February: Our recommendations on the menu this month

What we’ve been eating: Dry-aged sirloin, cauliflower, fregola, bone marrow

When we do the classics, our chef Jermaine ensures we do them well. We get our sirloin beef from Aubrey Allen that has been dry aged for 28 days to bring out its rich flavour and tenderise the meat, which is then cooked to perfection.

We serve that with chargrilled florets of broccoli, pickled cauliflower, cauliflower purée, fregola (a type of pasta from Sardinia, like giant cous cous) and crispy beef fat, before dressing it with a deliciously thick and flavourful bone marrow jus. It’s currently on our á la carte menu and our front of house team can recommend a red wine that would pair beautifully.

What we’ve been drinking: Pinot Noir, Little Beauty, Marlborough, New Zealand

This pinot noir is intensely aromatic, packed with aromas of raspberry, black cherry and baked red fruit compote, with some savoury notes as well as soft, silky tannins.

The team at Little Beauty, headed by former Cloudy Bay winemaker Eveline Fraser, has established a reputation for producing elegant, refined and sophisticated wines from their corner of Marlborough. 

The area’s micro-climate, nestled between the Waihopai River and the Richmond Ranges, ensures excellent ripening conditions and wines that are both elegant and feminine, expressive but refined.