Darling & Co

Darling & Co has moved into the huge space that was, until just a few weeks ago, Iceworks. It has done so with a minimum of fuss and a menu that may be short on edginess but delivers on everyday appeal.

The menu is pitched somewhere between posh pub and bistro fare, with a democratic, please-all approach.

Four pizzas, a plate of cured meats and house fermented pickles and shareable snacks such as manchego and chorizo croquettes (the arancini of the mid-noughties?) can be ordered at the bar.

The broader restaurant menu includes market oysters, from wherever they're best, topped with tiny citrus spheres of lime caviar, as well as Noosa spanner crab, ready to roll in betel leaves with ruby cubes of watermelon – a sweet, tangy, herbaceous mouthful.

A softly poached egg comes with super crisp-skinned Tasmanian ocean trout (house-cured and cold-smoked) with horseradish and sorrel, the plate scattered with baby herbs and petals.

Linguine is made in-house and tossed with sweet Mooloolaba prawns, baby squid, zucchini and tomato.

Silky nubs of gnocchi are given a hit of umami with oyster mushrooms and a quenelle of truffle-scented mascarpone.

At the opposite end of the food spectrum where wholesome but largely unInstagrammable brown food lives is a free-form lamb shank pie, the bone pushing through a golden puff pastry crust. It's hearty and hunger-busting, with tender shreds of well-seasoned lamb, smooth butter-laden mash and al dente peas.

Most of the other mains are similarly substantial. There's a very respectable steak frites with Cape Grim rib fillet; ribbons of house-made tagliatelle with a rich sugo of Darling Downs wagyu brisket; and the ubiquitous lamb shoulder to share.

Desserts include a chocolate and hazelnut tart and a raspberry bombe alaska, but a negroni sorbet of refreshing blood orange over which you pour a glass of bitter Campari is a perfect palate cleanser after a delicious excess of carbs and protein.

There are plans for further renovations early in the new year, but for now the team behind South Brisbane's the Fox Hotel have managed the not inconsiderable feat of making the space – all soaring ceilings and sharp angles – feel more intimate.

Potted tropical greenery softens the hard surfaces and the removal of a wall between the dining area and the bar has created a natural flow that encourages post-drink dinners or pre-dinner drinks.

The news that the two television screens that were formerly permanently tuned to a sports channel in the bar have been decommissioned and are shortly to be dismounted is welcome, although the post-Suncorp Stadium football crowds may disagree.

There's a little bit of nightclubby glitz to the refurbished restaurant space with its padded turquoise booths, fringed feature lights and large smoky mirrors, but it's kept in check with an otherwise neutral palate of charcoal and white, with pale wood bentwood chairs, bare tabletops and a polished concrete floor.

Equal care has been taken with the drinks list, which ranges from contemporary cocktails to a tight but thoughtfully curated collection of wine and about a dozen beers on tap; from boofy local hero XXXX to a White Rabbit Danish dark ale.

There's something appealingly unlaboured about the whole Darling package. It has a confident solidity that belies its newcomer to the 'hood status, and has notoriously hard-to-win-over locals shaking out the welcome mat.