Old-school cool at La Riviera in Sydney's legal district

The eavesdropping is terrible at La Riviera, newly installed in Sydney's legal district, near the Supreme Court and Parliament House.

Talk about keeping your own counsel – the space between tables is so generous, you can't hear a thing that the lawyers, judges, politicians, lobbyists and assorted operatives are saying. So annoying.

You have a better chance at catching the hot goss at Bambini Trust in Elizabeth Street, opened by Michael and Angela Potts 25 years ago and still going strong.

Their new venture, La Riviera, is tailor-made for its clientele, with a smart bar and diner at the front, open kitchen to one side, and the been-here-forever, rich person's St Tropez villa vibe of the luxe dining room at the rear.

There's a touch of '70s glam stirred in, with oversized leather banquettes, a converted vault serving as both wine cellar and private room, a strikingly pink Murano glass chandelier, and a hand-painted Matisse-inspired mural from local artist Genevieve Felix-Reynolds.

The menu is also a touch '70s, with its echoes of Machiavelli and Beppi's reflecting Sydney's rich Italian restaurant history.

That seems to suit the suits, who like that lasagnetta ($35) in no way reflects the suffix "etta" (small), being an extremely large slab of lasagne al forno.

Made with White Rocks veal and pork, creamy bechamel sauce and soft, giving pasta, it's very filling. Without wishing to offend the court, I think I'd prefer the less hefty spanner crab spaghettini with zucchini flower and mint.

A burrata Caprese ($20) sees the creamy, top-knotted fresh cheese from Vanella sitting on sliced nectarine and tomato with the odd leaf of basil; fresh and light.

The open kitchen is headed by Teofilo Nobrega who was head chef at Fratelli Paradiso for years before moving on to Bellucci Cucina and Bartolo.

Drawing from both French and Italian ends of the Riviera, his "posh" pizzetta and pasta lead through to steak frites and wood-roasted whole flounder with sauce Colbert or sauce Grecque.

After a considerable wait, my fritto misto ($24/$44) arrives, the king prawn, scallop, calamari and zucchini coated – nay, armoured – in batter that's too pale for my liking.

Sure enough, there's a slight taste of uncooked flour that, along with tough calamari and the batter coming adrift from the zucchini, soon becomes unappealing.

Let the record show that the restaurant's most expensive dish is also the most successful of those I try. Half an eastern rock lobster (market price $99) is swathed in mornay sauce and gratineed in the wood-fired pizza oven, sent out with a pile of thyme-dusted fries.

It's been cooked so well – as in, lightly – that once the flesh has been devoured, I can snap the legs and extract more meat from inside.

For dessert, may it please the court, there is tiramisu, panna cotta, soft-serve gelato, affogato al caffe made with Single O espresso, and two soft, plump, sugar-dusted bombolone doughnuts ($12), one oozing berry jam, the other vanilla custard.

Generously, La Riviera is open for breakfast (with spanner crab omelette on high rotation), and throughout the afternoon, making it a good choice for a civilised, serviceable get-together with colleagues.

And with both Angela Potts and restaurant, manager Andrea Kudelova-Kells on the floor, there is an almost maternal concern for your wellbeing (well, that's how I translate multiple offers of ice-cream to go with the bomboloni).

It's an unusual spot, set up to be comforting and luxurious, yet the waiter crashes cutlery into the drawer and brings my wine by the glass without showing me the bottle.

It's a magnet for both corporate and judicial markets, yet the food, on this occasion at least, has come so slowly as to be stressful.

But the evidence will show, your honour, that the portions are large, the menu will please the conservative, and there's a certain old-school cool in the air that comes from knowing your market and looking after it. Objections over-ruled.

The low-down

La Riviera

Go-to dish Lobster mornay frites

Drinks Punny cocktails (the Nutty Lawyer); Moretti on tap; and a solid wine list, rich in Champagne, with Italian and French varietals

Vibe Old-school Euro dining