I won’t go to the lengths of repeating similar praise that I’ve given to George’s Paragon before but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Eagle St Pier franchise of George’s definitely upholds the standards of service and quality of produce that I’ve come to expect from the Sanctuary Cove original - yet find distinctly lacking in their other ventures.

That’s it - great half-price lunch, if you haven’t done it for a while make sure to do it again!

One-line review:  Enjoy a quick & good value lunch in the laneway or indoors for higher-end Asian-Aussie fusion (but be ready to wait).

Full review: Lunch Service, Monday, 30th Jan 2012.

Working next door to a place like Tank (or across the road from a place like Ben’s Alibi for that matter!) can be a blessing and a curse - great foodie options for lunch, not necessarily light on the hip pocket or the waist line, but thankfully I’m not overly concerned with either of those things at the moment. Given I work literally above Tank in 400 George, it’s a bit of a favourite for lunch. Particularly since they do a pretty reasonable lunch special - typically a fish of some description, often a pan-fried fillet with some beer-battered fries and aioli - perfect Friday afternoon fare (or Wednesday as the case was!).

Today it was a pan-fried salmon served in a bowl with some kind of broth and finely shredded vegetables and a short loaf with a garlicky butter… sorry, I’m usually very good with the details but I utterly zoned out today and was more focussed on the 2 glasses of Reisling @ $5 a glass (tough day at the office, let’s just say)… however what I can confirm is that it was delicious - as it usually is. We also enjoyed a serve of spiced nuts and 7-spice calamari, served with sliced chilis and aioli. The calamari was perfectly cooked and light, so no horrible greasy feeling left on the palate, yet dusted with their subtle yet compelling spice mixture.

I’ve dined here probably a dozen times and never been disappointed - more than happy to vouch for the laneway lunch menu. However, the same cannot be extended to the indoor restaurant, where the price tag leaps and service level drops in almost equal magnitude. More than twice I’ve sat down to lunch with external guests and tried to hide my wince with a smile through extended periods of non-service and delay; bottles of wine take tens of minutes to appear, refills can be a challenge given they whisk the bottle away from the table and are unavailable for stretches of time, food is “just coming” for more than an hour. Sadly, the food - while cooked and presented with a fair degree of technical precision - does not inspire such lengthy waiting periods.

My verdict - definitely do the quick lunch, skip the sit-down lunch option unless you’ve got a couple of hours to spare.

Link: http://www.tankrestaurant.com.au/

One-line review: Yes, I know your first thought. Restaurant attached to the Port Office? No thanks! But it is absolutely worth the visit.

Long-form review: Monday, 30th Jan 2012.

Note - current enjoying an extended period of R&R with the Mother In Law over for 3 months, hence we are hitting up a  lot of restaurants in a short period of time (hence the backlog of reviews and the inclination to participate in the blogging scene again)

After a long day at the office (not that long in reality but at the end of it all I needed a glass of wine and couldn’t be bothered cooking so I figured, let’s go for it) we quickly scanned the Entertainment Guide and found a gold card offering in Fix restaurant attached to the Port Office. I had dined here with a work function a few months back and was taken aback by the quality, coming back again it is clear this is good value for money.

We rocked up without a reservation and were seated without too much trouble, not an indication of any sort in my opinion for a Monday night. We were quickly seen to and had our orders taken, not before long the entrees arrived - my wife and I couldn’t resist a double order of the pan seared scallops (our favourite dish) which were served with a green pea puree and perfectly crispy bacon bits, garnished with hazelnuts and curly endive (skip the nuts for me). Delish! You can’t say a lot about scallops when they are well cooked but they were perfect, great balance of flavour on the plate and the only thing we wanted was more - only 3 scallops to a plate and at $17 it’s not unreasonable

Mains we selected two pasta dishes, I had the magnificent pappardelle with moreton bay bug tails and garlic, chili and tarragon butter - mouthwatering as soon as it hit the table and as delicious as it smelled - and my wife had the fresh gnocchi with smoked tomatoes and swiss brown mushrooms and rocket, parmesan shavings on top. I must admit, the rocket should have taken a bigger billing than any other ingredient based on quantity but the flavours were all there and jockeying for position. I think a little less rocket and a bit more presence from the rest would have been appreciated.

As you may know from past reviews, my own admission, and if you know me besides this site, I’m not the biggest sweet tooth. Most good marriages are a balance of competing forces, tastes and talents, and my wife more than makes up for my lack of dessert love with her voracious appetite of all things sweet. While I was initially critical of her choice - the carmelized banana cake with maple ice cream & pistachio crumble - it was divine. The banana cake was the perfect balance of moist sponge and fruit, the maple flavour of the ice cream wasn’t overpowering and complemented the cake nicely, and while I (again) skipped the nuts, but I’m sure they went well.

This restaurant is pitched well in the mid-range of fine dining restaurants, both in price and in quality, with a consistency that after only two visits I’m comfortable to vouch for.

Link: http://portofficehotel.com.au/Port-Office-Hotel-Dining/index.html