Woolshed Pub (Dining Room)

Every time I eat in Docklands I think maybe this will be the restaurant that lets me love it. I went with high hopes to Woolshed, which recently launched its upstairs dining room with some fanfare, largely due to name chefs Donovan Cooke and Cath Kalka leading the cooking.

The Woolshed's name makes no secret of the huge building's origins. The ground-level bar, deck and function areas are handsome and flexible; I'd happily return for beers or a party. The casual dining area is next to an open kitchen that runs a classy pub menu of croquettes, salads, burgers and the like. Nearby is a sneaky stairway to the upstairs dining room, which works from a separate kitchen. The fine-dining food ranged from unremarkable to disappointing but even taking eating out of the equation, the upscale offering is a puzzling misfire. The dining room has a terrific view of Etihad Stadium but declines to show off the harbour. It's comfortable, but the spill of stadium neon undermines otherwise pleasant lighting.

Service was caring and efficient, though there was too much inquiry into our enjoyment and the napkin-lapping and crumb-scraping suggested standards that made the food even more disappointing. The wine list is a nice spread of familiar and far-reaching but bottles under $50 are rare. Cigars round off the list: puff on the deck.

Our entrees weren't bad, especially a pretty mud crab salad rising from cantaloupe soup, though the delicate shellfish was overwhelmed by its syrupy tropical bath. Main courses weren't great. Whole baby barramundi was mushy and undistinguished, scattered with a citrus salsa that lacked punch. The fish lay unhelpfully on a bed of spinach (it made me think of a cat sitting on a newspaper that you're trying to read). A lamb platter featured a tasty cutlet and rump slices that didn't repay the chewing necessary to swallow them. They came with squeaky undercooked eggplant and a potato-olive mix that was too broken down to be "crushed" but too lumpy to be mash. Goodbye $40.

The sides were clumsy: I couldn't tell the difference between the mixed salad and supermarket mix. Passable passionfruit bavarois came with lychee sorbet marred by chunks of ice. Even without the technical flaws, the menu doesn't strike me as a $230 (for two) experience.

I'll keep going to Docklands because I want my mind changed but this wasn't the meal to do it.

Tips and pans to theserve@theage.com.au