Two bartenders stand against a glowing wall of spirits at the back of the retro-inspired modern dining room. As they enthusiastically swing cocktail shakers through the air, the rattle of the ice against the metal canisters echoes through the deafeningly noisy space, heaving with diners competing to be heard.

There’s a buzz about Burleigh’s newest restaurant, and with two highly regarded Gold Coast hospitality names behind the venue, it comes as no surprise.

Jimmy Wah’s is the first stand-alone venture for acclaimed former Social Eating House Broadbeach chef Jake Cooley, and restaurateur Shelley Greaves (ex-Verve, Broadbeach).

Cooley has turned his focus from Mod Oz share plates to Vietnamese bites, with dishes spanning from banh mi and steamed buns to prawn curry and pork collar.

The easiest way to dine is to take the seven-course “feed me” menu ($59 each) and let the chef decide what you eat. But first, order a cocktail. Those rhythmic bartenders provide more than just theatre for the diners – they also serve some darn delicious drinks.

Vietnamese ingredients dominate the cocktail list and the Cassius in Peace, featuring tequila, pandan, coconut, egg white and lime juice served in a tiny copper pot topped with a star anise, is a triumph. While the creamy, almost-chocolatey, Kahlua and spiced rum-spiked Vietnamese espresso martini with condensed milk is an easy alternative to dessert.

Food is fast to arrive and even more quickly devoured, with two rice paper rolls neatly packed with pink local prawns, vermicelli and fresh herbs amped up by a dipping in a thick, slightly syrupy chilli sauce.

Delicate shavings of kingfish sashimi (pictured) bear a sneaky chilli kick from a Thai basil, finger lime and coconut dressing. Beef pho – blooming with medium-rare sirloin, tender brisket and bean sprouts – is much more subtle.

Blistered-skin, deep-fried spring rolls are juicy but lack any real wow, but the too thickly battered soft shell crab simply disappoints – with not even the fresh pomelo-dressed salad underneath able to cut through the grease.

Salty, heavily spiced, sesame seed-flecked, blackened quail – with feet still attached – get things back on track, before a simple but well-executed final course of blush duck breast lifted by slivers of peppy young ginger.

Desserts of Vietnamese mocha flan with peanuts, cocoa and condensed milk ice cream, and pandan tapioca and coconut pudding appeal, but we take the struggle of trying to get a waitress’s attention after ours clocks off for the night as a sign we don’t need it.

Service could do with some work, with our waitress faultless, but others oblivious to the basics, however that will surely come as the restaurant settles in.

Originally published on couriermail.com.au