Restaurant review: High-energy, sleek feel at Eightysix

Eightysix is tucked into a spot just off the rainbow roundabout on Lonsdale Street and keeps outdoor eating attractive with big pot plants marking off the footpath. Inside it's a narrow room, with a long bar. You can sit down the wall on banquettes, at the bar watching the frantic food preparation, or in the window looking out.

It's pretty much crazy wherever you choose, with a veritable phalanx of smart staff squeezing past the tables, and a general sense of happy chaos. It's noisy, and tonight that's not because of an especially thumpy soundtrack. The music, in fact, is distinctively background. The noise is because tables are close, everything is busy and everyone is raising their voices to make themselves heard. This can be fun; depends what you're aiming for in your night out.

Foie gras parfait with rhubarb jam and toast ($24) comes as a pot of the spread and a row of charred toasts. The jam is very red and smooth and covers over the parfait in its little cup. Foie gras is so distinct and creamy, irresistible at its best. Here, it's fine, but bland and a little lost under the rhubarb. The toast, think sliced with a seed crust, charred and buttered, is excellent.

Blue cremeux, witlof, apple, walnuts, vincotto ($26) is as it promises, all of the aforementioned and nothing else, by the looks. Each little leaf contains a cube of blue cheese, some thin sticks of green apple, a piece of walnut and a drizzle of sticky sauce. Hang on, there is something else, some baby leaves, I think watercress. And that's about it. They're fresh enjoyable bites, but something of an exercise in low-energy obviousness. Everything goes together, all is simple to assemble, none takes an actual chef, or an element of technique.

Black chicken with buttermilk coleslaw ($44) is a long-standing dish, perhaps an original from Eightysix's genesis. It's lovely, two big chunks of tender chicken cooked with care. The skin is super hot with chilli and sweet, perhaps it's tamarind or some other astringent funky flavour. On the side is a cool and creamy coleslaw; this works well.

Lamb shoulder with mash and chimichurri ($45) is pretty good. Like the chicken, the meat is well-handled, generous and luscious. It has a good salty crust. The chimichurri is perhaps heavy on the mint, which I suppose is what works with lamb and cuts through the rich fattiness of the meat, but something feels a little unbalanced in the astringent flavours. The mash is refined and disappears rather under the meat.

There are many good things about Eightysix. The look and the set up is sleek and gentle with natural light. The local Bison plates are really beautiful and it's lovely eating off shades of Bison blue.

The wine list is appealing. In whites by the glass, you will find a German riesling (Markus Molitor), a New Zealand sauvignon although not, you might be interested to hear, from Marlborough but from the lower North Island's rather more niche Martinborough, two French wines - an Alsace blend and a Marc Bredif Chenin Blanc, and two local wines. The locals are Eden Road's pinot gris, and Collector's Tumbarumba chardonnay. Local reds are equally well chosen: Nick Spencer's Light Dry Red blend; Bryan Martin's Ravensworth barbera-nebbiolo (our pick), Lark Hill's sangiovese, and Clonakilla's Hilltops shiraz.

This is all good, although being drinkers of habit, I am not enthused by my Italian prosecco, and my friend is once again disappointed in his idiosyncratic search for crazy but elegant, funky but measured natural wines.

Now to that dessert you have probably also been eating since opening day, caramel popcorn sundae ($18). The key to these pop-culture desserts is beautiful elements; otherwise you might as well be getting a choc top and box of popcorn at the movies. I remember this dessert as good in this respect, but tonight, the caramel is excessive and the upside down ice cream, while it might well be homemade, doesn't taste that way. We're disappointed in this, and underwhelmed also by the chocolate bavarian ($18), which is rich, fine and simple but unexciting.

So, should you eat here? If you are anticipating complex conversation then possibly not, since this is more high-energy and loads of laughter than actual speaking. If you're after decent food in a fun setting, then possibly yes, since the food, while not top notch, is certainly a step above all those disappointing mid-range eateries that Canberra seems to indulge and tolerate in a less than demanding way. Essentially, Eightysix has found a formula that has worked for quite some time, and looks determined to do nothing to upset the apple cart.

Address: Mode 3 building, Cnr of Elouera and Lonsdale Streets, Braddon

Phone: 6161 8686

Hours: Dinner, Tuesday to Sunday, from 6pm; breakfast, Sunday from 9am to 1pm.

Owner: Gus Armstrong

Chef: Justin Francis

Wheelchair access: Yes

Noise: Rather noisy

Vegetarian: At least three dishes, including a pasta, in a short menu