With multiple venues opening across the state each week, there are simply not enough qualified personnel to go around. That said, good employee training can go a long way to bridging the divide. And, unfortunately, the staff seem to have missed out on some of those vital lessons at ex-rugby union star George Gregan and wife Erica’s new The George Bar & Bistro in Fortitude Valley.

This is the second location for the couple’s The George and GG Espresso ventures, tucked into the new Brisbane Showground’s King St Precinct.

In contrast to their swish Eagle St, Brisbane CBD venue, the Valley premises are more relaxed, casual and almost entirely outdoors. There are a number of seating areas combining stone blocks and timber and metal chairs, plus larger park bench, booth-style tables.

When the wind whips through it’s a little chilly, and makes holding on to a menu near impossible, but on a warm spring day it’s an ideal spot.

Back to the staff. Welcoming and friendly – they are. Well-versed in food or the dishes on offer – unfortunately not.

When asked for recommendations on dishes, one waitress told us the Super Green Salad was a surprisingly good choice as she liked it and she’d normally find something like that “gross”. While another waitress wasn’t able to read back our order of manchego croquettes as she had “no idea how to pronounce it”.

Are they minor quibbles? Yes. But they let down the overall experience and could have been so easily avoided.

That aside, the food is good. It’s not going to blow your mind but it’s not trying to. It’s a restaurant designed to cater to the nearby office worker or locals in the area who want a simple, hearty meal at a reasonable price.

With that in mind, the menu features basic, approachable fare like a cheeseburger, chicken pie, steak frites, and fish and chips for lunch and dinner; while at breakfast you’ll find dishes such as organic muesli and eggs on toast.

The greens-hating waitress was right with her tip of the Super Green Salad ($14). Filled with sprouts, cucumber, avocado mousse, broccoli, kale chips, and chia, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, it offered an exciting blend of textures, made fresh and vibrant thanks to a tangy mustard and apple cider vinegar dressing.

With the addition of grilled chicken ($5) it was far from rabbit food and would keep you full well into dinner time.

Those pesky-to-pronounce croquettes ($10) weren’t quite as successful, a little heavy with potato, but the accompanying punchy romesco sauce helped.

Though I had issues with the prawn linguine ($19) using asparagus obviously from overseas as it wasn’t in season at the time, the flavour couldn’t be knocked and it was more than generous with prawns.

With a little more staff training, there’s no reason why this place couldn’t become an easy regular.

This review originally appeared on couriermail.com.au.