The minute you walk into Coco’s Cantina you feel it. That warmth, that excitement. Italian trattoria with a K’ Road ‘kick’. Here you ‘dine with a smile’ any time of day.
Kira Mancefreire, front of house manager, tells me that the crew likes to think of the vibe as ‘Nonna’s’, the nickname for Italian grandmothers, whose homes are so inviting and food and drink so hearty and delicious. Simply filled with love, that all-so-special ingredient that elevates a thing to greatness.
Logan Cole, originally a Lyttelton lad, is the mixologist here. And the cocktails are awesome. He fell in love with New Zealand’s only commercially available Vermouth, the 144 Islands No. 2 Sweet Vermouth.
It is distilled with the grapes combined with the herbs, bush and tree barks found on the 144 vineyards just north of Kerikeri.The 144 No 2. Vermouth has a combination of sweet and bitter and ostensibly overt flavours that really do kick all other vermouths to the kerbside.
Logan mixes a generous portion with Campari and soda served on rocks in a mid-level tumbler.
For such an awesome aperitif, you simply want to play the ‘bar snacks’ card. Logan shows me their original ‘O.G’ dish – thick-cut polenta chips with confit garlic aioli.
A bite on those and a swig of Americano, deliciousness oozes, and the famous Coco miles fill the room.
The light shines through the door and collides with our good feelings and then ‘badaboom’, cue music from the heavens, “Drums, please! Summer, summer, summertime… time to sit back and unwind…” (PUNEET DHALL)
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Published: March 2024