pork belly For my first Wellington on a Plate meal deal, I decided to go to Finc, with the delightful company of a friend I’d just seen killed twice on Saturday night. People have differing opinions about Finc, but for myself, I’ve always found it great in the evenings and very average at lunchtimes. For pork belly, I would take the plunge.

Lunch Offer – $25 set menu
Choose any two courses plus a glass of Wellington regional wine, and a cup of tea or coffee

Starter
Feta marinated in lemon honey and avocado oil served with grilled ficelle or
Pan fried pork and coriander dumplings served with a sherry vinaigrette

Mains
Slow cooked sticky pork belly served with seasonal vegetables sauteed in chilli and garlic oil or
Grilled haloumi cheese and vine tomatoes served with a rocket bruschetta and balsamic and avocado oil

Dessert
Velvet organic chocolate tart served with organic cream or
Italian meringue served with cream and winter poached fruit

When we got to Finc, it was pretty busy, but not completely crowded. Although there were lots of sets of two people sitting at four tops and there were still some vacant, we were shown to a tiny corner table that really was really only appropriate for one, and should only have been used as a last resort. We looked at the menu, but there was no sign of the Welly on a Plate offer, and since the waitress had disappeared, I told Brad about it. When she came back to take our order, he asked about it, and then she brought us a list. Not a very big promotional push, which is unfortunate. We ordered our wine – the Mebus Pinot Noir for me, and the the Urlar Sav for him, and a second later she came back to ask if we’d both wanted the Pinot Noir. Our feta arrived pretty soon after that, five cubes in olive oil with some strips of lemon rind, and five slices of toasted ficelle. I asked where our wines were, and she said that they were just being poured. I think it is weird to get your food before your drink, especially if they’re supposed to be paired, but hey. The feta was nice, but not spectacular – it needed a note of something else to make it stand, like some chili, perhaps. I think the ficelle might have been better if it hadn’t been toasted. Brad didn’t eat all his feta, but I didn’t ask why.

Out came the pork belly shortly after. It was a fairly small piece, and a huge pile of bok choy. Far too much bok choy. I was expecting a mix of vegetables, not just the one. Ah well. The pork was melt-in-the-mouthy, and rather intensely flavoured. The Mebus Pinot Noir, which I had chosen because the winemaker had once described it as being “like angels fornicating in your mouth” was a good match, but I thought it was a shame that the wine glasses they were using were those short tasting glasses.

For $25, with small portions, it wasn’t outstanding value, nor do I think it really showcased how good the food at Finc can be. It didn’t put me off returning, but I do think I’ll be sticking to night-time visits only.