Cuisine: European

Ambience: The small 24-seat restaurant was packed but lacked a buzz - perhaps because of its layout, with staff overseeing diners from the middle of the room making you feel as if you are being watched at all time. The impressive crisp, white, modern decor creates a fresh feel and the ample use of glass means a sunny welcome for day-time diners. Its location is far from the bustling restaurant and bar crowd, so it's ideal for quiet dining. People watchers will be bored.

Price: A three-course dinner without drinks but and a 10 per cent service charge is about HK$450 per person.

Pros: The menu is nicely broken down into sections including leaves, bowl & soup, smaller plates and larger plates, so it's easy to share a variety of dishes. The service was friendly and efficient.

Cons: For a European restaurant the wine list was disappointingly small and expensive, with only two varieties of white and red available by the glass. The Catalan meatballs with crusty bread and portobello mushrooms (HK$78) were pale and bland.

Recommended dishes: The pear and goat's cheese salad (HK$67) won the ordering battle with a lobster salad and it hit the spot. The grilled roasted lamb T-bone with green beans and potato wedges (HK$255, above), was juicy and tender, albeit slightly undercooked. The menu also boasted an impressive selection of gourmet-inspired pizzas with mouth-watering toppings such as pear and gorgonzola and spinach and clams.

What else? Cafe Maison is on the ground floor of The Putman hotel-apartment designed by Andree Putman, and is the third venture for architect and restaurateur Frank Sun, who has Tribute on Elgin Street and Bricolage on 62 Hollywood Road.