Three weeks in New Zealand - 4/12 - 5/4/2024

Day 14-Dinner at Gramado's. Blenheim-4/24/2024

Tonight we are dining at Gramado's restaurant and Bar located on Stuart street.  The restaurant is a good 20 minutes walk from our hotel but it was a good occasion to walk around Blenheim.

Gramado’s Restaurant & Bar is a Brazilian-inspired eatery located on Main Street in Blenheim.  In town, everyone knows the Brazilian chef Saulo Camillo Nunes who opened this pleasant restaurant a few years ago. The cuisine is inspired by his country of origin as well as his grandmother's traditional cuisine. He mixes all these tasty creations with the delicious wines of the region. Gramado's Restaurant is an address of choice for gourmets.

Cannot miss the restaurant with the green lit neon lights.

The dinning room is really cozy and inviting.

 We did not have a reservation so they asked us to wait in the bar area so they can get our table ready.

While waiting for our table to be ready, we were seated in the an area just at the entrance with a bar.

On the wall you can see pictures of ranchers, cowboy hat, lasso and chaps.

While waiting, our waiter brought a selection of the Marlborough region for us to taste.  Hoa choose a white wine and I choose a red wine.

Cheers!  The wine is actually pretty decent.

The Menu

View from our table to the kitchen and part of the dining room.

Crumbed crispy salt and pepper calamari served with a side of homemade Marlborough roasted garlic aioli.

Nothing fancy but it is done right, the squid was tender with a crispy exterior.

Our server brought out a plate of Conserva de Pimenta (Brazilian Pickles chiles). These Brazilian pickled chiles are a classic condiment alongside rice and beans, roast pork, or fish.

Here they are ranked by mild to hot.  The yellow one on the left is the mildest one and the red one on the right is the spiciest one. The red one on the right is called Biquinho (Little beak) peppers and unique to the Amazon region, also known as "Sweaty Drops", they have a sweetness and only a little heat (to us).

After tasting all of them Hoa told our server that none of these chilies are that hot, so he brought out a Carolina Reaper (the one on the right) it is listed a 2,200,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Unit. A measure of Spiciness).  We did not even try it as we knew it is going to be way too hot.

Lamb Assado, New Zealand Lamb is cooked with a well-known Brazilian Flavor.  It is a roasted Lamb shoulder served with seasonal vegetables & mash potatoes, accompanied with a homemade red wine mint just and finished with Farofa Defumada (toasted cassava flour).

The meat is so tender and so tasty!

Hoa ordered the Angus Zealand Free Range Ribeye,  served  with fresh salad, olive oil confit potatoes, onions and garlic

The ribeye is aged for 21 days and yield a balance between marbling, robust beef flavor and fine texture that is tasty.

For Dessert I ordered a chocolate brownie topped with a homemade compote, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream.

Really delicious!  The brownie was rich and decadent, the compote is sweet and a big tangy which is a great combination.

We had a very good meal here and the service was top notched.  Before we go, our server proposed a digestif on the house.  I can remember which one Hoa choose but it was a very nice finish to a wonderful meal.

As we are headed back to our hotel we passed by Market street, the main street in Blenheim and it was totally empty.

The fountain in the Seymour Square is lovely at night with the lights illuminating the square.

The light changes from green to blue...

And then to a magnificent golden hue.  They use all the colors of the rainbow at night so it is really beautiful to watch.

Our hotel is that building you see in the back ground on the left.

NEXT... The drive from Belheim to Kaikoura