It is great to see that the waterfront dining scene getting a big boost starting off from Croqueta and now the latest pop-up restaurant, Waiheke Island Yatch Club for America's Cup. I dig the warehouse facility of Pier 29, which caught fire a year ago and now has been revived as the new but temporary home of Waiheke. Waiheke's concept, New Zealand cuisine and excellent service can definitely go head-to-head with more established restaurants in the city.

Trending Pop-ups 
Pop-ups are not new to San Francisco. It is one of the ways newbie chefs who are trying to make a name for themselves test the market. Some are co-located in other more established food shops, such as Dandelion and The Beacon, that have a designated space for pop-ups. A few, such as Waiheke Island Yatch Club, go all out and build a temporary space for themselves.

It might be weird at first to enter a pier for dining purposes, stepping on to a wooden platform to enter the restaurant, but the warehouse atmosphere of Waiheke suits its 'by-the-water' theme. The ingenious furniture (see picture below) and airy, well-lighted building really do feel like you are relaxing in a yatch club.

The popular pacific style fish ceviche with lime and coriander. The wasabi sorbet, albeit not as spicy as I expected, made a lot of difference on this dish.

Salmon imported from Mt. Alpine, an hour away from Auckland.  This dish looked a bit busy at first with blackened eggplant, coconut and rocket emulsion topped with roe. Yet, the flavors work in harmonious fashion- the coconut and eggplant balanced out the salty salmon and roe.

Heilala Vanilla parfait, strawberry, rose water and feijoa sherbet. The server recommended the popular Tcho chocolate crunchie bar, but I usually opt for fruity desserts. Even though I was expecting a tall glass parfait, the distorted take on this unique dessert didn't disappoint. I ended my meal with a melt-in-your-mouth meringue and palette cleanser sherbet with fresh strawberries and blueberries. I'll be back just to try the crunchie bar for sure. The story of Heilala Vanilla is a good read as well.

The open air, modern interiors of Waiheke allow you to watch the chefs making your meal. Take note of the wooden stool bars with (cow?) hide material stapled on the cushion- ingenious! If you are a fan of DIY furniture, you can find many inspirations from Waiheke.

Restaurants focused on New Zealand cuisine are a dime in a dozen in the Bay Area so I do hope Waiheke becomes a permanent fixture in the city. They do many things right although I'd suggest a simpler and cheaper lunch menu- a common business strategy for many SF restaurants akin to Waiheke's level to attract more lunch patrons. For a Friday peak lunch hour, I was a bit disappointed that they only had 5 sets of table occupied. Dinner time, I gather, is a different story.