The décor is deluxe open-air mezzanine, amorphous ceiling cutouts aglow with candy-colored neon, curvy bar flanked by VIP-style rounded booths.

The clientele is deluxe -- city government power players, TV news celebrities, well-known restaurateurs.

Even the drinks are deluxe Veuve Clicquot, Ketel Citron pomegranate martinis, wines ($25 to $70) traversing globe and grape.

So why does deLux, the Fan District's newest see-and-be-seen hot spot, feel so uninspired?

Maybe because its lunch and dinner menus are almost identical to those at The Hill Café burgers topped with bacon, caramelized onions and barbecue sauce; blackened tuna; and even The Hill's signature blue-plate specials right down to mushroom gravy-covered grilled meatloaf.

Not surprisingly, both restaurants are owned and operated by Michelle Williams and Jared Golden, the powerhouse restaurateurs behind such distinct eateries as The Hard Shell and Europa.

But there, the atmospheres feel tailored to the menu -- succulent steak and seafood served in a dark, cozy grotto and Mediterranean small plates set against open-air sultriness.

In comparison, what detracts from deLux's menu is, well, deLux itself.

Despite the restaurant's being open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks over an awe-inspiring 19-hour span, it appears most of deLux's business comes from the dinner and drinks crowd.

Williams is no stranger to this clientele. She opened (and subsequently sold) Shockoe Slip's Cha Cha's Cantina and The Lucky Buddha, two spots frequently boasting long lines of late-night partygoers.

Having eaten at all her restaurants, I get the feeling that food is Williams' true passion. So it's strange that deLux feels more like a trendy bar that happens to serve food than a hip restaurant that happens to have a great bar scene.

This isn't bad per se, but allowing the bar to overwhelm the restaurant doesn't seem like deLux's original intent. At night, overwhelm it does.

During one of my first visits a later-evening Friday stop-in last month -- we found ourselves swilling and swaggering, engulfed in an energy-filled crowd that made moving an inch, much less serving food, difficult.

When my friend and I returned for dinner on a recent Wednesday, some of the staff seemed ill-equipped to handle diners rather than drinkers.

Our 45-minute estimated wait turned into an hour and a half. After getting a vague explanation and decent dose of attitude from the hostess, we resigned ourselves to eating at the bar. The bartenders were friendly but, not surprisingly, knew little about the menu other than appetizers.

We started with lobster quesadillas ($10.95), a swanky take on pub grub I'd order again. Perfectly crisped tortillas held a dynamic tangle of sweet onions, buttery soft brie and a decent amount of lobster. Advertised crème fra?che turned out to be overwhelmingly spicy aioli that was better left off.

After we scanned the rather heavy "haute diner" entrees, it seemed that making a tapas-style meal out of the remaining 12 appetizers might be better suited to the surroundings. However, we decided to give the rest of the menu a whirl, ordering Cuban roast pork ($14.95) and baked lobster mac 'n' cheese ($18.95).

The shredded pork was tender, brandishing a pleasing tang offset by spicy-sweet pineapple corn salsa. Barbecued black beans added substance to the plate without smothering the main event.

The mac'n' cheese was overly dry but was topped with generous portions of lobster, bacon and chives. I love bacon, but its strong smokiness made tasting the shellfish impossible (and subsequently stomaching the price tag difficult).

Pancake fritters sounded too kitschy for dessert, so we ended with New York-style cheesecake topped with strawberry purée. This ubiquitous dessert was an unexpected hit thanks to its mint chocolate cookie crust and mini quiche dish presentation.

Overall, deLux is a uniquely contemporary addition to the Fan's casual nightlife. But its menu leaves much to be desired for those in search of something different. Would I go back for a cosmo? Sure thing. But it'd probably be after dinner someplace else.

dcraig@timesdispatch.com.