Savoye Bistro

Cuisine: French fusion.

Ambience: Romantic and relaxed. The restaurant deserves plaudits for creating an interior that encourages diners to linger. Inviting features include copper pendant lamps that accentuate the high ceiling, plump leather cushions and shelves that display magazines and architectural tomes (including a few featuring Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, after which Savoye Bistro is named).

Price: About HK$300 a head, not including drinks or 10 per cent service charge.

Pros: Dining in a setting that makes you forget you're in Hong Kong; soothing jazz music that never intrudes into conversation; and waiters who are eager to please. It was useful to be able o scan the menu on their Website before arriving (www.villasavoye.com.hk).

Cons: Stale bread. Also, the lemon sorbet, served gratis as a palate cleanser, was too sweet. The appetiser of roasted sea scallops (HK$78) was generous in size but bland. The menu doesn't offer much for vegetarians.

Recommended dishes: The main course of grilled beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce (HK$168) was tender and buttery. The steak was served the way we requested, rare, and came with a healthy dollop of mustard. Of the five seafood mains available, we chose the roasted garoupa fillet in Cajun style (HK$168, above). The blackened, crispy skin gave the fish a delicious seared flavour. To end the meal, my guest and I shared a homemade souffle (HK$58), which is offered in flavours of lime, mocha or ginger (which we chose). Not too sweet, and with lashings of ginger, it sparked ideas about trying to bake one equally light, fluffy and delightful at home.

What else? A small bamboo-and-pebble outdoor area at the back of the restaurant is perfect for intimate meals, although it's best to wait until cooler weather if you're planning a date. During summer it serves as a retreat for smokers.