Seamstress Restaurant & Bar

Seamstress Restaurant & Bar Review

History and a prime Central Business District location are both draws for the Seamstress.This bar-restaurant occupies a heritage-listed four-story building that has housed an undergarment manufacturer, a 1930s sweat shop, and even a brothel and a Buddhist temple (but not at the same time). Asian dishes, in small, medium, and large portions, are designed to be shared. Everything is served in an atmospheric brick-walled first-floor dining area decorated with swaths of fabric, and sewing macines; the wine selection is stored in battered metal luggage lockers. Small dishes include pods of snake bean and golden sweet kumaro poached in wanton pastry, green pea and coriander puree. Favorite medium dishes include the sublime crisp-fried fish of the day—perhaps hapuka—marinated in soybean and garlic paste, and served with a salad of dried guava and aromatic herbs.