THE stylish, slick East Hotel has upped the ante in Canberra in several ways, including with Ox Eatery.

Ox food is designed to be shared and so is served a few dishes at a time. You won’t be able to go past the juicy, tender meats cooked on the large, open rotisserie – whole chickens, big cuts of beef, rolled pork belly and, on one of my visits, succulent goat.

It’s an authentic, imported French rotisserie that forms a major part of the décor and it’s worth visiting Ox just to watch it turning ever so slowly. Truly mesmerising.

Our pork belly with homemade apple sauce and crunchy crackling ($29) was great value. Loads of comforting food, indeed. We opted for sides to round out the meat factor – fresh French beans with confit shallots ($10), fries with a special chilli salt ($9) and a green salad, which looked perky but was sadly drowning in too much dressing.

If you’re a large crowd and so inclined, you can order a whole suckling pig served with all the trimmings (three days’ advance notice). It’s a feed for between 14 and 18 people and costs $800. Pigalicious, as Ox says.

At Ox you can enjoy something to eat all day. Small dishes include gin and tonic salmon with Hendricks jelly, which I’ve had and it’s sensational ($18), and black Angus beef tartar with quail yolk and grissini, which I’ve had and is also sensational ($16).

The wine list is massive, with every option carefully selected and Ox stocks more than 100 types of whiskey. The bar area is at the back of the eatery and has a great outdoor area that is always packed after work on Fridays.

I love the look of the decor – kind-of vintage 1950s and the horseshoe-shaped booths are classic. However, some tables are too high or perhaps the seats are low. And once a few people are tucked in a booth to dine it is either cosy or a bit of a squeeze, especially with so many dishes on the table.

Owner Chris Hansen is a familiar face to many (formerly Cape Cod in Deakin and of the Chairman and Yip team). He’s a great operator and on a serious mission with Ox.

On service? I have to say I give Ox mixed reviews. I’ve been treated like gold and like a piece of charcoal. And once I popped by with a friend on the off chance we could get a table. We were almost chastised for not having a booking.

Ox Eatery. East Hotel, 69 Canberra Avenue (entrance off Giles Street). Call 6178 0041. Open Monday to Saturday, lunch from noon and dinner from 6pm.