William Chong

Email: loulouatbeach@xtra.co.nz; Website: www.eatout.co.nz/lou-lou-at-the-beach.html; Ph: 09 534 1989; 32 The Esplanade, Eastern Beach, Howick; breakfast $10-18, lunch $9-19, dinner mains $17-28.

Rating: A

Fabulous location, striking decor, though there’s room for improvement in the kitchen department.

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We dropped in for an early meal at Lou Lou’s and for a bit of a treat. The well-known ceiling was probably the first thing that caught our attention – hundreds of wine corks with flexi-lighting playfully winding around them. It’s apparently been there since the previous owners ran it as Oasis – C and I found ourselves gazing and the intricate shapes, patterns, signatures and whatnot splashed above our heads. It works particularly well with the rest of the decor, which seems to be decked out like an old sea schooner.

There’s not just a nautical theme, however: co-owner, Louisa Hayward is also an artist with a distinctive Matisse style, and her nom de plume extends to canvas paintings, self-branded Australian shiraz, and of course the restaurant name itself.

We order a couple of mains in the hopes of dashing off quickly: C goes for a spaghetti marinara with mixed seafood, while I opt for the grilled skin-on gurnard and a ginger sake sauce. The waiter is relaxed, and sports an Irish accent which resounds in jovial banter with the customer throughout the evening.

Our food is presented in oversize bowls that proudly proclaim Lou Lou’s technicolour style – it wouldn’t have surprised me if Hayward stepped out and told us that the crockery was hand-crafted and for sale. C’s spaghetti marinara was a fantastic medley of sumptuous scallops, taut calamari and a well-herbed tomato sauce.

Unfortunately, I was shortchanged on my fish when it was presented as a half-baked fillet without the expected crisp pan-fried skin. I’ll be honest – it looked like the inside of a battered fish from the local takeaways. Upon questioning the waiter, he admitted that the fish they had that day wasn’t skin-on to begin with, and kindly offered to replace my main with no extra charge. I decided to go for the same spaghetti and C was revelling in, and was equally satisfied.

All in all, we enjoyed the rest of our meal, and even enjoyed a bit of sticky date pudding to cap the night off. Pity about the fish fiasco – but the service was humble and helpful, and we definitely couldn’t fault that.

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N.B. Lou Lou’s has actually featured on restaurant entrepreneur John Palino’s show, “The Kitchen Job”. The episode review and a follow-up blog post at menumania.co.nz makes for pretty interesting reading.