Garlic Bread from Rotherhams Hotel

Rotherham Hotel

42 George St
Rotherham
North Canterbury
New Zealand

https://www.rotherhamhotel.co.nz/

Phone: +643.315.6373 

  

The garlic bread arrived in good time.  The wicker basked is a nice touch - the napkin under neath not so much.  As it was the semi melted garlic butter did manage to drip a bit right through onto it!

The bread itself felt warm to the touch and was very soft outside.  Lots and lots of garlic butter inside - still melting away - so one had to be careful how one broke bread!! 

Lots of flavor and a sprinkling of green herbs complementing said flavor! Surprisingly - there was just enough to eat - and not leaving you full before your main course arrives - or maybe we were just over hungry?! Overall very enjoyable to eat!

 

Presentation	3 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Fat Sally’s Pub & Restaurant in Oamaru

 Fat Sally’s Pub & Restaurant

84 Thames St
Oamaru,
New Zealand

Phone: 03 434 8368

https://www.fatsallys.co.nz/

 

Oh -  this turned out to be almost 100% perfect!  Easy to eat - leaving you wishing for one more bite! Lots of flavour / colour herbs etc! Crusty on the outside / nice soft on the inside! Nice arrangement!

Porcelain Platter - serviette on the side (not underneath as some do) - arriving hot but not too hot and in good time!

The ONLY markdown  - the platter had a tiny little chip at the side - which we only noticed, once we had eaten most of it!! Apart from that - yup - almost perfect!!

Presentation	4.9 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	19.9 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from O'Flynns Irish Pub in Hanmer

O'Flynns Irish Pub

47 Amuri Ave
Hanmer

Tel: 03 3155282
Email: info:oflynns.co.nz

Web: www.oflynns.co.nz


The menu listed this as: 

Garlic Ciabatta (V) $11 

Toasted garlic ciabatta with garlic herb butter

 

 It came out in good time and was still hot to the touch - although I think the arrangement may have suffered during delivery.  Further - seems that everyone these days is using Ciabatta bread as first choice to use! Not sure why that is . . .

Upon closer inspection you could actually see the little garlic bits - having been roasted - on the top!! Sadly - a tiny wee dash of green herbs was absent!  

There were three of us and I wonder if the quantity had been adjusted for that - even with three - there ended up one piece left behind! We should go back as a couple and see if there is less on offer for two!

Certainly plenty of flavor and seemingly genuine butter - although that would go counter to the V - (meaning Vegetarian) listed on the menu. Maybe Margarine or Olive oil was used???  Crispy skin and fleshy soft on the inside - almost perfect! Notable too is the absence of a wooden platter or the usual napkin underneath.

Presentation	4.5 out of 5
Quantity	3.5 out of 5
Taste:	4.5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	17.5 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from Cheviot hotel

Cheviot Trust Hotel

State Highway One
P.O. Box 58
Cheviot
North Canterbury
 

Ph. 03 319 8616

https://www.cheviothotel.co.nz/

 

It was time to treat ourselves again and we bunked down in the little town of Cheviot.  A meal out was part of that treat and we visited the Cheviot Trust Hotel.

The ordered Garlic bread came out with the main meal (after the 2 plates of meal came  out first).  Hmmmm  - OK the  Garlic bread itself was nice and very hot - straight from the oven! Crusty on the outside all-round and soft fleshy on the inside! Plenty of flavor and as you can see, a healthy sprinkling of herbs. The steak knife was useful in cutting it into pieces as it needed a lot of cooling down to handle it.  Given it came with the main meal at the same time - we did have little time to savor it - and ended up leaving some behind.  I did love the plate - so much better then the usual wooden platter. 

Presentation	5 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	18 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the Hurunui Hotel

Hurunui Hotel

1224 Karaka Road, 

State Highway 7, 

Hurunui 7385

Phone: 03-314 2207

www.thehurunuihotel.co.nz/

https://www.facebook.com/hurunuihotel/

 

 We have been there before and enjoyed the meal out and of course - the garlic bread on offer.  See image from Aug 2020

 

 

 

Finding us there at the same venue we of course had to have the garlic bread - and compare notes with 2020's offering

 

 

 

 Two changes were obvious from the beginning - the condiments were a bit different (Do I see some traffic Lights???) 

Then it ended up being a loaf - which was way more then 2 people needed to eat - so we offered some slices to the children to the table next to us.

There was a good smattering of garlic butter and the loaf was still hot to touch! The steak knife was needed to cut through the crust at the bottom - making a bit of a crumby mess - and of course more cut-lines on the timber board! 

Compared to the 2020 offering, I sadly am afraid to say, the standard has dropped a bit! 

Presentation	3 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	3 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	11 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from Cobb & Co in Papanui

Cobb & Co

484 Cranford Street,
Redwood,
Christchurch 8051

www:cobb.co.nz
Phone: 03-595 0265

With these Virus times it is hard to get out and eat out - so there are long breaks in-between reports! 

We did manage to get out recently and sampled a great meal - with the garlic bread included - of course!!!  This arrived in good time, although not steaming hot it was warm enough to hold in your fingers - just!  Cut into 3 pieces each there was plenty to eat, with a feeling of maybe just one more slice would have been either perfect or just over-enough!!  Crusty on the crumb-outside and soft fleshy top and inside.  I could not see any garlic-bits in the "buttery-part" which partially explained the lack of "flavor"

The Bamboo platter looked new - so no cut-lines were visible - which at this stage was a good thing.

Wonder how long that lasts?????? 

Presentation	3 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	1 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	11 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from The Alpine Village Inn in Hanmer

The Alpine Village Inn

10 Jacks Pass Road,
Hanmer Springs 7334

Phone: 03-315 7005

https://www.alpinevillageinn.co.nz/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A l m o s t  perfect.  We take a tiny amount of for the paper napkin underneath the creation which did not suffer during transport.  Crispy crunchy crust - soft fleshy inside - lots of flavor / herbs - on time - with additional condiments.  Well done

Presentation	4.8 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	5out of 5
Overall score:	19.8 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Monteiths Hanmer

Monteith's Brewery Bar
Amuri Avenue,
Hanmer Springs  NZ

Tel 03 315 5133

www.Monteith's Brewery in Hanmer

 

Always good fun to go back to the same place and compare notes - see if there have been any improvements.

Sadly in this case - no dice - so its pretty much the same! At least it has not gone backwards.  A porcelan plate would improve this out of this world! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	18 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from the Hurunui Hotel

 

Hurunui Hotel

1224 Karaka Road, 

State Highway 7, 

Hurunui 7385

Phone: 03-314 2207

www.thehurunuihotel.co.nz/

https://www.facebook.com/hurunuihotel/

It is described as:  The Hurunui Hotel has been serving the community for over 150 years. Built in 1868 it has the longest continuous alcohol license in New Zealand. Located on State Highway 7, it is the perfect place to stop and rest on your journey. Cold beer, wine from our own winery, amazing food and the best coffee around!'

 

 It certainly has seen some changes in its time - some emforced from the earthquakes.  It has a new owner/manager - so we were keen on trying them out for a stay and meal!  

We ordered the garlic bread and it came in good time.  The artistic arangment did not suffer in transit!  As you can see - it is/was a ciabatta bread sliced and liberally sprinkled with herbs. It could have had a teeny weeny bit more garlic flavour.  As there was three of us we had 2 slices each wich was plenty - perhaps one to many for just two people?!

Crusty crust and soft fleshy inards - just the way we like it.  The condiments - needed a explanation - although we had fun guessing them - the far right defintly had honey in it, while the far left was - we think - a garlic infused oil?! The middle is your standard pesto!  Nice additions.

Sadly the timber detracted - especially as we found later that the served hamburgers came on the same platter/timber type (one thing fits all?!) , and as many previous eaters had used knife's to cut their bits of meat etc . . - there were some deep grooves . . . Pity - if this had been on a white porcelan type plate it would have rated very highly indeed.  

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	15 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Cobb & Co in Redwood

 

484 Cranford Street,  

Redwood, 

Christchurch 8051

Tel 03-595 0265 

https://www.cobb.co.nz/menus/

 

 

It has been a long time in-between drinks to visit Cobb Co! The Restaurant chain nearly disappeared from NZ eating scene - and now is making a comeback! There are now 8 stores - oops sorry restaurants to go and eat from!  So when one opened up in Christchurch we made a point of going there!

We did wonder if the quality would be different from the two previous experiences (see links below)

Sadly - the franchise has decided that it needs a wooden platter with serrated knife - which is almost not needed as you can just use your fingers and chomp away.  To cut the bread into slices you have to touch it anyhow - so you get messy fingers one way or the other!  Thus the knife - if used -  leaves deep cutting grooves in the timber - again! At least there is no paper napkin hiding underneath the Garlic bread!

The garlic bread itself as nice and hot and had extremely finely chopped herbs! I suspect that the garlic butter was not home made (industrial strength?? ) 

I could have had some more *flavor* - that's just my personal preference! It was warm - hot and crispy on the outside - soft fleshy on the inside! - so there is a plus! 

Overall we give this a small margin of improvement from the one we had in Dunedin

http://garlic-bread-critique.blogspot.com/2018/04/garlic-bread-from-cobb-co-in-dunedin.html

http://garlic-bread-critique.blogspot.com/2012/06/garlic-bread-from-cobb-co.html

Presentation	1 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	2 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	8 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from the 65 and Dine Gastropub in Twizel

65 and Dine Gastropub Smokehouse

13 Tasman Road,
Twizel 7901

Phone: 03-435 0832

Website www.lunchtime.co.nz/Top-Hut-Bar-and-Bistro/Mackenzie/menu/
Email admin@falstonehospitality.co.nz
https://www.facebook.com/65andDine/

We braved the rain and cold and treated us to a weekend away with our campervan, in Twizel - and naturally we had to sample some of the local cuisine!!  We decided to give the Gastropub a whirl (it looked new???) and promptly ordered the Garlic Loaf as starters (along with the *secret* recipe Garlic Butter!!!)

It promptly arrived and was still warm to the touch.  It is the first time ever in all the years, that we have seen it wrapped in baking paper - especially printed!!

Unwrapping it, you could just smell the *garlic* aroma!  It was cut into thick slices all the way to the bottom - with the steak knife provided for cutting through the very last 2 or 3 mm of crust.  Lots of flavour!! We did miss the sprinkling of green herbs!  The timber plate looked new-ish so not many cut grooves in it yet - they will come though!! Regular readers will know how I feel about these!
It is sold as "a loaf for 2" - and while I am still a moderate big eater - we decided to leave at least one slice behind so as to leave room for our mains - let alone dessert!  :)  I have yet to find a *loaf* small enough to be just right as starters!! 

A big cudos to Rachel in particular who was our waitress and also for the other staff present! It is refreshing to hear the question asked "HOW is your meal?" - an open question - yusssss!! So often we get asked ''Is everything ok?'' - closed question - and the short answer is yes, now go away!!  Ha, I recall the time I said no and the waiter promptly walked away without even asking why not - guess he was not really intrestred in the answer at all!!!

Hmmm how to rate this - ok lets see . . . .

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	3.5 out of 5
Taste:	4.5 out of 5
Quality	4.5 out of 5
Overall score:	16.5 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from Fire and Ice Cafe in Hanmer

Fire and Ice
Cafe - Restaurant - Bar

37 Amuri Avenue,
Hanmer Springs 7334

Phone: 03 315 5006
Email: info@fireandicecafe.co.nz

www.fireandicecafe.co.nz/

There is not a lot to say about this.
One word would summ it up - -  Perfect!!

The arrangment suffered during transportation - for sure - and the bowl on the side contained a lovely cheese sauce/dip.  Lots of flavour / color - no wooden platter or napkin underneath . . .

Yup
A first
Perfect

(Must check and see if this is the highest ever score so far . . . )

Presentation	4.9 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	19.9 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread in Armadillos Restaurant Belfast

 Armadillos Belfast

812 Main North Road
Belfast 8050

Ph 03 323 6126

Email: armadillosnz@gmail.com

www.armadillosrestaurantsnz.com/coming-soon



A new place to eat out in town - and it was our wedding anniversary - so we decided to Armadillos.
It is so new - the website has hardly caught up with it (had to dig for the actual place on the ''master'' site), and is one of many other eateries dotted around the South Island!!

The garlic bread was listed on the menau as:

Garlic Bread
Freshly baked ciabattas loaf smothered in our home made garlic butter



I was not sure how BIG the loaf would be - having had almost some baskeball sized offerings previously.  The size ended up just a fraction to large for two - or right if you were ravenous!!!
It came on a wooden board that was old and well-used - so much so, it made me wonder if this is an old hand-me down!?!?! Not what you would expect from a brand new place!!  We give it a single point as SOME effort was made re presentation. 
As you can see - it is a loaf and was still hot from the oven.  The Steak knife was needed to cut (it was cut and buttered almost all the way to the bottom) through the crust at the bottom - a feat just managed with my hands.  Try cutting a hot loaf with bare hands!!
The crumbs visible at the side turned out to be some sort of rock salt, which we left alone!!
It did have lots of flavour - as I like to say - one you can see!! Lots of freshly cut garlic in it!  




As an aside - closer inspection of the steak knife revealed that it has regularly been washed in a dish-washer.  A big No-no as the timber is suffering and eventually will fail to hold the blade in place.  They ought to be hand washed in clear luke warm water and if at all possible slighty re-oiled to preserve the timber!  This knife clearly showed a loosning of the blade from its tang-hold and will fail soon and thus need replacing - an expense coming  up . . . . . .

Presentation	1 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	10 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the Seabreeze Cafe & Bar in Picton

Seabreeze Cafe &Bar


24 London Quay,
Picton 7220

Tel: 03-573 6136

https://www.seabreezecafe.co.nz/


A outdoor Lunch beckoned - The weather was superb and the al fresco dining was very tempting!  Bonus was the Garlic Bread on the menu
It was advertised as:

Garlic bread (GF option) / 9.50
French stick with fresh garlic butter



Tempting so we placed our orders and waited - not for to long - it arrived in good time! 3 large-is pieces - artistically displayed and NO napkin underneath the Bread - a bonus!  For the first time (from memory) there is a side salad greens on offer - a new trend me thinks!! 







The bread itself was crispy on the outside and still warm to the touch.  You could see the fresh cut Cloves liberally displayed - urm - applied to the bread. Yummy taste and easy to eat!
1.5 slices for each of us - just right

















Just for fun I looked up the website and saw this on it - not what we got - still . . . .

Presentation	3 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	17 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Joe's Garage in Cranford St

Joe's Garage
478 Cranford St
Redwood
Christchurch

Tel 03 352 5637

https://www.joes.co.nz/restaurants/christchurch-cranford-st/menu/


 Firstly - apologies for the quality of the picture!!  My companion was to keen to get stuck into it and earting this sample before I could take a decent enough image.  I can tell you though that the presentation did not really suffer from this - it did come on napkin and wooden board and was just piled up like so. . . .

 The bread itself seemed to be warmed up first then cut and buttered.  The outside was just soft - no crispy crust at all.  This softness then went right throughout the bread.  While it had plenty of garlic flavour - the herbs were missing in action.
It being a franchise you could assume that the quality of the meals are standard across all restaurant.  In this case (having been to three others before) I can say for sure that there are different standards - at least for the garlic bread.  On the upside - lots of room for improvement . . . .

Presentation	0 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	3 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	7 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Bullock Restaurant & Bar in Timaru

Bullock Restaurant & Bar
109 Sophia St, Timaru

FREEPHONE 0800 285 662
http://www.bullockrestaurant.co.nz/

 It was advertized as :

Garlic Loaf

Our locally baked Homestyle loaf smothered in our delicious freshly made Garlic butter

Half: $8 . . . .  Full: $14

So being wise (for once) we asked how big the loaf would be and then decided a half one would do just nicely!!  Just as well as you casn see this was a rather large loaf indeed.
It came in good time and was hot throughout.
Initial recations were along the lines of 'not another DE-constructed loaf' however we soon found out that the additional garlic butter was there for a reason.  The loaf was cut down only so far (about halfway) so after we cut a slice off (4 in total) we were able to add the rest of the butter to the regions where the chef's butter failed to drain down to - making it a deliciously flavoured bread - especially as seeing it was still hot enough to actually melt the butter into the bread texture.   A half loaf is more then enough for two people - especially if you want to eat a proper meal afterwards!!!  Those lucky enough to get the cheese/bacon topping slice had an additional flavor to enjoy.

The wooden board and paper napkin detracted from the presentation.  Oh and I have to say - the "Bread-knife" was of superb quality!!  Best I have seen in a long time - and that is saying something!! *smiles*

To enjoy this - use above details and yes - one has to book or miss out on a table - or wait a long time!





 

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	15 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Donegal House in Kaikoura

Donegal House

Schoolhouse Road
Kaikoura
New Zealand

Tel: +64 3 319 5083

www.donegalhouse.co.nz/


I did wonder if they would! Donegal House is your typical Irish Pub - along with a Motel Unit and some campground! Everything in there is Irish! And it is a busy place!

We did order the Garlic Bread which arrived in good time.  The long baguette had 7 cuts and then made into 2 halves!  There was lots of garlic flavor and a good sprinkling of the obligatory herb!!! It was hot enough and semi crusty on the outside and soft buttery on the inside!  Cudos for adding lots of Garlic butter.
I sent a pic of this to my friend who said no points for presentation! I could live with the wicker basket (as it will not get cut) but the GREEN napkin was definitely some points of!

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from Cafe Phoenix Hof in Vienna

Cafe Phoenix Hof
Neustiftgasse 55,
1070 Wien,
Austria

Tel 0043 (0) 699 1733 1072

http://www.phoenixhof.at/
Email   cafe@phoenixhof.at

It would proof to be our last sampling of Garlic bread while on tour around Europe and - it proved to be a bit fortuitous!  Upon arriving we were told that due to a cut in the gas line - they could only serve food that could be baked - or cold (salads).   Luckily the Garlic bread is oven baked so that was ok.  Although I am not so sure - as you can see the "tan" lines of a grill on the bread.  It came and was still warm to the touch - however we think the garlic was spread on after it has been warmed and not baked/cooked at all - it certainly was a 'fresh' taste (and re-tasting it at 4am). On the upside it was a crispy crusty outside and soft-ish on the fleshy inside part!!  Kudos yet again (must be a European thing) for the plate and no napkin (which always comes separate) presentation.
As the bread was small and was supposed to be for 2 people, we found a bit wanting, and could have had at least one more slice.

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from Pizzeria Bella Italia

Pizzeria Bella Italia
Traunstein Strasse 11
4810 Gmunden
Austria

Tel 0761276763

www.https://www.bellaitalia-gmunden.at/#cat2

We found this delightful little piece of little Italy. Your typical Mum and Pop shop along with sons and who knows how many cousins . . .  It runs mostly as a food delivery service but also has enough seating to dine out.  Our place was right down in line of sight of the Kitchen so could see the hidden sight of what normally goes on - Thus could tell when our Garlic bread would arrive.  I actually saw him make it - a first!!! 
Typical with Pizza places is that you get a pizza base that doubles as bread.  It was pre-baked and then from a bucket - using a knife - liberally smeared on the garlic butter - or was that just straight crushed garlic?!?!?!  It certainly had LOTS of flavor.  Then for a quick 20seconds back into the oven before being served - hot!  I almost wished for another slice!  

Presentation	3 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	15 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from 'Zum Janni' in Treuchtlingen / Germany

Restaurant Stadthalle
Jahnstrasse 14
91757 Treuchtlingen
Germany

Tel (D) 0914201700 

Zum Janni

Email:  info@stadthalle-treuchtlingen.de

We decided to broaden our horizon and see if our European kinsfolk were as passionate about Garlic bread as this Kiwi is!


Seems it is more or less - probably less so then the same.  We found only a few places that actually served Garlic bread as appetizers.  In Treuchtlingen we found this delightful place, run by the Greek Family 'Avgoustis'.  There were certainly a good number of traditional  Greek meals on offer - along with more middle European offerings as well.

To the Bread itself then - as you can see from the image it was done on a grill rather then in an oven - or shock even a microwave herd!! It did arrive about 3 minutes after the main meal was served - we put that down to a busy staff . . . .

It was just warm and easy on the touch.  Kudos for the plate and no napkin!!! Certainly more of a decorative touch there.  4 slices of traditional baguette cut across and liberally sprinkled with Garlic and butter and some herbs.  The Zaziki was a nice touch - but overpowered the garlic flavor of the bread.  Hard to gauge on quantity as we ended up eating it alongside our main meal (pizza) 

Presentation	5 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)