Kepos and I shared a whirlwind Winter romance (8/10) and just 3 weeks later, an expensive divorce is in order. It's not my fault.

Now a Spring clipboard menu 'update' disguises a multi-dollar pricing step-up; four months after open! Taking a page from the Justin Bieber book of premature success, I'm of the (uninformed) view Kepos' owner(s) is stroking his own ego.

Channel checks with trusted fishmongers confirm Norwegian trout pricing is stable. Wage rates are also at record lows. What does this mean? A classic case of profit-gouging 101. Today, five mains plus five drinks for $112 put the owner's fourth story house renovation one-step closer to reality.    

A go-to healthy option - Smoked trout salad, asparagus, hazelnuts and freekeh - $22

Gold fish memory recalls this a sub $20 dish way back in August. The dietary wealth spectrum for Sydney East from rich to poor: 'freekeh' over 'quinoa', and for the bottom-feeders, humble 'oats'. Those of Oriental descent, myself included, are income agnostic and stay with rice.

I love this salad due to woody flavours and chewy freekeh. Blood pressure escalates, partly due to saltiness, but mainly due to salad mis-pricing.

6/10, saved by solid munching episode.

Newcomer - Warm hummus, burnt butter, poached egg and house bread - $17

Easy to describe, difficult to replicate. Wood-fired bread dunked in a generous pot of silky hummus is a huge success. The pot is not shown, but great things arise out of a poached egg swimming in finely ground chickpeas. Lucky 8 and dish of the day.

Spring special - Eggplant open omelette - $18

'Open' is euphemism for a chef too lazy to fold a standard omelette. Huge pile of dill is borderline annoying. Solid effort on fluffiness but eggplant is an over-sell. No value add from this humble vegetable. 

Pan presentation does not qualify as value, nor does lack of house bread. 7/10.

Shakshuka adventurers, this is for you - Baked meatballs, eggs, tomato and yogurt cheese - $18

A fancy read, juxtaposed by the stark reality of a tweak on baked eggs. Oily film on top is clearly disenchanting (visually and textually).

Biggest negative is ball-of-beef is no match for chorizo. I'm no expert on the current Israel-Spanish diplomatic situation, but judging by the lack of thick salty sausage-in-dish, not all is well. 

Still a world class B&E choice - KSK classic bacon brioche roll - $16.

Another case study in rampant $1 inflation. Thankfully, impressive stacking, bold flavours and chili jam justify an otherwise standard choice.   

On balance, don't be alarmed by the downgrade from 8. Not good value, but excellent quality. 7 out of 10. Now I'm in a love-hate relationship.