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The Art Lounge

Lenny Ann Low
Lenny Ann Low

French$$

Looking in from the street, the Art Lounge resembles an upmarket dining salon merged with a private club. On this cold evening, the two-month-old restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows frame warmly lit diners sipping cocktails on ruby velvet pouffes and caramel banquettes. There are dark gold-coloured tables, jewel-toned walls, a chandelier and gilt-framed paintings. Things look, well, expensive in there.

Inside the Kirketon Hotel, the Art Lounge's well-heeled vibe rolls on within. Any worries about exclusivity evaporate when several staff members, bustling around a small bar area, rush forward with hearty welcomes. We're whisked to a table alongside a long, cream banquette dotted with cushions, one of only two occupied tables in the restaurant.

It's still early evening but the place's relative bareness stirs thoughts about its location. Once the home of Luke Mangan's restaurant, Salt, it went on to house Kirketon Dining Room & Bar followed by Kells Kitchen, which closed in 2008. Owner Karim Gharbi took over the site this year. The chef consultant is Opel Khan, of the now-defunct Beluga and Guru restaurants. Gharbi says the Art Lounge is designed to be "affordable luxury", inspired by the old restaurants of Monte Carlo.

There are certainly opulent touches, with plum-hued carpet, large mirrors, dark emerald wallpaper and a stuffed peacock to welcome patrons near the lobby bar. Paintings of exotic female forms by the Croatian-Australian artist Charles Billich decorate the walls (and ceiling) and there are ornate rococo-style couches and standard lamps. Candles inside glasses etched with grapevines flicker on each table.

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Rather than show up our imperfections, this pleasing arrangement of rich colours and warm lighting gives our faces a miraculous, seductive glow. It's one of the few occasions mirror-filled walls do not feel menacing. For a short, dizzying period, I am infatuated with my reflection.

Tap water arrives, along with the menu – a one-page list of 15 French-inspired dishes including french fries and steamed vegetables.

Our waiter, a maitre d' figure proficient in the art of hovering discreetly before swooping in to discuss menu details, explains that each dish can be shared.

They can be treated as entree or main because most are divided into three or more portions. He suggests ordering in steps, or as our appetite takes us, rather than selecting everything at once. The brevity of the menu, with dishes ranging from beef to seafood, poultry, pork and pasta, makes ordering easy.

First up is goat's cheese gnocchi, fat round pillows of steamy softness daubed with a vegetable blend and burnt sage butter. They are easily shared before we divide three seared salmon fillets, their ends resting on a small copper pond of sweetish carrot emulsion between plump nuggets of caramelised parsnip. Fresh and delicate, the fish is excellent.

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An order of braised octopus with grilled haloumi, along with confit pork belly with flageolet beans and pancetta, arrives swiftly. The octopus, served with a black olive caramel, is easily devoured, as is the hearty mound of cubed pork, smeared with warm apple jelly.

By now the restaurant is filling with smart-looking diners. Some recline on the lounges for an evening drink, while others here for a meal lean in conspiratorially around a corner table under a low-hung chandelier.

On a trip to the ladies' it's clear Eau-de-Vie, the wine bar at the rear of the Kirketon, is also buzzing.

We consider more luscious-sounding share plates – degustation of prosciutto, mozzarella and melon jelly, seared sea scallops, cauliflower puree and avocado brulee, or possibly wood-fired spatchcock, wet polenta, green beans and madeira – but our waiter's go-slow suggestion was correct.

There is only room for dessert – some elegant slabs of chocolate ganache with pistachio kulfi and creme brulee. All are top-notch, as is the coffee that follows.

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There's no pressure to leave this smart urban bistro. So we linger, chatting with the maitre d', admiring our reflections and soaking up the laid-back opulence.

Food - French-inspired and hearty.

Service - Chummy, theatrical, knowledgeable.

Atmosphere - Lush and relaxed bohemian.

Value - Good. Entrees and mains $16-24; desserts $15.

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Noise - Rich furnishings absorb noise.

Recommended dishes - Confit pork belly; goat's cheese gnocchi; and braised octopus.

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Lenny Ann LowLenny Ann Low is a writer and podcaster.

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