We headed north from Blanket Bay to arrive here virtually in the middle of nowhere down a dirt road for 30+ minutes from the main highway in the remote Ahuriri Valley of yet another part of the South Island Alpine range. The Lodge is small and compact with magnificent views from the living area/dining area and rooms (which are oddly small and not very well laid out), but the dinner was indeed delicious. We tried Blue Duck Vodka martinis, which Will liked more then the Scapegrace and the snacks were a melon topped with a super crispy lamb prosciutto and an out of this world melon gazpacho shooter with parmesan foam.
Margaux (it seems most of the staff are French) suggested a Peregrine 2017 Central Otago Pinot Noir which we immediately fell in love with for its age, gutsiness and minerality.
Dinner was simpler here starting with Confit of Heirloom Tomatoes with Courgette, a wonderful, whipped tofu (which tasted like burrata!), Passionfruit, Purple Tomato Water and shallots. It was so fresh and ideal and quite nice to have a vegetable salad as well.
The main was a Lumina Lamb Loin with charred eggplant, rainbow chard, basil and lamb just which was great with the wine and the dessert was a very rich Tartlet of Chocolate, Cherry and Pistachio (all fotos on FB) of which I loved the cherries best.
The service was superb and friendly, but there was a sliding door to a kitchen pass-through that really wrecked the nice quiet and serenity of the dining area when it was left open.
We are here for two more nights and as dinner is only available here, it is included...the closest option is almost an hour away in a nearby town of 800!!
