New Zealand's 10 best restaurants

With ingredients like this, how could the restaurants not be good? In New Zealand, as well as rugby fever and plenty of things to do that get the adrenaline pumping, you’ll find some of the world’s freshest seafood, brilliant lamb, grass-fed beef and great vegetables.

It’s a remarkable turnaround. As late as the 1970s, tourists were often heard to say that New Zealand was beautiful, but it appeared to be closed. Restaurants were rare; licensed ones even harder to find. During the weekends, very little was open.

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Food extended to overcooking all that beautiful lamb, and serving it with potatoes and vegetables with the life boiled out of them.

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Since the 1980s, though, the country has changed markedly, and now the focus is on ingredients. “Despite New Zealand being small,” says food blogger, reviewer and comedian Jesse Mulligan (aucklandfoodblog.blogspot.com), “there's still a distinctive regionality to the food, which means the menus change subtly as you head down the country.

Logan Brown buzzes with the afterwork crew.

Fresh and seasonal

"Plump Clevedon oysters about Auckland, fragrant saffron-infusions in the Hawkes Bay, fresh blue cod in the deep south,” Mulligan continues.

Add to that duck and venison in the deep south; lamb, snapper and scallops in the north. It’s also highly seasonal -- and not just because that’s trendy right now.

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It’s because certain things grow at certain times of the year in New Zealand, and since the country is so remote, imported ingredients are expensive. Asparagus arrives in October and is gone by January; Oamaru jersey benneys are ready for Christmas and last until the end of the summer.

The scallop season starts in October and closes on March 31, while the Bluff oyster -- a wild oyster harvested from the freezing cold water around the bottom of the South Island that enjoys a cult status among serious New Zealand eaters -- opens in March and lasts until one million of them are sold, usually by the end of August.

This year, in honor of the Rugby World Cup, they held a few back.

Lamb is juvenile in spring, perfect for fast cooking or grilling, and bigger in winter, just when chefs want to cook it slowly.

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Varietal accompaniments

And at the same time, a very good wine industry has grown up: as well as the sauvignon blanc -- which goes very nicely with those Bluff oysters, just by the way -- the country produces European-ish rieslings and incisive chardonnays as well as savory reds -- syrah from Hawke’s Bay, pinot noir from Central Otago and the Wairarapa.

It all goes very, very nicely with all that produce.

The result? The best kitchens sport chefs with the good sense to not do much with the food. “I love the way New Zealand food has become less self-conscious,” says food writer Natalie Smith (eatherenow.co.nz) who rates buying two dozen oysters off the boat for NZ$20 (US$15) in the Far North as one of her best food experiences.

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“We're not trying to be French, or Italian, or English. We're embracing our wonderful produce and simple, relaxed food is the result.”

Increasingly, the best places to eat in New Zealand are casual and unpretentious -- in Auckland, for example, a big-budget fine-diner hasn't opened in four years.

Instead, the hottest tickets might not take bookings and they won’t cost the earth. Service is friendly rather than formal, but the wine lists are terrific. They treat their ingredients right and they know where they come from. It’s a winning combination.