Lenzerheide is one of Adelaide most established and decorated restaurants. It is also up there with the priciest.

Located in a gracious old house not far from the city on Belair Road, it is hard to find a more cosy setting for a meal.

An atrium garden breaks the room in two and a stout pot belly adds a cheery warmth and homely aroma.

After a quick sip at the bar, we are escorted to our table to be seated in plush leather chairs.

The room is busy, customers not put off by the unrelenting Friday night rain.

Wine is chosen, not by skimming through pages, but by personally perusing a relatively broad range displayed in racks along the bar and in fridges.

Although not particularly rare, it is a nice touch and makes it far harder, yet still enjoyable, to select your bottle.

The Lenzerheide menu seems to date back to its establishment in the late 1980s and offers starters and entrees, palate cleansers and then mains.

Our table selects a simple potato bacon and leak soup, a shellfish ragout of lobster, scallop and prawn in a white wine cream sauce, steak with three sauces and a rack of lamb served with a goats curd tart before a selection of cheese and the perfect finish from the port trolley.

It all sounds nice, and is delivered to the table with silver-service professionalism few, if any, SA eateries employ.

The soup is tasty, although on the stodgy side and rather filling. Shellfish ragout was the pick of the dishes, a simple selection of plump seafood with a delicate cream sauce and a slice of puff pastry for added texture.

The lamb, cooked medium, is matched with a tart of goats curd, unfortunately hidden beneath a bed of wet spinach.

Steak was as described, with three sauces, and cooked as asked, but lacking inspiration.

The signature Röschti, perfectly shredded potatoes baked to perfection with a hint of salt, always satisfies – it’s basically the rich man’s hash brown.

A brandy snap basket with fresh fruit was ordered and was exactly that, while the chocolate ‘doodle’ – apart from being a topic of discussion – was simply a pancake wrapped around some ice cream with chocolate sauce.

Overall the meal was fine, though not outstanding, and the food was definitely over-shadowed by the higher quality of service and setting.

Where places like Vincenzos, Hentley Farm and Ruby Red Flamingo start with the food and work the restaurant around it, Lenzerheide seems to preference service, presentation and atmosphere.

The uniform presentation of the food and sometimes uninspiring flavours of the dishes spoke of volume, not care.

It feels like fine dining restaurant for those that prefer a European bistro approach to gastronomic modernity.

This is reflected in a menu that offers multiple courses, yet carries warnings of a two course and two person minimum for weekends and peak time bookings – something you would not expect of a fine dining restaurant.

Instead of its rather disjointed menu, Lenzerheide would do well to consider a degustation or chef selected menu to tempt diners out of their comfort zone.

Maybe these are the reasons Lenzerheide has never seemed to become the institution that its other half, the Alphutte, has become with Adelaidians (although, I do know that Lenzerheide has its hard-core fans).

A positive way of looking at the Lenzerheide’s approach is that it really is the everyman’s fine dining restaurant where those not desiring the flavours and flair of modern fine dining can order a simple, well-cooked steak and fries, for example.

Just make sure there is a visit from the drinks trolley before you fetch the bill.

Three out of five.

Lenzerheide

146 Belair Rd, Hawthorn

Phone: (08) 8373 3711

Cuisine: European, fine dining