St George's Review by Jeni Schroff

St Georges Restaurant editorial
10 Septemer 2008

Cuisine page

Half way between Hastings and Havelock North lies a restaurant that is uniquely Hawke’s Bay with a bit of international flair. The romantic setting coupled with Wil’s culinary expertise has proved a winning combination for the southern European and Mediterranean style restaurant,
St Georges was named runner up in the Hawke’s Bay Signature Dish awards in 2007 and this year, the local gem received the Lamb & Beef award for the third year in a row.  But he’s not stopping there – Wil’s at it again for the 2009 Lamb & Beef title.
He’s currently perfecting the new spring menu complete with a fabulous Angus prime beef dish that he’s confident with win over the Lamb & Beef judges and diners alike again this year.
Without giving away any of Wil’s well-kept secrets, the prime beef is accented with hints of saffron and thyme and he’s sure his creative flair and European culinary experience, coupled with great Hawke’s Bay ingredients can gain him yet another year’s honour.
“I like to cook, but you have to be creative and complete the dish with the right ingredients to give it a full and finished flavour,” Wil says.
The spring menu, which will debut at St Georges Restaurant on 13 September, in conjunction with the start of the HB Signature Dish competition this year, features lots of Wil’s most popular dishes along with some new plates to showcase some of the Bay’s best in ingredients with a bit of Wil’s famous flair.
Popular St George signature dishes, such as Escargots de Bourgogne (Burgundy snails), terrine of sweetbread and pistachio and the sous vide cooked rack of lamb complete with sautéed sweet bread and smoked toungue will remain on the new seasonal menu along with the dessert favourite Belgium chocolate tart, but locals will have to stop in soon to see the complete list of spring offerings created by the masterful chef, himself.
St Georges Restaurant is open for lunches, dinners and private functions. With a full range of New Zealand and specially imported wines on offer and an unbeatable setting, if you haven’t been to St Georges yet, it’s high time.
St Georges is open six days for lunch from 12pm, Wednesday through Monday and dinner is served from 6pm throughout the week excluding Sundays and Tuesdays.