Thoughtful food and drinks in an intimate setting has always been the drawcard at Solera, owned by Nick Potts and Chloe Ashman. Now, with the new appointment of David Bryson as head chef, we’re seeing a shift to more approachable dishes. But David isn’t new here, having worked under former executive chef Neil Sapitula for the last three years.
We sat down with David to hear about his journey in the kitchen and what he’s bringing to the table.
How did you come to work at Solera?
I worked with Nick at Clarence in Tauranga [who was managing the bistro at the time], where I was chef de partie and, later, sous chef. When I started looking for something new, I heard Nick was starting Solera, so we met up.
Before Clarence, I was at home in England, working around the south-west at a few different Michelin star places: The Manor House in Castle Combe and Whatley Manor in Malmesbury. My parents live around there now, but I was born in Buckinghamshire.
What’s the vision for Solera now you’re in charge?
We’ll keep the same sharing style, which is fairly casual. Just share-based tasty food. We’ll lose a bit of the Asian touch we had with Neil, as his background was south-east Asian, but there will still be a few of those flavours here and there, just a lot more subtle.
We’re pretty fluid with the menu at Solera, so we will continue to change it when things pop up in season.
What are you bringing to the table?
I like cooking quite a lot of fresh stuff: more produce-based and good seasonal ingredients… fresh flavours rather than curry pastes. An example would be the cured and smoked Trevally, where we’re using watercress for the sauce, which is fresh and herb-based. Whereas before we might have used something like a curry sauce.
What are some standouts on the new menu?
The flatbread is a new one for us. We’ve never made bread in-house before, but have the facilities to do that now.
The celeriac, a root vegetable, is like a potato, but it’s very aromatic and nutty and goes well with other earthy flavours. We bake it in the oven, then grill it, so it’s like a celeriac steak. It comes with a mushroom mousse and a hazelnut thyme pesto. It all works together.
The other favourite for me is the venison tartare, a classic with sherry dressing and warm egg yolk on top. The pork scotch fillet with pork scratchings and mustard glaze will also be a crowd pleaser, which uses puffed grains to make a granola-style crackling.
What do you love about the Mount?
Good weather. Good lifestyle. It’s laid back. I thought I’d live in New Zealand for a year, and I’m coming up on six years. I also love its proximity to getting out into different terrain and areas easily.
Where do you eat along Mount Mainstreet?
I go a lot to Palace Tavern just for a burger: my go-to order is the Hoedown. And I go to Alpino, as I know Scott Rowand the head chef. I also love to hit up MeXa when they’re doing pop-ups around here.
What do you love about Solera?
Good food. Good wine. The sharing aspect of it all. It’s casual, but it’s not the fancy fast food many other casual restaurants are doing.
Solera
165 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 4pm – midnight
