The Smith

Take every dining trend of the past 12 months and roll them into one frenetic package. The result is the Smith, a gastropub that shamelessly cherry-picks from the global food zeitgeist. After his lengthy tenure at Taxi, chef and co-owner Michael Lambie is having irreverent fun with his Thai-Jap-Viet-Cal-Mex-French-influenced menu at this reborn corner pub just off Chapel Street, where the line of demarcation between drinkers and diners isn't always clear. Whether it's tempura-battered soft-shell crab or foie gras parfait, robust flavours are the order of the day. Lambie's career-defining way with Asian flavours provides the best compass point. Thai pawpaw salad heavy on the dried shrimp, or master stock-poached baby chicken with son-in-law egg and feisty nam jim are standouts. But then, so are the fajitas, which might come with braised wagyu beef, avocado and spicy corn, and the retro English sundae, knickerbocker glory. Thinking global and acting local, the Smith takes crowd-pleasing to a whole new level.