Located at the uppermost corner of Lan Kwai Fong, the open-air, ground-level bar at Wooloomooloo finds favour both with the office crowd from Central during the week as well as those out looking for a little fun on the weekends. The upper-level dining room uses lots of dark wood and soft lighting to achieve a cool, understated mood. Large windows on two sides provide ample natural light and look out at the busy traffic nearby.

With the word “steakhouse” in the name, beef is the obvious choice here. Wooloomooloo prides itself on the grain-fed, hormone and antibiotics-free black Angus from Clare Valley in Australia. The environmentally-conscious diner can choose the grass-fed Hereford cattle. While the menu failed to identify the type of beef used in our dishes, there is little doubt regarding its quality. Despite overcooking both orders of beef from medium-rare to medium, the meat remained juicy. The use of parma ham in the beef Wellington (8-ounce, HK$340) means it is a little over-seasoned. The demi-glace for the filet Diane (8-ounce, HK$320) is similarly heavy-handed. For those not looking for steak, there are plenty of salads and seafood items to choose from. The sautéed garlic prawns (HK$150) are gigantic, but the pungent taste of tomalley from the head is a telltale sign regarding freshness. The blue swimmer crab cake (HK$150) is seasoned with too much pepper, and tastes vaguely Japanese thanks to the use of dried konbu. The creamy spinach (HK$70) fares better than the creamy corn (HK$65), as the latter has too much cream and yet remains grainy. The Wooloomooloo lemon and lime pie and the lemon Europa (both HK$80) provides a nice finish to the meal.

The wine list has a diverse, mid-priced selection to please the target clientele – peppered with familiar producers and dominated by new world regions such as Australia and New Zealand. More than a dozen wines by the glass cover most major varietals. There is expensive bubbly should occasion call for it.

While staff is friendly and attentive, additional training would ensure better knowledge of the menu and smoother service.

A three-course dinner with side dishes for two comes to about HK$1,300, which is a little high given the quality of the food, but similar to other establishments in the area.