When news arrived amidst this incredibly rainy winter of a truffle dinner at one of Auckland’s premier establishments - Paris Butter - my dining coals were stoked.
The restaurant has won top hats galore, with Chef Zennon Wijlens reeling in buttery accolades. Though my six-course meal here two years ago was not exactly revelatory, what lingered was the coddled finesse of that evening, and here I was, ready to experience more.
Nestled in a relatively quiet part of town in Auckland’s toniest Herne Bay as compared to CBD’s heavy hitters, which are a pain to travel to, the sweet relief here starts early with much better access and parking.
Was it a nice dinner? Yes, but I derived more enjoyment from a more elaborate and lavishly mounted truffle dinner in Grove in 2020 - a classic Marie Antoinette moment where the rest of the world was dying of Covid, whereas we here in the paradise of NZ were enjoying a truffle dinner.
Chef Wijlens’ speciality is daintily plated, small compositions - the large plate with the small circular well was designed for him. So if you’re of the type with a lusty appetite, happily remember that Auckland is a big place with many hearty options.
As for the size of offerings here, let it be said that not many chefs in Aotearoa can claim to be at the vanguard of gastronomy while simultaneously accomplishing the noble endeavour of guarding your waistline.
What stood out right away was the excellent service and plushly calm ambience - fine-dining in Auckland is half-dead and for those who have casually presided over its demi demise and are considering a return to halcyon times, this is how it’s done.
Vincent, my host for the evening, was one of the best front-of-house professionals I’ve come across in Auckland in recent years.
He was hospitable and charming, took good care of me and had excellent knowledge about the multifarious ingredients in the dishes.
Manager Ben Carmine’s work elevates the restaurant. A bonus is when the gentleman himself, Zennon Wijlens, delivers the dish to your table, complete with the dish description.
The printed menu’s “Presented by” list features Alex, Amelia, Ben, Benny, Blaine, Catherine, Chloe, Davide, Jasper, Liam, Matt, Nick, Ollie, Vincent, Zennon.
In the restaurant’s compact space (it will need a re-design at the back as the semi-exposed kitchen sits opposite the entry to restrooms), black tablecloth now sleekly covers the table, the surface of which was polished wood a few years ago.
The wooden floor has interspersed squares of decorative patterns, while the overall dark colour scheme has pops of colour provided by blue banquette seating to the side and gleaming lighted chandeliers.
The four-course dinner for $ 215 (with hors d'oeuvres and bread offered beforehand) commenced with a triptych of snacks, which were a definite step in the right direction.
A black truffle doppelganger ensconced smooth rich mushroom parfait (the night’s best technical feat) while a snug ceramic nurtured a luxurious creamy soup with shifting shades of umami from cauliflower velouté, tsuyu, and yolk.
If the latter was baby food, they must have reared Superman on this (to their overall credit, the meal featured no Kryptonite).
Truffle Brioche was gorgeous, roasted to glistening perfection and pillowy soft inside, paired terrifically with truffle butter, lovely honey and olive oil.
A further soft landing was achieved with the first course - potato foam, little crispy cuts of kohlrabi and a disc of Jerusalem artichoke roasted into creamy submission.
These tubers were topped with tuber magnatum, whose famed white truffle flavour was resolutely trying to fit into the room’s hushed etiquette, perhaps not having got the dropped brief that this was a night for taking off the veil.
Congee was a sultry, salty porridge, the spoonful perking up when you got a slice of sweet crayfish, along with celeriac rendered two ways - soft, dulcet, earthy cuts and fried shavings sprinkled for bite.
The black truffle in this dish was brought table-side and shaved for seven seconds over the main course, raining dark stippled slices over duck and nasturtium sauce - kindly substituted in place of beef as I have abjured red meat.
The theatre of that performance was better than the taste - the truffle’s mythical flavour left behind somewhere in the vast complex cosmos of terroir.
Three modest slices of duck had a pleasant taste and texture but were not up to the heady standard of Ryan Moore’s Grove and Simon Wright’s French Cafe tasted aeons ago but remembered till this hour.
Fried duck leg confit was very moreish but of minuscule portions, and the overall size of this main course, good appetite or not, was simply too skimpy.
With this final savoury course, what became regrettably clear is that the truffles were of modest flavour and aroma - these are the third round of pretty average New Zealand truffles I’ve experienced after Grove (2020) and Bracu (2024), and a trend seems to be emerging.
Besides, when the marquee player underperforms, the director has to pull out all stops, and that wasn’t exactly the case here.
They shaved white truffle onto the dessert too - but, as you might have guessed, the gustatory enhancement was negligible.
Caramelised banana ice-cream with accents of coconut and white chocolate crèmeux sported an exquisitely focused, chilled flavour to end the meal, with crunch provided by a Chef Wijlens favourite - gingernut tuile.
One sweet I enjoyed that night as much as the main dessert was found in a flat glass vial they gave as a take-home gift. Twas beautifully floral maple syrup - I couldn’t have enough of it!
It came with a menu considerately printed for one’s kind perusal and a sizeable jar of Paris Butter granola - a dozen components were listed, finishing with “love” as the last ingredient.
What redeemed the experience was superior service and hospitality, the elegant, controlled atmosphere and the effect of pleasant food amplified by wine.
The truffles themselves were too reticent, the cuisine in general too coy. Aside from the promising snacks, the four courses disclosed underwhelming technique, mediocre architecture, and unambitious flavour.
Should you go to Paris Butter? Only if you are a true-blue fine-dining enthusiast eager to stay up-to-date.
Those fond of portion size may suffer apoplexy at the table upon dish presentation, to say nothing about the raves ‘n’ rants about the tariffs which would make Donald Trump happy, while Emmanuel Macron may shrug and point to the three times costlier Le Ambroisie or Guy Savoy. Amongst Auckland’s upper-tier chefs, Zennon Wijlens remains the culinary craftsman of petite, whispering compositions.
PARIS BUTTER - TRUFFLE DINNER REVIEW
RATING : 3.5 STARS / 5 (BETWEEN GOOD & EXCELLENT)
RESTAURANT : PARIS BUTTER
CHEF : ZENNON WIJLENS
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by Chow Luck Club or chowluckclub.com. The writer paid for their meal at this restaurant for this review.
