Located on the 28th floor of iSquare shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, the view from Ambrosia may not be the very best in Hong Kong, but it is not shabby at all. Seating at Ambrosia are designed around the view, with romantic and spacious banquettes given front-row seats at the floor-to-ceiling windows. The only odd element are the strings of crystal beads hanging in front of the windows, detracting from the view. A pianist seated at the white baby grand in the corner plays Moon River and other old-fashioned standards, completing the romantic yet slightly cheesy vibe.

It would be churlish to go to Ambrosia Oyster Bar and Grill without trying the said oysters and grilled meats so we start the evening with a platter of molluscs, chosen from an extensive list ranging from the crowd-pleasing Coffin Bay and Tasmanian varieties, to larger and brinier French types such as Gillardeau and Fleur des Eaux. While the oysters are undeniably fresh and served at a perfect temperature, we wish the adductor muscle had been fully detached from the shell by the shucker. As they were not, our own clumsy attempts to remove the oyster managed to spill a precious amount of the sea water liquid onto our plate, wasting an entirely delicious and necessary part of the oyster-eating experience. Our second course of a signature beef consommé and lobster ravioli yields mixed results. A sign of a good consommé is its clarity, so it is strange that Ambrosia would choose to garnish it with a rapidly melting piece of bone marrow, depositing a layer of grease on the soup. Having said that, the flavours of the consommé are well-developed, making it a light yet deeply tasty start to the meal. The ravioli is made with silky soft pasta and the lobster inside impressively retains its bite, but the sauce is one-note and predictable: a sprinkling of fresh herbs would have gone far to improve the dish. For mains, we choose a pasture-fed Irish rib-eye and a duck breast with confit. The duck breast comes rare as requested, but is oddly tough despite the cooking temperature. The duck confit is also dry and a bit salty, though both texture flaws are slightly ameliorated by a bed of braised red cabbage. The rib-eye is also cooked perfectly to medium rare, but was not rested enough: when we cut into the steak, an unappetising mixture of meat juice and blood gushed out. We had ordered sides of French fries and Savoy cabbage, which are perhaps the highlights, as the Savoy cabbage comes with garlic and a generous amount of bacon while the French fries are golden brown, crunchy and crispy. For dessert, we try a strawberry mille-feuille, which could have been flakier and more buttery. Good thing we had greedily ordered a side of Swiss chocolate ice-cream, which helped the rather dry pastry go down easier.

The wine selection by the glass is paltry and limited, with less than half a dozen available. If ordering from the bottle, however, the selection is more impressive with premium red wines from estates such as Mouton Rothschild, Petrus and Romanée Conti available.

The service at Ambrosia is, on the whole, attentive and efficient. The only flaw was that our sides of French fries and Savoy cabbage did not come until 10 minutes after the main dishes, and when they did, they were set down at our table without an apology.

A meal for two that starts with half a dozen oysters, followed by three courses plus wine will come to about HK$2,300. While this is certainly not cheap, the jet-fresh oysters and lovely views do make this a worthwhile treat.