So many restaurants aim for that elusive sense of relaxed refinement, yet few get it right quite like Bistro Livi. It’s obvious in the subdued opulence of Flack Studio’s interiors – the rendered walls, brick floors and brassy accents. Felt, too, in the tempo of service and nattily dressed waitstaff’s articulate, accommodating tone. Mostly, however, it’s right on the plate: a jumble of meaty local mushrooms à la Grecque, say, or parchment-thin slices of cold-cut ox tongue offset by the curiously rewarding combination of sesame cream and tamarind. Simple dish names, such as “roasted stuffed quail”, do little justice to their meticulous technique and presentation, just as the wine list’s single-page proportions belie the degree of consideration behind it. Indeed, everything here’s just so easy, so breezy, right down to the two scoops of note-perfect house-made buttermilk ice-cream with a guava ripple awaiting at the finish line. A paean to the power of restraint.
