Vodka Room

After a couple of years of walking by and always being curious about a place seemingly so aptly named, had a short visit just for late night, post-event drinks before they closed. As such, only got to browse a vodka spread that I never knew existed and a few cocktails, but the sample still left me intrigued for a further food review some other day. From the front and back room alone, it was completely decked out in what I would have thought was almost stereotypically Russian with the gold and crystal decor. Looked like they might have some side rooms too; I hadn't confirmed. So for now, can't give it a lower rating given wasn't anything to discourage other than expected price.

Came by with some friends who recommended the place. It wasn't too busy when I arrived but it did pick up later in the night. After getting a table we got menus and had a look. The waiter was very helpful and did have quite a few recommendations, some of which were also recommended by my friends. We shared 5 plates of food as well as all of the desserts. Most of the dishes that we got were really good but there were a few like the borsch which weren't that nice. The Shashilk (skewers) were nice, I thought that the beef was better than the pork one. It was the Plov with the crispy lamb chops which was the winner of the night although the vareniki (potato and cheese dumplings) were a very close second. The desserts didn't sound too appealing for me since I'm one of those who just love chocolates and sugar. I was pleasantly surprised at the sour cream mousse. It wasn't overly sweet but also not overly sour and the Black Russian Jelly giving it a nice punch. The pavlova was also quite interesting but tasted too much of coffee for me. A really nice place for a relaxing dinner with really good service and food.

Delicious Russian food complimented with a range of vodka based original and standard cocktails. If you like your dumplings, then the Vareniki are worth trying - a potato variety topped with truffle butter and herbs. The confit octopus was both tasty but tender with fresh tomatoes, radish and pickled onions. The Porizhki was filled with deliciously braised cabbage and the bread was light, fluffy and crunchy - together with the spicy chutney. The Plov was full of flavour and the lamb was well spiced and cooked.

The first you will be impressed by how smart the restaurant's space is organised and Vodka Room is definitely one of standout interior design restaurant in Auckland, everyone and any occasions can find their perfect sport there. After you admire the place for a while, you will see something a little bit different with Russian twist on the Menu! I would highly recommend trying pancakes with crab meat, caviar with black bread, flatfish and shashlik. By the way, I am pretty sure these guys have on the biggest vodka collection in Auckland, maybe in NZ, so you definitely should give to try, because it serves in some chilled shots and have some pickles or black bread with caviar and you would never leave this place!