The Bridge Room

Here's a welcome respite among the empty towers of a Saturday-night CBD, where the friendly, savvy staff make you feel like a regular, whether it's your first or 10th time. It's been nearly two years since chef Ross Lusted and his wife, Sunny, opened their first restaurant, but the dining room, with its mid-20th-century Scandi influences, remains as fresh and contemporary as the menu, which draws on Lusted's years with Aman resorts. So a vividly flavoured, painterly entree of pressed ox heart tomato, salted sheep's milk curd, heirloom tomatoes, crunchy amaranth, smoked pepper oil and radish sits happily alongside a main of snapper, silken tofu, Chinkiang black vinegar and cloud ear mushrooms, its subtle layers of ginger and chilli lifted by zingy little coriander flowers. A dessert of silky Valrhona Opalys pure white chocolate paired with macerated cherries, candied ginger ice-cream and white chocolate 'aero bar' says it all - finesse with a sense of fun. Just like The Bridge Room.