Dec 2, 2019 Restaurants
Acclaimed chef Michael Meredith will open his first restaurant in two years in Britomart, amidst a regeneration for the precinct.
Michael Meredith, described by Metro in 2017 as “one of the most hard-working, exacting and charitable chefs in the game” is set to open a new restaurant in Britomart in mid-2020, two years after the closure of his fine-dining restaurant Merediths.
Merediths was open for ten years and shut its doors in late 2017. Over the decade it received acclaim for its contribution to redefining what New Zealand cuisine is with inventive use of local, sometimes unfashionable, ingredients. “This is a restaurant you’re likely to leave feeling replete and complete, and undoubtedly a little in awe,” Metro’s 2017 five-spoon Restaurant of the Year review said of Merediths. The restaurant also took out Best Fine Dining restaurant in 2016.
For the last two years, the Samoan-born Meredith has been involved in food consultancy roles with social enterprise Eat My Lunch, Miele and other overseas work. The time off has allowed Meredith to dream up “a really interesting proposition for returning to the restaurant business.”
Meredith is remaining tight-lipped on details, but conveys it will be very different from his previous venture. “This won’t be a fine-dining space,” he says, “but a more casual and approachable restaurant that celebrates the quality of New Zealand and Pacific produce.”
The new restaurant will move into Café Hanoi, while Café Hanoi will move to the space currently occupied by the nightclub 1885 on Galway Street. Café Hanoi owners Tony McGeorge and Krishna Botica are also opening a brand-new eatery in the basement of what will be the new Café Hanoi.
All restaurants spaces are being designed by Cheshire Architects, who are also behind the design of The Hotel Britomart, a 10-floor, 104-room hotel opening on the corner of Gore and Galway Streets, also in mid-2020.
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