Auckland's best restaurants this minute

I'm often asked which Auckland restaurant is best. The answer changes all the time and is only definitively decided once a year in the Metro awards. But I can give you a pretty good list on any day of the week.

Pictures from SIDART tasting

Some of my more glamorous friends, acquaintances and admirees gathered at SIDART in Ponsonby last night for an inaugural AFB wine tasting with in-house sommelier Marie Colosimo. We tried eight different wines, comparing New Zealand and French versions of bubbly, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and gewurztraminer, the sauv and the pinot being accompanied by canapes created by the multi award winning Sid Sahrawat in the kitchen. I know. You sort of had to be there and, if you weren't, below are some pictures of all the fun we had.

Where to go next date night

Sidart is a newish restaurant in Ponsonby which even a lot of foodies don't yet know about. After my first visit in November I described it in the New Zealand Herald as possibly the greatest meal I've ever eaten. Unaccountably, this plug failed to fill the restaurant's reservations book as I had anticipated so here I am again, having just eaten my second meal there, pleading you to please visit immediately.