EAT > Bloody Mary’s, Christchurch NZ (13/20)

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Christchurch is a little quiet on the Sunday night that we make our way to ‘Bloody Mary’s’ its been recommended for good food, a pleasant ambience, its Bloody Mary’s and that it was actually open on a Sunday evening!

Its located in the Ridges Hotel and when you walk in it feels a lot like a classic American Steak House, comfortable seating, dimmed lighting, dark leather booths and on the far side of the restaurant a cocktail bar that feels like a classic US sports bar. Its all very comfortable with out a lot of polish.

We of course started with a Bloody Mary which our server told us was quite spicy actually for our palate it was pleasant but could have had a bigger hit of chilli (no complaint though). Given this is NZ not the US the spirit pour is exact rather than overly generous but again it was a really nice drink.

The food menu was featuring steak and there were a couple of larger special steaks on the menu, served with a choice of sauce and choice of potato.

We started with an entree of bacon and steak tartare. The bacon was thick cut, dry cured and soaked in maple sauce (100 grams) shared between us it was delicious in that bad for you way! The black angus beef steak tartare was good there was crunch and acid from the mix of the cornichons and pickles, the egg held it together and the toasted rye was a perfect crunch to serve it on. It was also served with a black garlic butter which honestly felt a bit weird and lost on the plate. Similarly the cheese and parsley were a little unnecessary – it felt a bit like the chef who made the dish didnt like to eat raw meat so was covering it up but maybe that is unfair – proportions were all good and the seasoning was perfect.

The steaks were excellent served with a small side of sauce I ordered the béarnaise and Angie had the truffle peppercorn mustard.

For those not in the mood for steak there are a couple of other options including a wild venison striploin served with puffed grains, kumera, shiitake mushroom and blackberry jus ($45), a pan fried Akaroa salmon with a citrus & saffron veloute, diamond clams and salt baked celeriac ($44). There is a confit pork belly which does sound good with puffed crackle, green apple, black pudding and grain mustard jus ($42) and for vegetarians there is a cauliflower and truffle risotto ($38).