Universal

The Bar: Universal is most famous for its food – a globe-trotting, flavour-packed texture-fest brought to you by chef/owner Christine Manfield – but did you know you can also take a drink at the bar with no pressure to dine? The list is fairly fruity with cocktails broken into ‘foreplay', ‘encore' and ‘afterplay'. And with names like ‘the big tease' and ‘Mexican pony ride', you could be forgiven for thinking you were in for more than a drink. If the classics are more your style, the Whisky Sour is kick arse, tart and refreshing. Make sure you take the time to peruse the drinks list as there are plenty of interesting discoveries, like the ‘Azure’ Tosatsuru Ginjo-shu, a sake made from deep sea spring water out of the Pacific Ocean. Wow. Though you're seated at the bar, there's full access to the à la carte menu, so make sure you order a few plates to share such as five spice pork, grilled prawns, cashew and pomelo salad.

The Restaurant: The menu is made up of flavour-packed small plates. The idea is to choose four or more, with the menu traveling from light to more substantial dishes. Four, unless you're extremely hungry, works out about right, including one of Manfield's outstanding desserts. It can get a little exxy when you start matching wines for each course. Our tip is to order a bottle of some sort of light, aromatic white to get you through the bulk of the menu then a glass of red if you need it.