Restaurant Review: Orbit

We went to this restaurant for the occasion of my father's birthday. It is part of the Sky City complex, and located on a revolving floor just below the observatory deck of the Sky Tower. My husband and I were expecting it to be hideously expensive (to catch those tourist dollars) and somewhat pretentious. You know, huge plates, small servings and no extras. I must say we were pleasantly surprised.

The first thing about the restaurant is that they operate two sessions: from 5:30 and 7:30. We had only been able to get into the 5:30 session, but upon reflection decided this would be nice as we would get to see the sun set over the city. It was indeed an enjoyable experience to have one revolution around the city in daylight, and a second with all of the lights twinkling.

Although we did ask for some time to peruse the wine list, we didn't dally over choosing our main courses. After all, we were on a schedule. We were somewhat surprised by how long it took the waiting staff to ask for our orders. The wait for dinner was neatly concealed by the presentation of bread rolls and butter. On to the meals themselves. I was pleased to see a special section on the menu dedicated to duck, and I opted for the "Trio", which included a small selection of each. In order of yumminess (saving the best till last), the selections were a spring roll, filled pasta shells, and a roasted breast on mango salsa. I enjoyed the variety immensely, and everything was well cooked. I also partook of some of the side dishes we had ordered for the table - some broccolini, sauteed potatoes and a few fries - which were all quite good. The rest of my companions, predictably, ordered the steak, which was well received by all (except that my sister's portion was a bit tiny compared to the others, and my mother's steak a bit too rare).

When the staff delivered the dessert menus, we were already at our deadline of 7:30. But no-one seemed to want to rush us, and we noticed that several other tables were continuing on undisturbed as the next round of guests arrived. The men at our table ordered a selection of icecreams with a nutty caramel topping, and the ladies (myself included) a tower of berries in pastry, on a white chocolate slab, which was in turn on a slice of lemon cake. The whole thing was doused in a lemoncello sauce, and was accompanied by a dark chocolate wand. I have to say it was a lovely mix of flavours. I found the pastry tower a bit bland and passed it over to Dad, but otherwise the dessert was a lovely finish to the meal.

So in conclusion, I would recommend Orbit for an occasional treat. The prices, though high as we expected, were helped along a bit in our minds by the complementary bread rolls, free ride up the tower, and discounted parking. The staff were helpful and attentive (once we had ordered our meal). The food itself was generally of a very high standard. And the views over our lovely city were priceless.

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