Now, an extensive refit includes the construction of a pavilion adjoining the heritage building, with a sunny courtyard that should be just the shot as summer comes on. It's a development, under the auspices of the Savor Group (the folk behind the Seafarers Building), that has been a lamentably long time in coming, given its primo position, and if the food never really rises above the predictable and routine, it's probably less a failing than a marketing plan.
The room is handsome enough (although we saw enough pink and grey in the 80s to last a millennium or so) with blue tables topped with fish-patterned paper place mats (by artist Tracey Tawhiao) and wooden louvres that allow a nice view of the outside while cooling the atmosphere.
The kitchen is headed by Camillo Bisaccioni, an Italian whose osso buco and scallops in a bechamel sauce I enjoyed at Aqua Matta in the Chancery, an eatery so good I forgave them for the spelling of "acqua".
But here, presiding over a menu that starts the day with predictable breakfast offerings, he seems not to have been allowed full rein, and there's a slightly wearying unadventurousness to the bill of fare. This may well be deliberate: the well-heeled denizens of the eastern suburbs, to judge by the selection of restaurants that prosper there, are not the city's most demanding, but of the dishes that our quartet sampled, there was really nothing to make the adventurous diner sit up and take notice.
Grilled octopus, which came with charred watermelon (a nice touch) was stodgy and overdone and a carpaccio of beef was likewise overworked, so it looked grey rather than an attractive pink. The women were impressed with vegetarian offerings (roasted beetroot with blood orange, and a summery concoction of aubergine, lightly cooked so it remained agreeably firm to the bite, which came with cherry tomatoes and pomegranate seeds).
Flank steak was perfect, quickly seared and sliced in the style Italians call tagliata, although accompanying fries were soggy. The other meat-eater at the table was impressed with oven-roasted pork neck with a salsa of apple and coffee. Fish of the day, gurnard, was moist and tasty, but the plating was remarkably drab.
Desserts emphasised sorbet and gelati, which are apt to the setting perhaps, but they are pretty expensive considering how uninventive they are. There is tiramisu.
It was, in all, a regulation, although uninspired meal and, at $80 a head, with two drinks all told, pretty pricey. But Mission Bay remains a great place for a picnic.
