Tomatoes are as common as the B-grade celebrities lining up to get on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! but find a star tomato and it changes everything. Well, in the case of The Provincial, great tomatoes make for the dish of the night.

The heirloom tomato salad is a wonderful tumble of colours and textures. Sadly though, it’s a rare highlight in a medley of mediocrity.

Housed under Rozelle’s newish Union Place development, it certainly looks the part. Tallowwood beams, oak tables and vintage collectibles create a rustic French vibe and convey a yearning to be the community hub.

But it really puts a dampener on an evening when you have to keep asking for items that don’t arrive – water, our bottle of wine – and while the waitstaff were sweet, it seemed the management weren’t, well, managing.

Chef Patrick Dang, for the most part, champions the ingredient, albeit with mixed results. Yamba prawns are nicely cooked. The signature salad – leaves with labne, olives and quinoa – is fine.

But John Dory, a glorious and often expensive fish, is filleted, rolled in plastic and steamed in the shape of a sausage. Ours has the texture of a rubber baton and the accompanying caper lemon jam is odd. We barely manage a mouthful.

Slow-cooked Jack’s Creek wagyu short ribs in a watermelon salsa bring a pleasant respite, while roasted pineapple and yoghurt sorbet is a satisfying ending, although dense cubes of “blonde chocolate” are a superflous addition.

I get the sense they haven’t worked out their market yet, and are trying too much. The Provincial has the bones to keep locals coming back, and nailing service will help. But also good food needn’t be so manipulated, especially with quality produce.