Once upon a time when I was working on the 11th floor of the Mitchell Centre as a lowly government employee, my colleagues and I would do our very best on Friday afternoons to strengthen the stereo type of the "alcoholic public sector employee". Destination of choice? Monsoons. Back in those days I was also a youngun who would go out at night every once in a while and get hammered until the sun rose, Monsoons once again being a well frequented venue. Since those days I never really thought of it as a place to go and eat... I'm guessing a lot of other people feel this way too, which is why head chef Andy has taken it upon himself to re-invent the food side of the business by spearheading a brand new lunch and dinner menu.

The new look offering is mostly Aussie grub, plus pizzas, pasta and some tapas style dishes which are great for sharing. Lunch and dinner menus are practically the same except for a few items, but I'm told you can order from either if you like and the chefs will be more than happy to oblige.

I  bring my buddy along for lunch, fittingly I can blame him for some of those aforementioned drunken weekend nights, and we get down to business by ordering some of the tapas style items to share - bush spice calamari ($12), grilled chorizo with flat bread ($10) and coconut prawns with mango and chilli salsa ($12). The prawns are delicious, gorgeous and cooked well, I love anything with coconut in it and these are also gently fried for some awesome crunch. The salsa on the side tastes fresh and vibrant, not so much chilli as described on the menu but I don't mind.

Next up the grilled Spanish chorizo and char grilled flat bread provide a little bit of heat. Nothing particularly special about this, but the sausage is great, and I really like a good sausage. I think perhaps missing is some kind of condiment to balance with the heat as well as to provide some moisture. Finally we have the twin towers of bush spice calamari. Big fat and juicy, cooked juuuust right so that it's still squishy tender. Great aioli too. I'm glad tartar sauce has seemingly disappeared from existence across just about every kitchen and been replaced by aioli. My main is the gourmet beef burger ($16.50) - wagyu mince, lettuce, tomato, onion and tomato relish. It's quite nice with a fat and tasty patty, however it could do with some fancy cheese, a slice or two of beetroot and mesculun greens to be truly branded gourmet. Great chips on the side by the way.

My pal gets the southern fried chicken with cajun mayo ($18.50). This was the only downer of the meal with the chicken being over spiced in the salt and pepper department, Colonel Sanders would certainly not approve. Chef Andy has advised me he's sorted this out now though, so I'm sure it'll be smashing if you order it now.

Service was a little slow as there are only two guys in the kitchen at the moment, they're looking for more helpers but it's hard to find good staff I'm told. I hear that a lot actually when I've talked to the various restaurant managers I've spoken too. Wonder why that is? The wait staff however are available in abundance and all of them get the job done politely and efficiently. Some of them even have really nice English accents ;)

Overall I was impressed by the new menu  - plenty of options to choose from at reasonable prices and if they can get a few more helping hands in the kitchen that would make the dining experience even better. Good work chaps.