The entrance to Shore is up the stairs from the adjoining happening downstairs bar, and the modern steak house is immediately notable for its calm, spacious atmosphere even with the busy open kitchen. Gently curving lines and cosy nooks preserve a sense of laid-back bistro dining, though attention to details are apparent in their Laguiole steak knives and elegant glassware.

Shore boasts an appealing menu featuring premium produce, sourced with an eye for sustainability, including line-caught fish, grass-fed beef and organic vegetables. We begin with a slow roasted onion tartlet and lettuce hearts with crab. The tartlet is a well-balanced combination of sweet and sharp flavours, while the latter is a fantastic summer salad, with the crab sitting beautifully in creamy green goddess dressing and the lettuce hearts adding robust mouth-feel, though it may be a better dish shared. After browsing their comprehensive “meat bible”, we are impressed by Shore’s selection of in-house dry-aged beef and choose a Cape Grim bone-in, grass fed striploin (13oz) – while delectable, it is unfortunately over-seasoned, masking the fine, complex flavours of the steak. The standout dish of the evening is a confit of French duck with savoy cabbage, applewood smoked bacon and seared foie gras. The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, and the crisp, salty skin a perfect foil for the rich foie gras. Sides of balsamic roasted beets and grilled asparagus beets are tasty, but the creamed spinach is again overly salty. Our salted butterscotch pudding is unremarkable apart from its accompanying brown bread ice-cream, while the “milk & cookies” (French hot chocolate, kalamansi ice cream, chocolate butter cookies) is bland, though the kalamansi’s tang lends an unusual dimension.

The team’s passion for produce carries over into the wine list, which is dominated by boutique Australian and New Zealand estates of excellent quality and affordable prices. The old world also gets a look-in, especially on their premium wine list, available for those with plumper wallets.

Manager Troy Roberts is a veritable encyclopedia on the provenance of Shore’s ingredients and clearly shares the chef’s passion for high caliber, sustainable produce. It is to be hoped that his attitude will eventually rub off on the rest of his staff; right now, they are distinctly less enthusiastic.

Dinner will tally around HK$550 per person for a three-course meal with a glass of house wine, but might be double that with a steak – based on the superb quality of the ingredients, this is a more than a reasonable amount.