Nant 1821 Distiller's Bar and Restaurant

There used to be this thing where if you liked yourself you wouldn't order coffee or cocktails in restaurants. Or if you did, and it was anything beyond a negroni or espresso, you kept your expectations nice and low. Restaurants – even good ones –were places where bartenders went to semi-retire. Your cappuccino would be made by whoever was least busy or least liked on the floor.

The new era dawned about five years ago. Smart operators realised it wasn't just stupid to ignore the entry and exit points of diners' experiences but that there was money in the game. Bars were realising the same thing with food. The result: a whole new world of resto-bars, and cocktail restaurants. Similar entities, but not the same thing.

The former are restaurants with a good drinks game. Rockpool sets the bar – you'd as likely walk in for a martini as a steak. Others try and fail. There are plenty of ambitious lists made by eager bartenders who have had one professional lesson.

Nant is the flip side of that equation: a whisky bar venturing into fully fledged restaurant territory.

Some context here: Nant is a Tasmanian whisky brand – a company that promotes its goods firsthand by opening bars. There are outlets in Brisbane, Sydney, Tasmania, all woody dens with leather couches where the amber bottles steadily gain appeal as bartenders stir your old-fashioned. Melbourne's bar still exists, in Driver Lane behind Emporium. But to the left of this, a stone staircase will now take you down to a low-lit cave of barrels and wood that was once Money Order Office.

It's here you'll find Bar Americano's Hayden Lambert on stick, racking up rows of Glencairn glasses for whisky tastings. With him is first lady of whisky Ev Liong, late of Whisky and Alement.

That's a potent team, and they're pouring a strong game that goes well beyond Nant's sherry cask and American oak aged single malts. For what is essentially a cellar door, the sell is soft. Lambert will put Nant sherry cask in your Sazerac, but he'll serve your oysters with the bog smoky sweetness of Lagavulin 16. There's as strong a focus on local wines and craft beers – Little Creatures Rogers is as mainstream as the beers get.

You can do a whisky-matched, four-course tasting menu for $50 (food only), but the idea here is more to give drinkers substantial options for a long-haul evening rather than to force a hard liquor and food agenda.

The menu reads well for the most part – Tasmanian produce, with a few Scottish accents.

Tell me your whisky-loving heart doesn't jump at seeing the words ox tongue and bap in a row? The sliced meat is soft and salty, the relish sharp. If they switched focaccia rolls for something less yeasty and aerated it would be a home run. Ditto the thrillingly named mouse trap, with excellent foot-ripe raclette​ grilled over a piece of bread that's just a little floppy for the task.

It's a bit of a mixed bag on plate. Pan-fried quail is pink and tender, balanced against garlic-sweet grilled cabbage, though lacking the crisp skin that's billed.

Mussels are super plump, served warm in a clean tomato and onion broth with a tiny hit of vinegar for lift. Braised ox cheek has that good sticky quality from a slow braise with your fruitcake brand of spices and seeded mustard. The lentils and chickpea base just needs a little more love to get the chalkiness out and meaty cinnamonny flavours in.

The menu hasn't fully graduated from bar land. There's a studious lack of greens or crunch, for example, but they'll saute some kale if you really panic. That's the friendliness of a bar crew showing through. And that's what you get here – all the perks of a great bar. A stunning room where pools of light drop on soft booths and clusters of armchairs. Where carved wooden bar stools have just enough of a back lip for support. The sound levels are right. The crew's priority is delivering a good time. Great food to match? That will hopefully come with practice.

THE LOWDOWN
Pro tip The matched four courses for $50 isn't on the menu, just ask
Go-to dish Pair oysters ($4.50 each) with a nip of Lagavulin, $22.50.
Like this? Boilermaker House is pushing grilled meats and venison burgers with whisky and beers; 209/211 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

How we score
Of 20 points, 10 are awarded for food, five for service, three for ambience, two for wow factor. 12 Reasonable 13 Solid and satisfactory 14 Good 15 Very good 16 Seriously good 17 Great 18 Excellent 19 Outstanding 20 The best of the best