in view of the many foreign dignitaries entertained here.
A fillet of pearly, creamy gurnard, brought down “green” (that is, un-gutted) from Gisborne, was laid over a delicious saffron broth, laced with kelp oil and fennel and garnished with samphire and ice plant, freshly foraged from Evans Bay. To the side were succulent goujons of smoked eel, sadly the last we will see from the Moko company, which is being forced to close due to the decimation of our wild eel populations.
The Environment Minister would probably have needed to check that sustainably harvested tussock was used to smoke the celeriac that accompanied my free-range pork belly, but I certainly loved it. Atop a slice of quince was a crunchy sprinkling of various puffed grains.
As his Crispy Lamb Breast, Macadamia Puree, Fermented Carrot & Wild Mint Oil was laid before him, John aptly described it as a work of art. For my part, I was also very pleased with my Beetroot-cured King Salmon, Compressed Cucumber, Buttermilk and Shiso (yes, genuine fresh shiso leaf).
Maitre ‘d Leann Burtenshaw provided kindly service – and two superb wine matches: an Amisfield Dry Riesling and a Mountford Chardonnay.
Sounds great. I’ve been once since the change and the difference in food quality is immense.
Bellamys by Logan Brown
The Beehive, Parliament Buildings
Ph: (04) 817 9678
Open for lunch and dinner, Tues-Fri
Price range of mains: $31-$58
Cost: $139 for two (excluding wine)Food: ★★★★★
Service: ★★★★★
Drinks list: ★★★★½
Ambience: ★★★