The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word WASP WAIST
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
W
A
S
P
W
A
I
S
T
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Restricted middle section" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case restricted middle section = wasp waist.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.