Pumice- Deli, Bistro and Bar

On what initially began as the celebration of the Birth of Annabel Walsh, turned out to be the birth of oh so much more- an urge to blog about the almost greatest thing known to humankind: FOOD. (Not to put you in second place behind food or anything Annabel...and don't ask me what the greatest thing known to humankind is because, well that's very debatable!) I begin writing this blog on the third day of the 19 day long Baha'i Fast. (For more info see http://info.bahai.org/article-1-4-7-2.html.) If you can't eat food, write about it instead.

The 27th of February 2010 saw the emergence of my new love of criticizing food. Ever since I was born I've been told that I'm a complainer, bossy and highly organized, so I though it was about time I put those skills to use! I'm also generally quite an observant person and I find myself constantly thinking of ways almost anything could be improved. Not that I actually do anything to improve those things but I say to myself things like 'I wish that...', 'If this didn't have....then it would amazing'. I blame these views on the attitude that society has formed around me, yes society, you are being blamed again.

To assess a restaurant I will use the following criteria:

Presentation (of meal and staff)

Taste

Service

Price

Layout of restaurant

Pumice restaurant is located at 62 Church Road, Hamilton and regards itself as 'The complete food experience. It's a deli, a bistro, a bar'.

At Pumice I ordered the Rigatoni Pasta (with added smoked chicken) dish located under the Pastas and Soups (Entrees) part of the Menu. Once it was served to me, which took quite a long time,it actually looked rather apetizing. We all arrived just before 8pm to find a large dinner function and a few other groups of people dining at the restaurant, had ordered by 8.15pmish but didn't receive our drinks until around 9, with our food shortly following. Slow, yeah enough said for Service they get a 3/5. It would only be a two if they didn't have to deal with us breaking a glass when exiting and the friendly girl who wished Annabel a 'Happy Birthday' at the counter. The pasta itself was cooked really well, although I, like the other girls at the table initially struggled to find the actual chicken that was added to our pastas and salads. Considering we paid an extra $3 or so for it, it was kinda disappointing that we had to jokingly but rightfully question where the heck it was.

The meal (excluding beverages) cost me around $23. This is a reasonable price for a restaurant of its supposed reputation, however it was only an Entree meal. The mains ranged approximately around the $30-$45 mark. For price I therefore give Pumice a 2.5/5 as it was overpriced for what you got. Overall the pasta was kind of bland, but because I don't like too far out flavours it was satisfying in its own regard. The only thing I would like to seriously question is the over use of canned tomatoes in my dish, I was left with a mushy plate full of them. For taste I give a 3/5, it was yummy but a meal I could have probably made at home- thus defeating one of the purposes of a restaurant outing.

My meal however was, presented very nicely on a triangle shaped plate which intrigued us all and I give an overall 4/5 for presentation. Pumice loses a few points for the seemingly slow waitor who then was switched a few times with a waitress who I don't think genuinely cared how our meals were when she began sort of walking away before she even finished the question of if we are enjoying our meals. Last but not least the layout of the restaurant. To put it nicely, I liked it. Situated on the hill in Te Rapa overlooking some industrial area, The Base and the grass for new housing developments...it surprisingly looked nice through the open glass windows and the backdrop of a nice Hamiltronian summer sunset. The interior was nice and the seats were comfortable, although caused us to sweat ourselves to our dresses and thus leaving our bumprints on the shiny leather chairs. Most importantly they positioned the toilets far from any table in the restaurant and there was more than one toilet! This was crucial to a pleasant dining experience and you did not fail us there Pumice, I give you a 5/5 for Layout.

Overall Pumice achieves a 17.5/25- 70%

Well done Pumice, we probably won't be back anytime soon but we probably won't say bad things about you either.

(Photo of plate taken from my Nokia 2 Megapixel phone...could've been better

any other images or information taken from the Pumice website http://www.pumice.net.nz/page/pumice_5.php)

DISCLAIMER: These ratings are all my own opinions as an inexperience restaurant goer. I am not a food or restaurant critic by name or by profession. No hard feelings to the restaurants that aren't actually very good out there.