Two Small Rooms

Once the smartest suburban restaurant in town, Two Small Rooms might be in need of an aesthetic overhaul but remains exceedingly popular, and justifiably so. There's an excellent wine list and immaculate service, and the quality of its food has never been in doubt. These days its menu (which offers a la carte, a set price 'market' menu as well as a seven-course degustation) draws mostly from the European classics. It would be a stretch to call it cutting-edge but there is certainly plenty of imagination adding lustre to the dishes. Where else can you choose from the simple luxury of Avruga caviar (at a very modest $36 for 30 grams) to the unlikely but surprisingly harmonious combination of seared scallops, pea puree and horseradish highlighted by tiny cubes of corned wagyu? Or the simplicity of deliciously bittersweet churros against the complexity of a melba peach tarte tatin? Oh for a change of decor.