Find more restaurant reviews with our Google map. Auckland has a new darling and her name is Roxy. It rhymes with foxy and that's how I felt being swept up the stairs to the upper level bar and dining area of Imperial Lane's fine dining restaurant. The design of the space is enough to take your breath away and not because it is grandiose in any way but because of its elegant, urban feel. At the top of the stairs you're surprised with a rooftop courtyard, open to the skies and the neighbouring buildings - a simple bar, set against the wall, and a dining space that seems to sit, suspended, among a constellation of spherical pendant star-like lights.
Plush black suede armchairs sit around generously proportioned square tables. As we were seated, a sense of joyfulness overcame me - I felt like I was embarking on a new adventure.
Roxy shows her fine dining side without any hint of stuffiness. Instead it's all about the attention to detail and service that is so smooth that you feel like you belong there. The wait staff showed us such personal attention throughout the evening that when I caught sight of our main waiter serving another table, I almost felt he was cheating on us! Heading up the kitchen at Roxy is ex-Matterhorn chef Sean Marshall.
When our entrees arrived we gasped. A plate of bomba rice, that infinitely glorious paella rice that sucks up liquid, supported two perfect rounds of poached crayfish.
If you enjoy the musky sweetness of a lobster bisque then you will love this dish. It came served with a separate plate of green grapes, sharp almond curd and verjuice sorbet, designed to cleanse, but not erase, the richness of the rice dish. Our other starter, boned rabbit from Marlborough, was artfully combined with candied carrots, slivers of soft shitake and a sweet sherry emulsion.
