Red Spice Road

Dark timber floors, mood lighting, striking splashes of red, an enormous UFO-sized lantern - Red Spice Road is one sexy, stylish space. A largely thirtysomething crowd congregates on long communal tables to dissect the working week over big-flavoured dishes that favour south-east Asian cuisine's sweeter side. The pork belly is sublime with sticky pull-apart meat and crunchy crackling, then reverse the damage with the accompanying refreshing minty apple slaw. A Vietnamese-style shredded banana blossom salad is similarly light and zesty and comes with a sharp chilli bite, while glossy eggplant pieces are deep-fried and teamed with cashews 'kung po' style. Cracking through the passionfruit brulee with puffed wild rice (think sophisticated Rice Bubbles) is a delight, but the mint-and-chocolate parfait can be a touch stodgy. Service is friendly and efficient; slower pacing would enable diners to better relish the experience.