Overview
Auckland's dining scene is ever-evolving, changing and growing — and with different tastes, recipes and inspirations, diners are seeking variety for their dinner dates, quick lunches and long Sunday brunches. Pop-up eateries have become the perfect way to keep up with global trends and the creative pursuits of innovative chefs.
One of these growing trends is the minimal waste menu — and to answer this call came pop-up restaurant Forest. The brainchild of plant-based chef Plabita Florence, Forest's philosophy is to highlight wild plants that are literally overgrown throughout the city and to utilise underrated parts of produce that are normally destined for the bin. After two years popping up with authentic Mexican tacos and breakfast sammies, the restaurant has found a permanent home.
Ellen J Hemmings.
Located at 177 Symonds Street in Eden Terrace, the intimate restaurant stays true to the vision first set out with the pop-up. Chef Florence has a strong belief that she has a responsibility to run Forest in a way that is respectful of our environment. As such, the team forages what they can from around the city and sources the rest of the ingredients from urban farms and growers — all as local as possible. Previous tasting menus have featured intriguing ingredients like bitter weeds, seaweed mayo, monkey apple jam and cider made with crab apples found on the streets of Western Springs.
As the menu is heavily inspired by what is growing nearby, it reflects the seasonality of nature. What you find available one day may not be still on offer next week. This fluidity is likely to be a significant part of Forest's identity, bringing in diners looking to experience something new. For this reason, there is no menu available. Forest offers a three-course set menu for $55 per person. Each table is allocated one hour and 45 minutes, due to the size of the restaurant — there's room for 16 diners at a time. Forest can also cater for allergies, intolerances and dislikes as long as they are informed ahead of time.
A unique offering in a unique manner, Forest's new permanent home is sure to keep them busy.
Find Forest at 177 Symonds Street, Eden Terrace. It's open Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm. For more information, visit whatisforest.com.