Raising the Bar

Clarence Bistro has reopened for dinner with one of Aotearoa’s most celebrated chefs at the helm. Simon Wright (above), along with wife Creghan Molloy-Wright, owned Auckland’s iconic fine diner
The French Cafe for 20 years, keeping it consistently at the top of its game. They sold the restaurant to spend more time with their young children, later opening Whangamatā’s much-loved Gather
& Roam food truck HQ in 2021. Now, as the new exec chef at the Clarence, Simon is bound to
elevate Tauranga’s dining scene with contemporary Mediterranean dishes like his famous whitebait ‘sandwich’, crayfish carbonara with pancetta, zucchini flowers and pangrattato; lamb niçoise
with dried olive, rosemary and artichoke soubise; and a dessert of meringue, strawberries, rhubarb and white chocolate.

51 Willow St, Tauranga
clarencetauranga.co.nz clarencebistrohotel

Photograph by Jay Drew

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