Opal Lounge

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops. This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

This labyrinthine, subterranean bar/restaurant below George Street is a stylish venue for a meal, a quiet drink, or, very late in the day, a spot of clubbing. The mood is funky and très chic, with a motif of hot-pink and 1970s stylised flowers - the booths in the dining area giving way to nooks and crannies of natural wood and then larger open spaces for dancing and mingling. This sumptuous style overflows to the menu, although some dishes try a little too hard. The fusion tag is predominantly Japanese, but there's also a smattering of Thai and Indonesian dishes, and quite an array of choice, from sushi, sashimi, bites and sticks to noodle soups and broths, bento boxes and salads. The intriguing Opal Indonesian fried rice with duck, snow peas and baked shiitake mushrooms is presented with a warning that it might taste odd - the duck is marinated in vanilla. Odd indeed. The bites and sticks offer more conventional choices - the soy marinade tuna sushi is tangy and fresh, the smoked Thai fish-cakes are plentiful and tasty, and the generous marinated lemon chicken bento box is a meal in itself. Also plump for a serving of the tender and naughtily salty chicken yakitori.

• High point: Funky setting
• Low point: Some fusion dishes miss the mark