Four in Hand Dining Room

Just enough warm, clubby atmosphere seeps in from the adjoining bar, melding with stellar service and Irish-born chef Colin Fassnidge's quietly assured menu to create a clever fine-dining take on the British (or should that be Irish?) gastropub. Delicately presented entrees range from seared bonito with fennel granita and bitter lemon curd to pickled veal tongue, its lightly chargrilled notes echoed by roasted corn and dabs of smoked potato puree. A chocolate snickers dessert - mini scoops of choc mousse and peanut ice-cream blanketed in cocoa and crunch - echoes the current fetish for salty-sweet desserts, but the dishes that draw the most covetous looks are those piled high on oiled wooden boards. There's the famed 12-hour lamb, or three cuts of suckling pig served with colcannon, cauliflower and ESG ('Eastern Suburbs Greens'). Like the often outspoken Fassnidge, every dish has a point to make - be it sustainable seafood, nose-to-tail meat choices or locally foraged produce - but never at the expense of the dining experience.