A FINE TIME

This fine-dining comeback is a must-visit for its superb menu and impressive wine, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.

- MICHAEL HARDEN

Trial by fire was just the start. Shortly after chef Adam Sanderson, his CV bristling with names like Noma, Fat Duck and Cutler & Co, took on the kitchen at Ten Minutes by Tractor in 2018, fire chewed through half-a-million dollars’ worth of wine and caused enough damage to close the restaurant.

Next came trial by council regulation and rebuilding that meant two years before the restaurant re-opened. A beautiful renovation by Cox Architecture expanded the original 1930s building, decked it out in stone, marble, brass, timber and discreet shades of blue and green, added a private room, new terrace and impressive, purpose-built kitchen. Then came trial number three, the pandemic.

It’s shaking your fist at the sky kind of stuff.