Gerard's Bistro

Located on flashy James Street, Gerard's is a restaurant and bar specialising in mezze-style meals. Its reasonably sized interior has been beautifully decked out down to the last detail and features a heavily angular concrete bar, intricate, puzzle-like woodwork over the kitchen and patterned tiles over one wall.

The overall effect is a retro yet exotic space — not surprising when you consider that Gerard's Bistro was created by the Moubarak brothers, who also brought us Lychee Lounge and Laruche.

As mentioned, the food menu was designed with sharing in mind and has something for everyone, vegetarians included. Head chef Ben Williamson, whose resume includes Urbane and Cha Cha Char, has created a fantastic variety of dishes featuring quail, wagyu, seafood and more.

Some top picks include the wood-fired duck leg with charoset (a fruit and nut paste) and fennel, cured coral trout with cassava, fingerlime and macadamias and the whole smoked cauliflower with a roast pepper puree, mint and sesame seeds.

The service is excellent and the staff members are knowledgeable and very efficient. Dishes are well paced out so that the table won't be overly crowded at any given time.

Gerard's Bistro is also a bar, and a bar food menu is available for late night snacks and there is a six-course tasting menu ($85) available for those who struggle with choice paralysis.