25 April, 2024

Takapuna has nation’s top gastropub

Winning fare… Fantail & Turtle executive chef James Wheeler (left) and head chef Aniket Kotkar with two of the Smales Farm eatery’s most popular dishes – pork ribs and prawn tacos – after it was named this month as the country’s best gastropub.

Smales Farm bar and eatery Fantail & Turtle has been named New Zealand’s best gastropub. Judges declared it the Supreme Champion of the Hospitality New Zealand competition at an awards ceremony at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron this month, having narrowed down the 50 venues chosen in a public vote to find seven regional winners. Fantail & Turtle general manager James Wakefield credited executive chef James Wheeler and his staff for the success. “A lot of those pub classics, Wheels and his team just elevate them as much as they can,” he said.Wheeler said his menu takes standard pub grub and does it better, such as using higher-quality cuts of meats and dry-ageing some of them. The business has a focus on sustainability, buying whole fish and lamb, and using the entire animal, including the bones for stock.It also started growing its own herbs on-site in 2022. Wheeler said the most popular items on the menu were pork ribs, beef sliders, prawn tacos and jalapeño wontons, the latter making this year’s 100 Iconic Auckland Eats list.Competition judge Connie Clarkson said the Fantail & Turtle menu was “confident, balanced and presents well, with a commitment to zero waste, provenance and sustainability”.

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