Scarlett Slimms & Lucky

Overview

Scarlett Slimms & Lucky may not be the easiest name to roll off the tongue but the new arrival has certainly given a bright new life to the former home of the Eden Cloak Room. Gone are the dark innards, the cramped outdoor area and Nana’s plates on the wall. In turn, they’ve been replaced with crisp, inviting and neutral colour scheme, a larger courtyard and the image of a girl etched into the concrete wall.

The newly configured outdoor area is a major bonus. The plentiful use of hanging planters give off whiffs of a classy garden bar, all while staying true to a modern gastropub with leaners and bench seating. It also comes equipped with overhead heating to graciously step in for the sun on cloudy days. Inside, the open kitchen gives you a glimpse behind the scenes while you’re at one of the long tables. The subtle theme of film noir runs throughout. The menus are disguised as crime novels and follow sections including Prequel (Breakfast) and Chapters 1 through 8, which cover starters, mains, desserts, sides, drinks and so on. There are classics with twists, including calamari with the addition of chorizo and papaya ($14), and fish (snapper) and chips with soft shell crab and pea tartare ($28), as well as dishes you wouldn’t typically expect on a pub menu - salmon sashimi, haloumi terrine and hot house tomato with Maori potatoes. The hand cut kumara chips are a must, they're generous in size and come with mushroom hollandaise.

Aside from your commonplace list of wine and beer, drinks are largely gin-based, with 28 varieties and counting lining the spirits shelf. The menu comes with a handful of cocktails under the gin umbrella, including suggestions of which brand to roll with. They're also bringing back the form of 'shrub' drinks, the 17th and 18th century concoction that involves preserving fruit in liquor. Slimms' options are set to change seasonally.

On the weekends, live jazz fills the courtyard and the breakfast menu comes into full force. And, if you’re not sure where to find Scarlett Slims in the Mt Eden Village, their booming florescent neon sign will direct you (and possibly some incoming aircraft) from a few miles away.