It was once one of the Lace Market's must-go destinations. And now, finds ERIK PETERSEN, Opium is back.

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UPSTAIRS in the main dining room, fans still hang from the high ceiling and spin languidly over colonial surrounds. Above that, tucked away in a kind of attic loft, cocktails again flow in a lounge that's equal parts wood and feng shui.

And at ground level, bartenders again mix ingredients like lychee juice and green tea for patrons sat on low-slung, pillow-covered settees or carved, ebony-coloured chairs.

Opium, the three-storey restaurant, bar and lounge that was one of the Lace Market's most popular destinations, is back.

Restaurateur King Tang opened Opium in 2002 and sold it in 2007. Little more than a year after that, it closed.

It stayed closed, and the building empty, until earlier this month. Finally, the building's owner was able to tempt back King with a good rent deal. Since re-opening just in time for Chinese New Year, King says the reply from former regulars has been great.

"When we sent an e-mail out, the response we've had has been incredible," King says.

From its 2002 beginning, there was an idea behind Opium's elaborate design and sprawling size. Its three storeys were meant to represent three eras of China.

Up top sits that modern loft, a sleek spot modelled on a modern Hong Kong bar. Below sits that high-ceilinged dining room, all elegant understatement, conjuring images of China's colonial era. On the ground floor and farther back yet on the Chinese timeline sits the proper Shanghai opium den (but with creative cocktails replacing the namesake product, naturally).

When it came time to re-open, King didn't want to change the formula entirely. But he did want to make a few additions and alterations. He also asked questions of former regulars, and regulars at his family's other restaurant and bar, The Oriental Pearl in West Bridgford.

"All they said was 'the restaurant's beautiful, don't change it. The lounge is beautiful. But the bar is a bit cold; it needs warming up.' "

So that ground-floor bar has got a bit of a re-model. It's still got that opium-den chic that tempted GQ magazine in for a 2004 photo-shoot, but it's been opened up, backlit and generally brightened a bit more. A few light, atmospheric paintings now adorn the walls. The Shanghai-of-yore black-and-red decor lives on, as do the antique imported wood carvings. (The intricate one over the bar dates to the 1880s.) Former features such as live music on Fridays and Saturdays will also continue. And that cocktail menu lives on, including a selection of tea infusions that can be served hot or cold.

The downstairs menu, however, also has a few fresh flourishes. The new "Yum Cha" bar menu offers "Oriental tapas", a concept that has worked well at the Oriental Pearl, King says. A late-night supper menu will also be on offer from half-nine.

But not all the new food plans will take place in the evening or late night. Daytime food was never something Opium did much of during its previous incarnation. Since then, the neighbourhood has changed. Several years ago, King notes, much of Warser Gate and the immediate surrounding area was a building site. Now the Lace Market Square complex is complete and, while the retail outlets are still mostly awaiting tenants, the flats are filling up with residents. Add to that nearby office-dwellers, students (who get 25% off food and drink) and others, and you get a ready-made group who might be interested in, say, the £6 bento boxes Opium now offers at lunchtime. (That's for a box that includes a starter, a main and rice. There's also a £9 box with two mains.)

If King's correct, it will all add up to a place that has added and adapted without changing what made it popular in the first place.