The restaurant scene loves rediscovery and appropriation as much as it does something new; if in fact there is much that is truly new in food. Familiar is often an easier sell, and so we’re seeing Osteria dining – simple Italian menus, casual in style – take hold.

News that the hole left by the Print Hall dining room was to be filled by Gazette should have lifted my spirits. The walls of what was one of Perth’s best fine diners have come down. In its place there’s expansive marble, neon and sumptuous banquettes. On first look you’d happily spend a few hours here grazing, and hitting the wine list.  But my first time is fraught with misunderstanding and frustration; questions met with insolent shrugs, as if I’m inflicting pidgin Italian on a tourist weary Roman waiter. Kingfish crudo dressed with orange and Campari is fresh, with a hint of the bitterness we love in Italian cooking. The experience is bittersweet: a quiet night, but servers look through the lone diner, and only semaphore seems to get their attention.

Back for a second crack with an old hand at the long lunch, I’m left in no doubt as to the skills of chef Giles Bailey. He’s turning out an approachable, delicious menu. Salty cod roe whip, is adorned with a ribbon of salmon caviar and a slick of olive oil. Served with Turkish toast, you wonder why they’ve gone east of the Aegean, and not, with an onsite bakery, dipped into the Italian bread canon.

Taking a route through the menu’s seafood leanings we’re not disappointed. Tiger prawns, with punchy nduja and bright salsa verde hit the mark. A salad with a star turn from grilled Carnarvon cuttlefish is generous, amongst plentiful radish, chard and fennel. It’s indulgent, yet on the right side of the light lunch spectrum.

A pizza Bianca comes out as an afterthought. It has the required salty, rosemary and garlic-heavy hit, but is cold and flaccid, having no doubt languished on the pass. The pizza, as are we, victims of service seriously lacking an essential Italian ingredient: brio.

Gazette, fills a prime space in the Print Hall but is bringing little that is new to the CBD. Was it cooked up with mood boards and an eye on trends is the thought. Should the prevailing winds dictate, it will no doubt be out with the Italian and in with whatever is trending.