Restaurant review: Capitol Bar and Grill at QT Canberra is a classic night out

Not that I've been to any of these places but Heston Bluemnthal has a venue at London's Mandarin Oriental hotel and Alain Ducasse is at Le Meurice Hotel in Paris; and closer to home Clare Smyth has Oncore at Crown Sydney, Sean Connolly has Gowings, at QT in Sydney, and Shannon Martinez's Lona Misa, at Ovolo South Yarra, Melbourne, is a one-hatted vegan restaurant.

Here in Canberra we're not doing too bad either. We have Ben Willis's new restaurant Louis at Hotel Realm, Monster Kitchen and Bar at Ovolo, Agonstini's at East Hotel and Braddon Merchant at the Midnight Hotel, just to name a few.

Tonight, we're at Capitol Bar and Grill, at QT Canberra. I do like it here. It's kind of glamorous in an old-school kind of way, plenty of glass and wood, leather upholstery and understated lighting. The bar itself is the kind of place you might find George Clooney and Vera Farmiga tucked away in a private corner, re-enacting scenes from the fabulous film Up in the Air. They'd be ordering from the extensive drinks list, perhaps from the section entitled "A glass of fancy wine". These wines are top end, stored and poured using the Coravin wine preservation system. It's a way of trying those wines you could never afford to buy by the bottle. A glass of 2013 Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque Epernay champagne will set you back $69, but you'll be amazed by every bubble.

As you enter from the hotel lobby you'll see the chef's table area on your left. There's a view of the kitchen, with all the fiery dramatics from the wood-fired grill, and it looks like plenty of prep goes on here, too. During the night chef Michael Box is often seen working there, carving meat and putting the finishing touches on plates.

The menu is wonderfully seasonal. At the moment there's slow-roasted beetroot, cauliflower with whipped ricotta, confited spiced carrots and a medley of mushrooms to remind you things are cooling down.

We start with a dozen Sydney rock oysters ($7.50 each), half with a tart mignonette, half plain. We're offered a "caviar bump" too, where for $20 you get a splodge, if that's the right word, of Black Pearl sturgeon caviar to accompany them. The oysters on their own are delicious, plump and salty, but the caviar does bump it to a different level.

The grill in the name of the restaurant rightly suggests that meat is on high rotation here. There's a 1.2 kilogram bistecca fiorentina, dryed in-house for 30 days, for $180, which can probably feed four to six people. The lamb "cutlets" are mammoth, cut from a shoulder with an anchovy cream.

But tonight we're going for something a little different. The pan-fried snapper ($42) is served on a bed of smoked tomato, spiced up with some toasty coriander seed. There's a delicate and well-seasoned agrodoulce tomato sauce to balance it all. The fish is perfectly cooked, it's a thick section and the middle is flaky, the skin golden and crispy.

We love the idea of the "Pollie's Pie" ($52). How very Canberra. The pop-art pollies looking in from the surrounding walls would approve. We could talk about "trimming fat from the budget", or "pork barrelling", or this dish being a speciality of the cap H House. Whatever you say about it, it's a beautiful, beautiful pie with wagyu beef sweetened by a Cote de Rhone red wine. There's a portion of bone, still full of marrow, poking out of the top of the golden pastry. Served on a smooth bed of Paris mash, it's almost the perfect winter dish.

Both dishes go well with the sides we choose. The potato gallette ($14) is a classic. Thin layers of potato, finished with layers of confit garlic and a smoked marscapone. There's still some firmness to the potato, which is how a gratin should be. Slow-roasting the medley of mushrooms ($14) adds a real depth of flavour and the lemon myrtle butter a sweet kick.

For dessert we share the "Canberra Mess". Another fun nod to our capital city. If the pie reminds us that winter is coming, this dessert sends us the other way. It's summery, citrusy and full of coconut. Shards of meringue, flavoured with a little calamansi zest, hide a mandarin sorbet and a coconut mousse. It's a great way to end the night.

Capitol Bar and Grill does things extremely well. With the safety net of the hotel, there's the opportunity to try a few different things, but they don't shy away from the need to produce classic dishes at a high standard. Book yourself a room upstairs and make a night of it.

Address: QT Hotel, London Circuit, City

Phone: 62671261

Website: qthotels.com

Hours: Breakfast, Monday to Friday, 6.30-10am, weekends, 7-11am; Dinner, Monday to Saturday, 5.30-9pm; Capitol Bar, seven days, noon til late.

Chef: Executive chef Michael Box; chef de cuisine Mel Hobby

Noise: Not a problem

Dietary: Choices available and staff are helpful