Manchester's food scene has been quietly becoming one of the UK's most talked-about in recent years. From getting its first Michelin star to a street food phenomenon where almost every area of the city centre has delicious eats, it's fair to say the city is becoming a food-lovers’ paradise.

And in the posher part of the centre – Spinningfields – sits a stalwart, and arguably a trendsetter, called Australasia.

Located underground, it's a subterranean restaurant known for its stylish, modern Australian cuisine with strong Asian and Pacific Rim influences. Accessed via a striking glass pyramid featuring a giant A, the elegant, white-washed interior evokes a "laid-back luxe" beach vibe.

The menu features a variety of dishes, including sushi, sashimi, and robata grill items, with a focus on fresh, premium ingredients and open-flame cooking. It's a popular spot for special occasions, offering both small plates for sharing and larger main courses, complemented by a cocktail and wine bar.

But the new menu was what I was there to try, alongside a willing wife.

We started with drinks – the “Osaka Smoke” was my tipple of choice. A combination of Bulleit Bourbon, demerara sugar, Angostura bitters and mandarin peel made this the smoothest, smokiest drink I've ever had. It was something truly special, and even though it cost £14 per glass, I could easily have had several without regretting the cost of each one.

The food, which really is what we had come for, I will say now was hit and miss – the hits were exceptional, the misses were . . . well, you'll find out.

We started with the Padron Peppers small plate, which was basically a tapas dish of roasted peppers covered in a yuzu and sweet miso sauce, lime zest and kombu salt. These were addictive, and I basically ate them all (sorry, wife), but the lime zest and kombu salt that were promised were just not there, and the sauce basically tasted like miso caramel – a familiar theme, as you'll see.

Next up, the Gunkan sushi selection of two tuna, two quail eggs and two salmon. All six were beautifully presented, and the quail egg gunkan was something very special. Annoyingly, the menu is scant on detail, so I can't say for sure what was in them, but I would go back for more. A real highlight of our experience.

The Tuna Tartare, from the Raw Bar menu, arrived with wafer-thin fresh tuna, a crispy reggio lattice, lime dashi, and Oscietra caviar. Hook this into my veins. It was subtle yet popping with flavour, and the flowers on top added a real pepperiness that made it a well-rounded dish. This came with a side of unidentified and not-on-the-menu crackers, which were the perfect vehicle for the dish.

Up next was the main course. We chose:

Dry-aged sirloin 280g with black garlic sauce
Gochujang miso black cod with Korean pepper sauce
Miso grilled aubergine with amaranth popcorn (side)
Truffle fried rice with wild mushrooms, English truffle and freshly shaved black truffle (side)

Out of the four dishes, two stood out – the steak and the cod.

The steak was perfectly cooked at medium rare, and the black garlic sauce was a joy to eat. The cod was the most well-cooked piece of fish I've ever eaten, and it had a perfect hint of gochjang that didn't overpower, but was cooked in a way that let the subtle sweetness shine.

However, the two side dishes left a lot to be desired.

Firstly, the miso aubergine had no amaranth popcorn on the plate and was so overpoweringly miso-flavoured that we had to scrape off the sauce to allow us to enjoy the more subtly flavoured parts underneath. It was as if someone had accidentally spilt the miso in the kitchen before sending out, although we quickly came to realise this is a flavour the place relies upon a lot in a multitude of their dishes, so if it was a mistake, they clearly didn't care and sent it out anyway; if it wasn’t… well I’ll let you fill in the gap.

And now for the worst part of the meal, the truffle fried rice. This was burnt. Badly. Bordering on inedible. It tasted of acrid soy sauce and had other ingredients that were so burned we couldn’t even identify them. Apart from the first bite, we didn't touch this – although the waiter didn't seem bothered or care to ask why it was left untouched.

However, the meal was saved by dessert.

I had the chocolate fondant with black sesame ice cream, which was a joy to eat and not too rich, thankfully, while my wife had the blueberry matcha cheesecake with toasted coconut crumb — smooth, silky, rich, flavourful, beautiful – a real highlight.

Overall, I wasn't blown away as I had hoped I would be, and I'm hoping the restaurant really tries to nail these new dishes properly, or at least takes more care.

I would go back, but I'd now know which dishes to avoid.

Overall, 7/10.

Australasia, Spinningfields: A Stylish Hideaway with Hit-and-Miss Dining

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