We’d been to Baringo for brunch and enjoyed the food and ambience and checked out the bistro with a view to trying it out on the next special occasion. So, we were looking forward to a special dinner. The bistro is very pleasant and the wine list impressive and judging by the menu, the food should have been impressive too. Sadly, the overall impression was a of a kitchen trying hard but lacking consistency. The (3) charred Brisbane King Prawns on a chickpea purée were burnt on the outside, not just charred, but managed to also be lukewarm. The chickpea purée lacked seasoning and lacked taste full stop. On the other hand, the chill mussels were delicious and plentiful. Unfortunately, a couple of them were barely open (they shouldn’t have been served) and, against her better judgment, my wife ate them nontheless only to regret it later with a hasty visit to the bathroom as soon as we arrived back home and several repeat visits through the night. Her main dish of barramundi was perfectly cooked, tasty, and matched with a very pleasant crispy kale and beetroot salad. I went for the pork cutlet which was so over-cooked and dry to be almost inedible. Normally I would have sent such a dish back to the kitchen but, you know how it is, you’re out for a special occasion, you don’t want to cause a fuss, you don’t want your partner to eat whilst you wait for another dish etc so I put with it. That’s my mistake. We finished our main and left. We desperately wanted Baringo to be good so that we have another quality restaurant in the region but it was too hit and miss for us to risk another visit and another $200 for a poor two course meal for two. If it wasn’t for the ambience of the place and some of the food being good, I’d only give 1*.