Wynyard Quarter Part I: Jack Tar

Hey everyone! Thought you wouldn't hear from me for a while, right? I thought so too. But I'm currently sitting in a very obscure corner in Geneva International Airport, waiting for my flight back to London. Long story short, I have some time on my hands and I'm bored. I've just completed my seven day road trip around parts of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, in addition to my three nights in Paris (I did the ultimate tourist cliche and ate escargot too). Like I expected, I'm missing home a weee bit. I'm absolutely annoyed that I'm missing the NRL Finals Series (go the Warriors!) and from now on I'll have to wake up really early to find a pub in London that will show the All Blacks matches from the RWC....there will be a pub open at 7am, I just know it!!!

With the Rugby World Cup in mind, this blog is dedicated to the North Wharf area in Wynyard Quarter, the new restaurant/bar/dining area that was recently developed for the Rugby World Cup in mind and had opened in early August. I had wanted to visit the area before my departure, knowing that I wouldn't have the chance to do so during the World Cup. It was not intended for me to visit twice – once on a weekday, once on a weekend – and it was full of people. Madness, like I expected.

Jack Tar

34-47 Jellicoe Street, North Wharf

Catching up for a weekday lunch and saying goodbye to my friend was the order of the day with my first visit to Wynyard Quarter. My friend and I had taken a leisurely stroll among the line of restaurants and bars, acting indecisively (as you do) about where to go for lunch. Indecisive behaviour is not ideal though, when: a) it's rather busy everywhere, with minimal tables; and b) when one is on her lunch break from work and has to be back at work at a certain time. Was it to be indian cuisine? Japanese? Spanish tapas? We ultimately ended up choosing Jack Tar, a gastrobar that is pretty much located in the middle of the line of restaurants in North Wharf (the shed is a giveaway). Jack Tar operates on a no reservation basis for tables or/and events, which is no surprise when they're constantly busy like they were when I was there. We were lucky in fact, in securing one of the last tables available too.

Jack Tar's menu is almost standard pub food fare, but has slightly more sophisticated dishes (and therefore more expensive) than your normal pub. When we were seated, we were asked prior to ordering whether we wanted to "pay as we (you) go" or start a tab, where they take your debit/credit card as security and return it back to you when you pay for your meal. I had read an article about this in the NZ Herald a few days before going there actually, as a lot of restaurants and bars had been experiencing the problem of people eating and then running off without paying for their meal. Completely understandable, although tourists traveling for the World Cup might find this completely odd and unnecessary.

My friend and I ended up sharing a pizza, probably the weirdest combination option of the lot – anchovies, goats cheese, spinach, pine nuts, red capsicum and basil ($22). Unfortunately, Jack Tar refuse to do half-half pizzas for the reason being that it's "easier for them." Making a pizza isn't that hard. Seriously. Add a extra surcharge if you have to – although charging more than $22 for a pizza is ridiculous enough anyway.

The pizza arrived at our table in a timely manner (well timely enough for a busy lunch service). The pizza was almost too big to fit in between our plates and our drinks on our table (methinks the tables need to be a bit bigger if you're gonna serve pizza). The mix of ingredients on our pizza were interesting to say the least. Some of the ingredients didn't mesh too well together, therefore the balance of flavours was kind of lacking. The pizza was more on the salty side with the mix of anchovies and goats cheese, and it needed something more robust and punchy on the pizza to balance the saltiness out (the capsicums weren't enough). There was a lack of spinach, and the pine nuts would've been a great addition for texture had the pine nuts been toasted. The pizza had promise, but some tweaking would ultimately be ideal.

The service was pretty straight to the point. No problems, but their paying area – which is located in the middle of the shed – needs to be improved and become better organised.

Verdict - Jack Tar wasn't terrible nor brilliant, and maybe next time I'll have to try something else from their menu to make a more informed decision (although my next visit will have to be sometime later in the future when I'm actually in the country...). Pork belly anyone? I imagine though, that it would be a good place to go for a drink and share food amongst your friend (they have a section in their menu dedicated to meals that you can share with friends).

NB: This is Part I of my two part special on Wynyard Quarter. The next blog will be Part II - Marvel Grill, and hopefully that will be up sometime within the next two to three weeks...