Barracuda Grill,

5 Burnaby Hill, Hamilton

@EDITRULE:

Our party of five arrived at Barracuda last Friday night to find the place absolutely jumping. A good job we made a reservation earlier in the week.

Comfortably seated at a corner table, we ordered some fancy cocktails to sip while scanning the menu, although we already knew what to kick off with. One of Hack's dining companions had previously sampled Barracuda's seafood tower ? a multi-tiered mountain of the freshest seafood ? and that's what we were here for.

It duly arrived to much fanfare and our group enjoyed a leisurely few hours picking through oysters, mussels, grilled scallops, chunks of lobster and slabs of tuna sashimi. All very delicious.

By the time the last slippery bivalve had been slurped from its shell, 80 percent of those at our table were completely stuffed and wanted nothing more than a gooey, chocolatey dessert to finish off.

Why is it that so many girls have such pathetic appetites? This was a shame as Hack was just getting started and really fancied tackling some of the meatier main courses.

Oh, well, if this place is going to get a write-up, your critic would have to make a return visit in the interests of thorough research. What a nuisance.

Return we did a few days later for a late-night supper. Although a mid-week night, the dining room was as lively as our previous visit.

Not surprisingly, Barracuda's menu focuses on seafood, which is given an international treatment ? there's a bit of Asia here, some Europe there.

Main courses include tamarind-glazed salmon, scallop and prawn paella, Chinese tuna, lobster fettuccini and crab cakes. It's a tantalising mix and guarantees that there should be something to please even the most fastidious foodie.

Despite the variety, it didn't take long to make some decisions about what to select from the menu. Cornmeal oysters and mussels in a mushroomy sauce to start, lamb and duck for the mains. The oysters were a surprise and, it must be said, not a pleasant one.

We expected them to be delivered baked in the shell ? a la Rockefeller ? with some cornmeal crumbs on top. Instead this particular duo had been buried in a cornmeal breading and then deep fried.

It was a mix that just didn't work. Two bites and it was pushed it aside.

Not so the mussels which were rich and smoky and made even more so by the accompanying mushroom cream sauce, the last drop of which was mopped up. Delicious.

The kitchen also scored high marks with our entrees.

The lamb was served three different ways ? chops with a porcini crust, chops with a herb marinade and shank-filled ravioli.

The porcini chops, salty and savoury, won top billing although there was some stiff competition from the truffle mashed potatoes which were luxurious, as was the accompanying sauce.

I did make one faux pas here, asking for the chops to be cooked medium rare.

I expected them to be just pink in the centre but instead was served a little underdone.

Even for an unabashed carnivore as myself, these could have done with a few minutes more on the grill, although I can hardly blame the chef for this.

The duck with chanterelles, puff pastry and another delicious sauce got top marks when it came to preparation.

Crisp on the outside, moist in the middle, this dish was as sumptuous as the one we enjoyed at The Monte Carlo Restaurant earlier in the year. High praise indeed.

Service was excellent on both visits, so much so that, on our second trip, we left an additional tip on top of the usual 15 percent automatic gratuity charge.

Our final bill came to $160 for two starters, two entrees, water and four glasses of wine. Expensive?

Well, it certainly isn't cheap, particularly considering we skipped dessert and coffee, but one should also bare in mind that the restaurant certainly doesn't skip when it comes to using prime quality and sometimes very expensive ingredients. (Yes, the mash contained chunks of real truffle.)

The atmosphere at Barracuda hits just the right note of informal elegance and could have invented the phrase 'smart casual'. It's modern and stylish with plenty of polished wood, designer lighting and crisp white linen. You would certainly feel underdressed in denim but at the same time you won't be reprimanded if you use the wrong spoon for your soup.

It's typical of many restaurants that are thriving in Hamilton at the moment that prepare and serve really good quality food in a pleasing atmosphere without charging the Earth.

If you haven't yet been, you should give it a try. Just make sure you book well in advance.

@EDITRULE:

Hack's ratings

4 out of 5. 5 out of 5. Faultless. 4 out of 5. Our one complaint was the upstairs trek diners have to navigate to get to the bathrooms. 4 out of 5 Not really. No.