Forest is an independently owned vegetarian restaurant where chef Plabita Florence and host Kate Underwood treat the menu as something alive rather than fixed. The project began as a pop-up in 2019, grew into a tiny Symonds Street dining room, and moved to its larger Dominion Road home in 2023. Evening guests can stop for one snack at the bar or book the dining room for a full meal, an adaptable format that suits a kitchen changing at least part of its offering almost every week.
Seasonality at Forest is tied to preservation and careful use, not simply a rotating list of fashionable produce. Ingredients are sourced locally where possible, and the kitchen aims to waste as little as it can, bringing fresh harvests together with ingredients kept for later. That approach explains combinations that might otherwise seem unexpected: bitter leaves can be balanced by fruit, pickles can supply acidity, and an old bottle of wine can find a second purpose in butter served with warm focaccia.
The current savoury dishes show how playful that method can be. A witloof taco brings together a corn nugget, lime mayonnaise and pink pickles, while seaweed dust and toasted chilli transform a bowl of fries. Crispy farinata is paired with burnt rhubarb and yuzu pepper; butter beans take on nasturtium harissa, yoghurt and mint. Baked onionweed lasagne with Marmite cream is more substantial, but it follows the same principle of building depth from vegetables, condiments and careful contrasts rather than imitating a meat-centred plate.
Dessert and drinks continue the kitchen's interest in herbs, flowers and savoury accents. Marigold ice cream meets sour grape gumdrops, curry leaf runs through chocolate mousse with fenugreek honey, and young coconut custard is paired with strawberry marshmallow. Cocktails draw on hibiscus, cherry tomato, passionfruit hot sauce or mandarin and marigold, while a dedicated alcohol-free section preserves that sense of invention. Forest therefore works best as an exploratory meal, with several plates and drinks revealing different expressions of the same seasonal pantry.
Address: 243 Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024, New Zealand
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