Is it too lowbrow for us to admit that our favourite thing to eat at Anise, one of Auckland’s newest smart-dining restaurants, conjoined with The French Café, is the miniature braised beef rendang pie? This is not your usual out-of-the-warmer pie — as the opening salvo for a meal at Anise (it’s found in the snacks section of the menu), it is perfectly calibrated, marrying New Zealand culinary nostalgia with tasty Southeast Asian flair. Tāmaki Makaurau in a mouthful. 

While the restaurant’s website might describe Anise as “relaxed smart dining”, the word ‘relaxed’ is probably taking it a bit far. There is still a sense of French Café-ness about it — not just because the space itself is substantially similar to how it used to be before it was divided into two restaurants, but also because there are a few menu items in common between Anise and the current French Café (snacks, mainly) and a shared drinks menu. That is not necessarily a criticism. Anise delivers the same high standard of excellence, in terms of both service and food, but in a more accessible form, via an à la carte menu that leans into the Asian accents that Sid at The French Café was known for. You may feel you need to sit up straight, but there’s nothing dainty about this dining. The dishes give you plenty to sink your teeth into. The raw kingfish entrée delivers thick, toothsome slices of fish — a nice change from the thin slivers used in most raw-fish dishes, and the masterstock pork belly with apple and ginger is delightfully sticky and tender. Don’t get us started about the chewy mushroom butterscotch s’more — it may sound unlikely, but it is the perfect little something sweet if you can’t manage a whole dessert.