miss the theatre eat at the bar

I’m sitting at the bar overlooking the kitchen in Auckland’s Cassia Restaurant. The bar is ostensibly the lobby of the restaurant but here at Cassia they’ve managed to get things a little topsy-turvy.

Imagine going to a night out at the theatre and entering through the stage door. You walk past the stage, through the actual auditorium and take a comfortable seat in the lobby… that’s the Cassia vibe. The best seats in the house are watching the chefs at work at the entrance and not the main dining room out the back which exudes old cinema lobby vibes.

I’ve nothing against retro cinemas but I go to them for reasons other than eating modern Indian cuisine. At Cassia, I was waiting for the crunch of popcorn underfoot as I wandered into the main dining room.

So, a quick note to the designer, don’t move into theatre design.

As for diners heading to Cassia which, remains one of the city of sails finest dining institutions, try and jag a seat at the counter as you enter. Why sit in the lobby when you can watch the show?

 Bearing all this in mind, Sid Sahrawat’s take on modern Indian cuisine remains one of the best dining experiences in Auckland. Sure, it’s part of a large casino complex and sitting outside is akin to sitting in a car park but the food is so good, it basically outshines the design brickbats.

This is the second incarnation of Cassia after the original basement location was flooded twice in nine months back in 2022 and 2023.

Sitting at the bar watching the team at work is a special little treat especially if you’re on an awkward date because the theatre of the kitchen before you negates the need for conversation.

On our most recent visit we returned to a couple of favourites off the “bites” part of the menu including the Pani Puri filled with potato, chickpea and mint which filled the mouth with flavour while cleansing the palate for what was to follow. A gorgeous starter.

Stepping up next was a Tandoori chicken taco – a mouth -filling flavour bomb followed by the Hawke’s Bay lamb chops with leek ash and dry korma. A golden treat, the lamb was sweet and delicate in flavour matched beautifully with the leek ash and dry korma.

All of this was able accompanied by a Maude Mount Maude Reserve chardonnay from Central Otago.

The talk with my colleague was all about the action in the kitchen which goes to my earlier point about an awkward date and surely beats arguing about politics or football.

We moved to a couple of the aptly names share plates on the menu and ordered the roasted cauliflower with a rich Korma sauce and stracciatella cheese. An interesting mix but a delectable creamy heart-warming dish.

Then there was the beef rump cap smothered in a Kokum sauce and curry leaf. It was a spicy treat and the sauce mopped up with naan and rice was a genuinely flavourful, moreish experience.

You just wanted more of Sahrawat’s take on modern Indian cuisine and his genuinely delicate flavours interwoven with the punch of the freshest palate pleasing spices – the curry leaves, cardamon, cumin and coriander that imbue so many of the dishes matched with the finest New Zealand produce.

And to finish? Just as you started, another palate cleansing dish of yoghurt and lychee sorbet with coconut, cashew and kaffir lime. It ensures you leave feeling more refreshed than when you first walked in… a gorgeous evening only spoilt by the knowledge most diners were missing the main show while they sat in a cinema lobby masquerading as a dining room.