Mr. Hive Kitchen and Bar

So Mr Hive has replaced the ill fated Maze. We decided to try him out to see how he compares. This restaurant site in Crown is in one of the most awkward positions and it really needs to be a destination restaurant to draw in the people as it's never going to attract the passer by being on the way to the car park and beyond all the shops.

First impressions were that apart from a new display thing that looks like honeycomb tessellation at the bar and the octagonal shaped bar tables that fit together again reminiscent of honeycomb, none of the decor has actually changed from Maze days. The spiky lights are the same as is the metalwork on the back wall. I think it would have been nice for it to have cut all ties from Maze and for Mr Hive to gain its own identity but I guess financials may have curtailed that prospect.

Anyway more importantly how was the food and service? Service was friendly and I did fear we'd be the only ones there but it was nice to see one large table of diners and the odd couple spread out.

Our waiter was friendly and personable and he explained the menu well. We sat next to a window so natural light was good and better than our dim and dark experience at Maze.

We decided to stray away from the set meny and ordered what we liked. We started off with:

• Crispy little pig
• Black and blue tuna with aged soy

The crispy little pig was a winner. Crumbed cubes of porky goodness and the odd bit of crispy tail contrasted with gently pickled turnip and celery chopped into tiny pieces that I didn't mind it and I don't like celery and then all washed with a sweet cube of watermelon. A memorable dish and one we would return for.

Black and blue tuna was also good with very caramelised tuna on one side and rare on the other with a dark soy sauce. The salty soy and the lean almost metallic flavour of the tuna married well.

Good start Mr Hive. We're beginning to like you.

Main courses:

• Roasted snapper, smoked egg and summer greens
• Saltbush lamb belly, peas and mint
• Crispy chips

Main dishes don't really come with an accompaniment so price wise not cheap. The roasted snapper is an attractive looking plate of food. The smoked egg consists of yolk topping and the white is separate. The yolk adds a creamy saltiness to the fish and the white adds a different texture to the crispy skinned fish. The fish was cooked extremely well and this was a special dish with great flavour combinations remaining light and pleasant to eat.

The lamb was a heavier plate of food and tasted good but probably less special than the fish. It was effectively braised lamb done well. The lamb was cooked so it was tender but not so much that it becomes dry or mushy. The peas kept it light and the chips helped mop up the tasty jus.

Mr Hive you're flying the flag well.

Onto dessert. Now apparently there is a dessert bar area you can sit at and watch the dessert come together but I guess for a quiet lunch service this option does not exist.

Steve thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Hive’s chocolate bar, peanuts and caramel. It reminded me of a similar dessert I had at one of Alain Ducasse's restaurants in Las Vegas but lighter and the salted caramel ice cream was pretty unforgettable and lifted this chocolate dish from being a crowd pleaser to being pretty extraordinary.

The summer berry Eton mess I ordered was a light way (aside from double cream and lots of sugar) to end the meal. It felt light although no doubt decadent calorie wise. I enjoyed the fruit cream and the sweet meringue and the berries. I probably would have enjoyed it more if the meringue had a bit of chew to it.

Mr HIve for us beats Maze hands down. And we enjoyed his company so much we booked it again to take my family there who will be visiting so I hope Mr Hive does it again!