Perhaps it’s because it is snuggled at the end of a new building at Toowong’s Memorial Park in Brisbane’s inner west with views across the Wests Bulldogs rugby oval to a scrum of lovely old trees. Part of the ­appeal may be the architecture, cool and modern with hipster-chic wooden tables with metal legs on a polished concrete floor.

The first time I went, P&F had just opened and it was a bit of a shemozzle, with wait staff bumping into each other, ­unsure where to seat us, not confident about the menu and unable to say whether or not the place was licensed. Another waitress ­appeared and confessed there was no wine list. My companion, a television personality, thought this was the signal that the joint was BYO and produced a sneaky bottle of Tasmanian pinot from his briefcase. Oh my, you should have seen his jaw drop when a bossy boots arrived to say he wasn’t allowed to open it on the premises. It was excruciating fun.

Never mind, I said, the Regatta Hotel is just down the road and we would call in later for a pot. And we did. Two pots, in fact, to make up for the earlier deprivations.

Anyway, on that first visit I had fish and chips and enjoyed it immensely. My companion seemed to like his salt and pepper calamari ($20.50) with a burst of Asian ­flavours, dressed with a chilli and ginger glaze and served with a bean sprout and broken peanut salad pimped with cuc­umber, ­coriander and mint.

There was plenty of interesting food to choose from: mussels in a chilli tomato broth ($22.50); half a roast chicken with kipfler potatoes, pumpkin, green beans and gravy ($26.50); steak and chips ($24.50), or a bespoke bacon burger with an Angus patty ($16.50). I saw one arriving at the table next door and it was oozing melted cheese, tomato relish and pickles.

On another visit, we asked the waitress what the fish of the day ($26.50) was. She said she didn’t know. It turned out to be barramundi and it was tasty enough. However, it arrived on one of those ridiculous wooden boards and once you began to eviscerate the fish, the peas in the accompanying salad rolled onto the table.

On my last visit I had a fillet of kangaroo ($25.50) served sliced over a salad. For me, it was a culinary ode to Australia. The ­delicious roo flesh, pink and yielding, was one of the best dishes I’ve eaten this year.

Again there was no wine list, but the waitress explained we could purchase a bottle from the rugby club next door and bring it to our table. Catch 22: The club was shut. So we shared something annoyingly called “Green As, Bro!” ($9). For the first time in years I found myself with a drink with a straw. Still, it was an agreeable blend of kale, cucumber, celery, banana, chia, ­parsley, apple juice and coconut water.

Finally we chose some sweet treats from the glass cabinet inside the restaurant. The brownie ($6.50) wasn’t much to rave about but the miniature chocolate blueberry tarts ($2 each) were delicious.

P&F is also open for breakfast, though not for dinner.

This review originally appeared on couriermail.com.au.