The Church Bistro

It was almost dark when we came out of Church Bay, so we simply had dinner at the nearest HAHEI BEACH. I didn't expect that such a small place would hide a perfect restaurant: Church Restaurant. As the name suggests, the restaurant was renovated from an old small church in 1916, and the renovation was quite successful. The church's porch, arch, doors and windows were perfectly preserved. The walls were decorated with just the right photos and porcelain plates. The white lines separated and connected the solemn church red above and the natural and simple wood color below. The same wooden dining table and black back chairs made the whole color scheme simple and coordinated. The restaurant's specialty turned out to be Mediterranean Tapas, which is rarely seen in New Zealand, so I didn't think much about it and ordered Tapas variadas directly. Tapas should be exquisite and rich. Different tapas gathered together, I think it will be visually impressive. The boss came to greet us personally. He was a very enthusiastic Frenchman (I have never met an unenthusiastic one). He came from the south of France, which is very close to Spain. He could speak Spanish. When he heard us say Tapas variadas and wanted seafood as the main dish, he agreed. After a while, garlic bread and many appetizers were served, as well as super delicious jamon, which is my favorite. Fortunately, I didn’t tell the boss that I wanted seafood only, otherwise I would have missed it. Look, the boss immediately came to explain attentively, and served these first. Next, I told the kitchen that all will be seafood! It was indeed a feast of seafood. In order to make the prawns taste good, a little bit of chili was added. The spicy taste was integrated into the chewy feeling, which was very refreshing. The shells were not sandy, clean and fresh, and the soup below was quite delicious. The bread served with the meal was all used to dip in the soup. The silver cod was also fried to taste, which completely locked the tenderness of the fish meat. The most amazing thing was the mussels served at the end. From south to north, I have tried many mussels from New Zealand, and the taste has never disappointed me. But after trying this one, you will know that there is really no best, only better. The roasted mussels actually retain more juice than the steamed ones? This is equivalent to subverting my understanding of mussels again. The mussels here are huge and plump, which is the best quality we have ever seen. Coupled with the Chef's profound culinary evolution, it is perfect, so I must say, This is the best mussel I've tasted until now, felicitaciones, Chef!