Since I haven’t been able to be in the kitchen recently, this month I am sharing our latest dining experience at Shepherd in the city. I can’t think why we hadn’t been there before, no reason other than there are so many good places to eat in the city.
Anyway, we started the evening with a pre dinner drink at Hanging Ditch a great bar situated just opposite the restaurant and offering cocktails, beers and wines in an eclectic environment (yes you can see buckets hanging upside down and there is a fair bit of Star Wars memorabilia around too).
The menu at Shepherd is one of those that lists the ingredients rather than give titles to dishes. There was a great choice of so many lovely – and interesting – sounding things that it was hard to chose.
I opted for the smoked fish, egg, mandarin, paprika dish served with a giant cracker as you can see below. It was absolutely fantastic, with an amazing range of flavours and flavour contrasts. Karl had venison with walnut, blueberry, honey and truffle, which also got rave reviews.
For the main dish, I chose melt-in-the-mouth lamb, served with chickpeas, chipotle, black garlic, capsicum, turnip and ‘citrus’ (more mandarin). This was another amazing dish, with again contrasting and lively flavours. The crispy black garlic was a great touch too. Karl had the chicken, parsnip, fennel, chilli and pistachio which also got a rave review.
We shared a dessert of chocolate with hazelnut, passion fruit and Aleppo, a rich and wonderful way to end the meal. I have lost the receipt with the details, but we enjoyed two glasses of wine, a white with the first and a red with the second – many apologies for my ignorance in what we ordered! Suffice to say the wine was also good.
Verdict? 5* from us and definitely somewhere to go back to. The service was excellent too.
This well be entered in the What’s on Your Plate blog challenge hosted by Canadian bloggers Widow Badass and Retirement Reflections. This goes live on the first Wednesday of each month and you can join in too with a food related post, just by adding yours to their linkup.
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com
Thistles and Kiwis 
Hi, Barbara – Thank you so much for joining us for What’s On Your Plate despite all that has been happening for you there. Based on your descriptions and photos, I would also definitely give Shepherd a 5-star rating!
I’m continuing to send warm thoughts and positive vibes your way.
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Thanks! The dinner had been planned a couple of weeks ago, and was just the thing we needed. It is getting closer to our trip (first flight is 6am Friday NZ time), but the mud remains and there is still no water or gas to the house. Anyway, Shepherd was excellent!
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I am so sorry to hear about the mud remaining, and no water or gas.
Your trip is so close now. Fingers and toes crossed that you will get into your house before your flight leaves.
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We are at least allowed to go and pick things up, though we still can’t live there.
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WordPress definitely needs a ‘warm hug’ button. ‘Like’ doesn’t always cut it!
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It is very satisfying when we get to eat delicious food when we dine out.
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You certainly are spoiled for choice! That bar looks like a lot of fun, too, especially with all the Star Wars memorabilia.
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Yes that bar is fun.
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An ‘advantage’ of being displaced is ‘having’ to eat out 🙂 Friday is awfully close! I hope you get access to your house before then. I am still waiting for my passport to arrive and we leave on Tuesday 🙂 🙂
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We are allowed to go in and collect things but no water or gas yet. Personally, I don’t think we will be able to move back when we return from Europe, but my husband is more optimistic. Gosh hope you get your passport!
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What a lively and eclectic place to have dinner! From the first picture I couldn’t tell where the upside down buckets were, until I scrolled down. lol
Dinner looks delicious and it’s great you have an adventurous palette to try different foods.
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That definitely sounds like a meal that I could enjoy, and a cut above the mince and tatties that we had tonight.
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But mince and tatties are good too 🙂
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Absolutely. My staple diet.
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This food is so delicious in New Zealand..Anita
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That looks lovely – as does the bar.
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Such interesting names, Shepherd … Hanging Ditch … what a fun night out!
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Looks wonderful!
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