BYO Lunch at SPQR

SPQR- Call it what you may, but it's an Auckland institution, and a bloody good one at that. Frequented by NZ celebrities (all 3 of them), loud groups of lunchers, every advertising agency in Auckland, and every other Ponsonby dweller in between, SPQR is the place to eat and drink the summer afternoons away.

Suzie, Mum and I were long overdue for a catch up, so over the weekend we decided to grab a few bottles of wine, and head into SPQR for their BYO Sunday Lunch deal, where for $55 each you are treated to a three course meal with BYO wine. Usually after a long afternoon of food and wine at SPQR your wallet might take a bit of a hit (especially if the magnum bottles of Veuve take your fancy), but this sneaky wee deal means you can walk out with your bank account intact.

Between the three of us we made our way through the entire Sunday Lunch menu. For entrees I started off with perfectly cooked crisp asparagus with goats cheese and pine nuts. Suzie went for the delicious oven baked scallops, and Mumma Bear went for the whitebait fritter. We swapped, tasted and happily nibbled our way through the dishes- our appetites perfectly whet for the mains to come.

A few glasses of wine down, and our mains arrived. The duck confit for Suzie, champagne snapper for Mum, and the scotch fillet for myself. The snapper was a lighter meal, and absolutely delicious, as were both the slightly more substantial and perfectly cooked steak and duck dishes.

Finally, we chose our desserts. I couldn't go past the tiramisu which was light, rich, creamy and served with sticky marinated strawberries, while Suzie photo-bombed her amazing chocolate orange tart, and Mum (who is determined to forever dislike desserts) went for the cheese.

All of the dishes were impeccable, and very good value for their money. I think my favourite was the champagne snapper, which was perfectly cooked and almost swimming (ha) in a buttery champagne sauce.

After catching the last rays of afternoon sun, and polishing off the rest of the wine, we nipped across the road to pick up some flowers, and left the remainder of the SPQR patrons to settle into their champagne filled afternoons.