We’re always a little wary of restaurants described as ‘fusion’, or those hung up on a gimmick, so it was with a degree of caution that we approached this Italian-Japanese restaurant, a culinary spinoff from Canadian jewellery merchant Damiani. Predictably, the décor in the restaurant and upstairs bar is plush and chic, with diamonds glinting from behind protective glass – but can the food compare with its surroundings?

Taking Italian cuisine as its starting point, the menu offers an intriguing selection of options with a distinctly Japanese twist. Starters were a mixed bag: the grain-fed pork belly with Cerignola olives, black truffle and smoked ricotta ($138) had clearly benefited from its 36-hour cooking time – the fat was wonderfully soft and buttery. However the prawns with lemon-chilli dust, eggplant, semi-dried tomatoes and campari reduction ($168), were a little too bitter for our – and, we suspect, most people’s – tastes.

The main course of seared tuna topped with foie gras and green peppercorn yamamomo sauce ($248) led to immediate regrets. The first was that we’d ordered it medium-rare instead of rare – cuts of tuna this fresh should have only the most passing acquaintance with the frying pan. The second was we’d neglected to order the foie gras as a stand-alone starter. ‘Melt in the mouth’ is one of the most overused clichés in the gastronomic lexicon (along with ‘uncovered gem’), but this morsel truly deserved the accolade, the lightly seared exterior giving way to a rich liquid centre as it eased off the fork.

Conversely, my companion was left slightly underwhelmed by her choice. There was nothing wrong with her clam linguine ($138) per se: the clams were juicy and well cooked, while the pasta in vermintino, garlic and parsley was al dente to a tee. My feeling was she envied the decadent flavours emanating from my plate. Sorry my dear, next time perhaps.

The small but well-selected wine list further enhanced the meal – which is more than can be said for the cumbersome cutlery clearly designed for style rather than ease of use. This minor gripe – and my partner’s mistaken order – aside, D.Diamond is an uncovered gem (oops).

David Cooper