121 Peak Road, The Peak. Tel: 2849 1000
Open: Monday-Friday 10.30am-11.30pm, Saturday and Sunday 8.30am-1am
The opening of The Peak Lookout Hong Kong was one of the most anticipated restaurant launches in recent memory. When the owners of the longstanding Peak Cafe lost the tender to the property, the restaurant's customers wondered how the new operators could improve on the winning formula, which had more to do with perfect location and wonderful setting than the food, which was frequently mediocre.
The answer: it's much the same - average food, great ambience.
We had to look closely to see the physical changes. It seems sleeker than before, and the open kitchen and oyster bar are new, as is the outside barbecue, which sent enticing aromas of grilling meats and seafood wafting into the cool night air.
The menu has the same something-for-everybody mix of Asian and Western dishes that worked so well with the Peak Cafe. We shared our appetisers of deep-fried soft-shell crab with garlic and sweet chilli sauce ($98) and house-cured salmon with sweet corn and dill fritters ($110). For our mains, we ordered balsamic-glazed veal shank with yam mash, green beans and bacon ($165) and, finding the smell from the grill irresistible, barbecued lamb chops with roasted potatoes ($158). From the extensive wine list we chose one of the two house reds, a Wirra Wirra W2 Shiraz ($210).