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The Bach

midtownmjd
midtownmjd
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
Editor Pick

The Bach

  • December 28, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by midtownmjd from New York, New York
The Bach is the restaurant you go to New Zealand to discover: it serves fine cuisine with lots of flair and zero pretension. With The Bach’s (pronounced similar to "batch") ingredients, preparation, and atmosphere, dinner here is guaranteed to be a memorable experience.

My travel companions and I went on a chilly early-spring evening and were seated at a cozy, window-front table overlooking Lake Taupo and Tongariro National Park. The restaurant was quiet on this Saturday night, so we received a lot of attention, but service was never overbearing, and we took our time tasting as much as we could over the next several hours.

We dove into a couple of special bottles of New Zealand wine; for white-wine lovers, the sauvignon blancs there are fabulous. Then, among the five of us, we tried 13 different dishes—and were not disappointed once.

New Zealand is the only place I’ve ever salivated over bread; the baked goods are that uniformly incredible. The Bach’s bread is no exception, and smothered in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it was a great start to our meal and accompaniment to our wine. I moved on to a lemon-and-lime-marinated tuna tartare, followed by pumpkin fritters with risotto ravioli, the vegetarian special. Every dish on the table was beautifully plated and perfectly prepared.

Based on the dessert menu, and the high quality of every other dish, skipping the sweetest course wasn’t an option. In a ploy to consume more of the heavenly bread, I chose the bread-and-butter pudding with ice cream, and it was as good as it sounds. The Bach’s panna cotta was another hit at our table.

Appetizers run between NZ$16 and NZ$19, and main courses cost around NZ$35. The New Zealander in the crowd said these are the highest prices he’s encountered at comparable restaurants in the past year, but by US (or perhaps just New York) standards, our top-quality meals were more than reasonably priced. Another important note: the restaurant is closed Mondays.

I found out after visiting that The Bach was judged New Zealand’s Cuisine Restaurant of the Year in 2006, and I can’t say I’m too surprised, although I am amazed that such an unassuming place is so well-known. You’ve got to love New Zealand!

The Bach’s menu changes with the seasons to embrace the best of what’s around. This bodes well for a return visit—I suppose I should time it for summer, winter, or fall. Then again, that risotto ravioli was incredible...I wonder if it’s a frequent springtime menu item? I guess I’ll have to return to investigate.

From journal Taupo and Environs: Grab the Chilly Bin and Go!

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