THE 2008 WINNERS

Congratulations to The General Practitioner who took this year’s title as the 11th Annual Monteith’s Beer & Wild Food Challenge National winner. The judges faced a difficult task in selecting the best of the best; we hope you’ve enjoyed the restaurants’ dishes as much as we have.

While many restaurants impressed, only a select few can win. Click on a region below to see this year's winners.

Auckland Hamilton Thames / Coromandel Tauranga Central Plateau Wellington

Nelson / Marlborough West Coast Christchurch Dunedin Queenstown

Best Spirt & Service - The Pioneer
Best Single Beer & Food Match - The Abbey Bar & Kitchen (1st Course)

THE VILLAGER
Cnr Upland and Remuera Rd,
Remuera,
Auckland
PH: (09) 523 3505
12noon-Late MON-FRI, 10am-late SAT/SUN

Bush-Pig Boil-Up
Roasted wild pork & watercress sausage wallowing in smoked pork hock & baby winter vegetable broth with kumara sour-dough.
Matched with: Monteith's Pilsner

THE ABBEY BAR & KITCHEN
510 Great South Rd,
Greenlane,
Auckland
PH: (09) 524 6190
From 11.30-3pm, 5.30-10pm MON-SAT

Dish 1 – Enzcargot
NZ snail & Kahurangi blue ravioli, spinach & sundried tomato puree with lemon walnut chutney.
Matched with: Monteith's New Zealand Lager

Dish 2 – Addictive Game
Smoked pigeon with duck liver & wild mushroom risotto, ginger reduction & baby veg medley.
Matched with: Monteith's Pilsner Beer

Best Spirt & Service - Canvas Restaurant & Bar
Best Single Beer & Food Match - Granite Restaurant & Bar (1st Course)

THE REDOUBT BAR & EATERY MATAMATA
48 Broadway,
Matamata
PH: (07) 888 8585
11am-9pm MON-FRI, 9.30am-9pm SAT/SUN (Kitchen Hours)

Reely Smokin’!
Horopito rubbed manuka smoked eel with feijoa, green tomato pikopiko chutney & toasted kelp seasoned Maori bread.
Matched with: Monteith's Radler

ONEZB RESTAURANT
20 Alma St,
Hamilton
PH: (07) 838 3718
11.30-2.30 lunch WED-FRI, 6-late dinner MON-SAT

Dish 1 – Freaked Tuna
Battered paua & kelp furikaki rubbed tuna with celeriac & preserved lime remoulade.
Matched with: Monteith's Radler

Dish 2 – The Silence of the Lambs
Goat shank braised with Kaitaia fire & manuka honey with smoked bacon, cress & kumara mash.
Matched with: Monteith's Celtic

Best Spirt & Service - Kopu Station Hotel
Best Single Beer & Food Match (joint winners) - The Fireplace and Salt Restaurant and Bar (1st Course)

PEPPERTREE RESTAURANT & BAR
31 Kapanga Rd,
Coromandel
PH: (07) 866 8211
10.30am-9pm DAILY

Dish 1 – Hangi Pate
Pohutukawa honey roasted earth vege pate with homemade bread (vegetarian)
Matched with: Monteith's Pilsner

Dish 2 – Flat Broke Gold Digger
Panfried Firth flounder, gold nuggets with McGregor Bay salad.
Matched with: Monteith's New Zealand Lager

Best Spirt & Service - Bravo Café / Restaurant
Best Single Beer & Food Match - Mount Bistro (1st Course)

THE PORCH KITCHEN & BAR - WAIHI
23 Wilson Rd,
Waihi Beach
PH: (07) 863 1330
4-Late TUES-SAT

Skippy in the Pouch
Kangaroo slow cooked in rich Monteith’s gravy with maraschino cherries in damper pastry.
Matched with: Monteith's Winter Ale

MOUNT BISTRO
6 Adams Avenue,
Mt Maunganui
PH: (07) 575 3872
5.30pm – TUES- SUN

Dish 1 – Black Gold
Rich flourless chocolate chilli cake, black rice pudding, sesame tuille & spheres of blackberry coulis.
Matched with: Monteith's Black

Dish 2 – Wild About New Zealand
West Coast whitebait, BOP scampi, Cantabrian rabbit, Southland goat gelled together with a ribbon of NZ Lager.
Matched with: Monteith's New Zealand Lager

Best Spirt & Service - Loading Ramp
Best Single Beer & Food Match - Four Fish Restaurant & Bar (1st Course)

PLOUGHMAN’S RESTAURANT & BAR
45 Charles Cres.,
Taupo
PH: (07) 377 3422
11am-late MON-FRI, 9.30am-late SAT/SUN

Manuka Ma-Tuna
Manuka smoked wild yellowfin tuna with horopito spiced potato & manuka honey & lime reduction.
Matched with: Monteith's Radler

LOADING RAMP
6 Treachers Lane,
Havelock North
PH: (06) 877 6820
From 6pm MON-SAT

Dish 1 – Nads On the Trot
Lambs foot broth garnished with mountain oysters.
Matched with: Monteith's Pilsner

Dish 2 – Nanny Gets Porked in the Paddy Field
Wild goat wrapped in bacon, stuffed with mushrooms & blue cheese, served with wild rice, carrots & horopito demi-glaze.
Matched with: Monteith's New Zealand Lager

Best Spirt & Service - Monteith’s Brewery Bar - Khandallah
Best Single Beer & Food Match (joint winners) - Coyote Street Bar & Restaurant and The Tasting Room (1st Course)

MONTEITH’S BREWERY BAR - KHANDALLAH
Cnr of Ganges Rd & Agra Cres.,
Khandallah
PH: (04) 479 4157
11am-11pm MON-THURS, 11am-12am FRI/SAT, 10am-11pm SUN

The Three Little Pigs
A trio of Wild Pig, sourced by the Big Bad Wolf. There is no fairytale ending in this recipe, not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!
Matched with: Monteith's Pilsner

THE GENERAL PRACTITIONER
Cnr Willis and Boulcott Sts,
Wellington
PH: (04) 499 6001
7 Days, 7 Nights

Dish 1 – Potted Pigeon With Nettle Butter
Pigeon & giblets braised in wild stock & black beer, shredded & set in nettle butter, served with grilled black beer bread.
Matched with: Monteith's Black

Dish 2 – Bouillabaisse – Fish Soup
Our interpretation of the Marseilles fish soup using conger eel, crayfish, crab, monkfish & John Dory.
Matched with: Monteith's Golden

Best Spirt & Service - House Of Ales
Best Single Beer & Food Match - House Of Ales (2nd Course)

PLAN B BAR & CAFÉ
7 Alma Lane.
Nelson
PH: 546 6479
11am-2.30 Lunch MON-FRI, 12-2.30 Lunch SAT, 5-9.30 Dinner

Dish 1 – Hungry Bushman
Venison carpaccio rubbed with horopito & kelp on watercress salad with crispy capers & kumara wafers, drizzled with raspberry infused vinaigrette.
Matched with: Monteith's Original

Dish 2 – Jumping Swagman
Kangaroo in Australian prosciutto with alpine pepper on pumpkin, macadamia & wattle seed tartlet with buttered vegetables, vanilla infused game jus & blueberry reduction.
Matched with: Monteith's Golden

Best Spirt & Service - Karamea Village Hotel
Best Single Beer & Food Match - Karamea Village Hotel (2nd Course)

KARAMEA VILLAGE HOTEL
Cnr Waverley St & Wharf Rd,
Karamea,
West Coast
12noon-3pm MON-SUN, 5.30-8pm SUN / 5.30pm–8.30pm DAILY

Dish 1 – Kahurangi Kai Moana
Warm terrine of paua, smoked whitebait, mussels & fish with beer sabayon.
Matched with: Monteith's Radler

Dish 2 – Ode to Barry Crump
Braised wild pork in watercress broth with koromiko dumplings.
Matched with: Monteith's Pilsner

Best Spirt & Service - Sevanti Restaurant & Bar and Red Jacks
Best Single Beer & Food Match - Sticky Fingers (1st Course)

MERRIN ST CAFÉ
210 Withells Rd,
Avonhead,
Christchurch
PH: (03) 358 8184
10am-10pm DAILY

Kiwi Kai
New Zealand Nelson scallops sautéed with lemon, fennel seed oil, karengo salsa, piko piko & smoked kelp tuille.
Matched with: Monteith's Radler

MA MAISON RESTAURANT & BAR
6 Rue Balguerie,
Akaroa
PH: (03) 304 7668
5.30-late DAILY

Dish 1 – Canned Quail, Kiwi Style
Volcanic hay smoked quail, barbecued in a can served with beetroot organic plum & pomegranate relish.
Matched with: Monteith's New Zealand Lager

Dish 2 – Too Stuffed To Trott
Wild pork trotter stuffed with South Island feral rabbit, served with ureneka sweet potato rosti, & poached saffron pears.
Matched with: Monteith's Pilsner

Best Spirt & Service - Princes On Dowling Restaurant
Best Single Beer & Food Match - Relish Restaurant at The Mercure Hotel Dunedin (1st Course)

BARAKAH BAR & TAPAS
12 The Octagon,
Dunedin
PH: (03) 477 3776
10am-late DAILY

Eel Be Right, Don’t Be Shellfish, Paua to the People
Potted eel & pickled paua with rewena bread crostini & shell fish tangine.
Matched with: Monteith's Radler

HIGH TIDE WATERFRONT RESTAURANT
29 Kitchener St,
Dunedin
PH: (03) 477 9784
6pm-late TUE-SUN

Dish 1 – Feral Feed
Wild game terrine with a slow cooked rabbit leg & quince tarte Tatin.
Matched with: Monteith's Golden

Dish 2 – Bush Boil Up
Roasted venison, malted yams, toasted macadamia nuts & a ‘boil up’ of bones & greens.
Matched with: Monteith's Black

Best Spirt & Service - Sargoods Restaurant and Surreal Bar & Restaurant
Best Single Beer & Food Match - Botswana Butchery (2nd Course)

GUILTY BAR & RESTAURANT
Ballarat St,
Queenstown
PH: (03) 409 2178
12pm-2am DAILY

The Salty Old Sea Cod
Blue cod brined in Monteith’s ale on a pumpkin & Braeburn rosti garnished with pickled fennel salad & saffron oil.
Matched with: Monteith's Radler

LOMBARDI RESTAURANT AT GRANT MERCURE ST MORITZ
10-18 Brunswick St,
Queenstown
PH: (03) 4424990
6-10pm Dinner DAILY

Dish 1 – The Jerk of Hare
Seared wild hare loin with moimoi gnocchi, puha pesto & wild venison jerky.
Matched with: Monteith's Celtic

Dish 2 – O-Thar-Go
Bush spiced alpine thar with wild pork hock pie, watercress, autumn nuts & crab apple compote.
Matched with: Monteith's Black