Opened in May at Sunset Way, Jules Verne serves a variety of European cuisine at value prices and with good service.

Taking over the former shop space of Absolutely NZ, they try to give you a taste of European cuisine, with a big section on German/Austrian. Although the menu covers an ambitious variety of cuisines from France to Hungary, the chef seemed to carry it off well. They also serve a good variety of European beers as well as wines (see their 11 page beverage menu).

They have seasonal specials featuring cuisines from certain regions. For the first half of August, it's Viennese. There're also other specials that you can see on the board or on the first couple of pages on the menu, so there's never a lack of variety or specials!

National Day special was a 5-course red and white set:
1. smoked salmon with dill
2. Portuguese tomato soup
3. a dish of 2 prawns on a piece of bread (I forget the name)
4. coq au vin with rice
5. green pepper strawberries

I also ordered a flammkuchen. The flammkuchen has a crisp texture, much more crisp compared to a pizza crust. You have to like your cream to best enjoy the flammkuchen. The "small" is definitely big enough for one.

The dill sauce for the smoked salmon was very good and went well with the salmon. The prawns used were fresh. The chicken wasn't dry (I take that as a good sign of skill) and went well with the sauce and rice.

From the dill sauce and the coq au vin, I see that the chef pays good attention to the sauces and seasonings. Further, he also pays attention to the presentation of the food - observe the use of the different plates and the arrangements of the items.

Other items on the menu include a special platter if you have at least 5 persons ($28 each person). Pork knuckle is available for take away at $22 (compared to $28 for dining in).

The good news is that the owner tries to also recreate the casual central European bistro in reasonable prices and good service. I consider the prices very reasonable: 1 special 5-course set + 1 flammkuchen + 2 Viennese melange cost $51.60. All prices are net. How's that for value?

2 servers covered the lunch duty and were obviously trained to be polite to customers and be observant. Well done, they got a tip from me. The overall first impression of this casual eatery was very good and I'm sure I'll be back for more.