You know that you have to go and check it out if a little new kid in town is making a lot of noise and got the locals all raving about it. Yeah, I'm that type of geeky locals who can't miss out on the new Wunderkind and wants to find out what all the hype is about. Friday after work, great. Just hop across from work and find ourselves at Tin Soldier. It's quite easy to miss but it's just before the popular Chapel Bar. We were seated downstairs where the kitchen is whilst the rest of the crowd are drinking in the bar. Great space and love the warm sunlight that comes through.
I can see the chef working diligently from where we sat, which is only a few meters away.
Our waiter took our orders and came back with complimentary bread and olive in the cute army metal lunch box. Nice touch.
Our first dish was Fish Pie. When it arrived, it looked nothing like a fish pie that I was expecting with flaky pastry which makes it even more interesting than it sounds. It is made of veloute of manuka smoked fish with chives and potato puree. It's really buttery and decadent. They were rather 'petite' in size but big in flavours. It was our favourite dish for the night.
Sardine on sourdough bread with tomatoes and pine nuts . Very average as I was expecting more flavours. It's not bad but it's not something that you will remember eating.
The famous Soldier Boys Jammers filled with glazed pork and gouda. Sad to say that this was the most disappointing dish I have eaten in a very long time. It was bland and the bread was dry and I wonder if I should have opted for the beer battered mussel filling instead.
We couldn't resist ordering dessert although the meal has been only average. The waiter told us that the Apple Crumble is actually a cold and deconstructed version. Sounds interesting and didn't disappoint. It was fresh and with lots of interesting flavours and textures. I will come back just for this dessert.
It was overall a pleasant evening at Tin Soldiers.Will I come back? Probably only for a drink and the atmosphere but not for dining. Auckland is bursting with great selection of restaurants, bistros and pop-ups and if it didn't wow me the first time, it probably won't be on my list in the near future.
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