A restaurant out of sight from Castle Street's lively atmosphere has a daunting job keeping up with its rivals. It doesn't help that the venue's name is 'The

Restaurant', creating a logistical nightmare for anybody attempting to locate it. The Restaurant Bar and Grill lives on Brunswick Street, directly facing off against yet another

competitor, cocktail bar The Alchemist. Until recently I was never fortunate enough to visit the venue, but after finally giving it a whirl I'm furious I didn't do it sooner. The

exteriors do little to relay the grand design inside. A few wood al fresco seats and umbrellas are a far cry from the glass chandeliers and sky high ceilings decorating the air space. The

decorations. Bringing your eyes from the ceiling to the floor, the restaurant is separated into three zones: two dining areas with booths and tables split by a cocktail bar in the centre.

Red and blue flowers for the upholstery have been muted to blend into the venue without appearing garish or creating a statement. I didn't know what to expect from The Restaurant but I

was blown away by its beauty. This idea this would be one of the typical bar and grill venues was swept from my mind entirely. The food needed to live up to the aesthetics' standards,

otherwise, what's the point? The menu is split neatly between sea and land to guide your taste buds. There are quite a few interesting options, elevated slightly by their ingredients,

but not so much you could consider it "fancy". My partner and I decided to share everything for a more through taste examination. First up was a heritage beetroot starter with

avocado, soy labneh, mandarins, crushed hazelnut and micro basil. The fresh and flavoursome appetiser set the tone for the evening, delivering a burst of sweet seasonal tastes against the

the labneh's tangy milky creaminess. Salmon sashimi soaking on a plate of leche de tigre (tiger milk) with chilli and ginger tops was the inarguable star of the show. I'd go as far

as saying it was the best dish of the evening, but stick around for the rest of the review regardless. I've never experienced tiger milk before but my god it was delicious. The

chef-cut salmon soaked up milk infused with lime juice, garlic and ginger, with the touch of chilli setting everything off in a fiery Japanese fusion for the ages. More traditional dishes

were on the horizon. For our mains, we had the baked seabass and a rump steal. You can't go wrong with the classic surf and turf choices. The fish was dressed in a nam jim sauce - a

classic Thai dipping sauce that's sweet and spicy - with a generous sprinkling of chillies, shiitake mushrooms and coriander. The accompanying rice with crispy shallots was appreciated

but a side neither of us could finish given everything before us. The bright white fish broke apart on your tongue. If there's one thing that will put me off a fish dish immediate,

it's a rouge bone. The irony of complaining about bones while eating a carcass isn't lost on me but it's something I'm not able to bypass. Thankfully, the seabass was

fully deboned as promised on the menu. The fat little rump was cooked rare, visible by the protein pouring out of the pink insides. This main also came with a side of chips which were barely

touched. We were focused on the great land and sea options stealing the show. My partner also received a mixed cucumber set but I didn't pay much attention to it. I didn't know

what to expect from The Restaurant but I was thoroughly impressed. More so than most places I've visited of late. From the setting to the dishes, there wasn't really anything to

fault. We dined around 6pm midweek so there's little to account for in terms of atmosphere given we were the first guests there and only followed by a short few thereafter. What we did

experience was impressive. The staff were attentive and now I have a valid reason to make a hard turn off Castle Street next time I'm dining out.