Restaurant review: The Terrace at Si! in Irvine opens

The Terrace at Si! opened up just before the town's Marymass festival last month following a £250,000 refurbishment by owners Simpsinns.

It followed on from a transformation of the ground floor of the premises into The Potting Shed, which has already attracted rave reviews for the food, new decor and atmosphere.

So how does The Terrace at Si!, which is offering an à la carte menu from 5pm to 9pm, Friday to Sunday, shape up.

Spoilers... it shapes up pretty darn well.

My partner and I headed along to the restaurant last Friday to sample the fare - and take in the leafy new decor, which looks amazing as the pictures on this page show.

Welcomed in with a glass of prosecco - with a raspberry in it no less - the tough decisions began.

I toyed with the idea of ordering the smoked salmon, with rocket salad, capers and lemon aioli, or perhaps a nice light caprese salad, but the king prawns won out. For both of us.

Pan fried with garlic and finished with a squeeze of lemon, and toasted sourdough bloomer, it proved a tasty combination to start the evening off - garnering top marks from both of us.

Then the mains...

My partner opted for the Cajun spiced chicken tempura, served with fries and side salad. It came with a choice of four dipping sauces and she decided on the hoi sin, obviously fancying a bit of fusion to her food.

It turned out to be a perfect combination.

"That's the best tempura I've had in years," she told me.

Tempted as I was by the fillet steak, having watched a couple of guys at the adjoining table tear in to one each, I decided to stick to the seafood selection.

I went for the pan-fried lemon and chilli seabass.

Nestling on a bed of patatas bravas, buttered greens and with dashes of lemon aioli, it was a true treat for the tastebuds. Not too spicy, the chilli gave it a nice kick and the dish was complemented well by the delicately cubed patatas bravas.

So how good was it all? It was clean plates all round and - maddeningly - no room left for a sweet, which was probably our only disappointment of the evening. I'll have to head back to try my trio of sorbets or the Millionaire Brownie Sundae.

Let's not forget the service at the Terrace at Si! The staff were always smiling, knew their food and were only too happy to help with any requests or advice. Top marks again there.

In short, if you want to try a menu that features some of your favourite dishes alongside some tempting new ideas, the Terrace at Si! should more than meet your needs.

And foodies are just going to love it.