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Black Fire

Natasha Rudra

House-smoked blue mussels with salted almonds.
House-smoked blue mussels with salted almonds.Elesa Kurtz

14.5/20

Mediterranean$$

It's always good to see a restaurant do well in Canberra so we take it as a positive sign when we duck into Black Fire on a weeknight and find it completely packed with diners sitting at close quarters in serried ranks of dark tables.

Of course the Braddon location doesn't hurt, and the much vaunted use of a big wood fire, and the promise of plenty of meat, all things that are enjoying a very big moment in the capital.

The menu is extravagantly big and filled with Spanish and Italian things - mostly meaty, often smoky, grilled, roasted and cured. Count 'em, 18 starters and that's not even including the separate cured meat section.

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Cranberry tart with dark chocolate mousse, wild berries and chocolate tuille.
Cranberry tart with dark chocolate mousse, wild berries and chocolate tuille.Elesa Kurtz

Do we really need this many? Sure, why not, when they're things like house-made butifarra blanca or char-grilled baby octopus with potatoes.

Paolo Milanesi is a solidly accomplished chef and he's not overstretching with this menu.

A tray of smoked mussels ($10) is a play on textures - fat nuggety mussels sit on a tomato sofrito on top of thin slices of crisp toast. There's a generous scattering of whole salty almonds to add extra crunch, and the whole effect is vibrant without being fussy.

Black Fire restaurant in Braddon.
Black Fire restaurant in Braddon.Elesa Kurtz
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Albondigas ($5 each) are soft, tomatoey rice balls, served cold, and flavoured through with manchego. Well put together without being outstanding - tonight the smoked mussels have the edge in the entrees.

In the mains, it's probably wise to order from the wood-fired grill section, where you can have dry-aged wagyu and Black Angus cuts and organic lamb from the Canberra region.

Beef short ribs ($26) are very, very tender, braised in a fragrant, spiced broth yet still retaining a hint of smoky char.

But if you insist on something other than pure meat, a bowl of "silk handkerchief" pasta ($27) is served almost as a soup dish, with thin sheets of pasta curled under a heap of soft pulled lamb that's topped with slices of melting, steamed parmesan. It's the kind of comforting dish to sink into on a chilly winter night when life's got you in a coathanger grip and your diet's out the window.

Wines are Spanish and Aussie, but limited by the glass.

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Desserts include a cranberry tart ($13) with a scoop of chocolate mousse and a little tuile - the berries spillling lavishly in a crimson sauce from the top of a little frangipane-stuffed tart.

A lovely wobbly bavarois is studded through with cherries and has a bright red praline cap, a bit like a Super Mario mushroom. For contrast there are crumbly bits of honeycomb and a couple of finger limes which inject too much barefaced acidity for my liking.

Service is plentiful tonight and very cheerful. Food comes out pretty quickly given the crowds - with more people flowing in through the doors just as fast as tables empty.

There's a good feel, plenty of happy noise, lots of wine, and solid Spanish food that's also very reasonably priced - $109 for two.

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