Decor rather than food makes statement at Chamblee restaurant

Service: professional, but appropriately relaxed

Best dishes: rabbit and dumplings, buttermilk lemon chess pie

Vegetarian selections: salads, sandwich, veggie plate

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Price range: $$-$$$

Credit cards: all major credit cards

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays

Children: fine

Parking: yes

Reservations: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Smoking: no

Noise level: moderate

Patio: yes plus a lovely upstairs balcony

Takeout: yes

Address, phone: 5394 Peachtree Road, Chamblee. 678-580-5579

Website: www.baconsnobs.com

I’m no fashionista, but even I know that a well-composed ensemble includes a statement piece — one that is both bold and unique and reflects your personal style.

Often in restaurants, the cuisine serves as the statement piece while the decor complements the restaurant’s overall style and functions as the supporting backdrop. Yet, at Southbound, nestled in the heart of Chamblee, the decor hogs the attention.

Located in a building erected in the late 1800s, this mercantile-turned-Masonic Lodge was gutted and transformed into a local gem over a 25-month period. Now rustic, fresh and stunning, it gleams with brick, dark woods and reclaimed accoutrements all in alignment with the character of the antique structure. Southbound is Chamblee’s new statement piece and may just spark a reinvigoration of the restaurant scene in its town center.

And as captivating and inviting as this decor du jour is, it seems to promise a level of execution that the kitchen doesn’t yet deliver. That’s not to say you won’t enjoy a stewy, rib-sticking dish of rabbit and dumplings ($21) or an interesting bottle of Aligote ($42). But you may also notice missteps along the way — dishes with a jumble of ingredients and muddled flavors that could be remedied with a little tinkering and skillful cooking.

Perhaps Southbound is relying on the wine list to serve as its edible statement piece. The wine program was put together by Eric Brown, owner of Le Caveau, Southbound’s down-the-street neighbor. Old-world wines produced using natural and sustainable farming practices dominate the menu, the liquid corollary to the restaurant’s commitment to quality ingredient sourcing. Options include varietals like Marsanne and Negrette with bottles starting in the $40-$50 range.

Chef Ryan Smith (not to be confused with the other popular Atlanta chef by the same name) allows his Southern roots to flavor Southbound’s menu full of hearty American fare. Here, you’ll get your Southern on with boiled peanuts in pork broth ($4) or with the fancy fried green tomatoes dressed in a light cornmeal-rice flour batter and adorned with creamy chevre and a tropical pineapple-habanero jam.

The influence I don’t see here is that of Mihoko Obunai, Southbound’s lunchtime chef. Granted, she’s been on personal leave recently, but I think Southbound should use this resource it has hidden away in its pocket. Obunai could add interest to the menu, drawing on her talent for coaxing maximum flavors from ingredients or by using her mad ramen skills, for which she’s known.

For now, one of the lunch list bests includes a crispy kale and farro salad ($10) tossed in a creamy ginger vinaigrette. It’s nice enough, but it really could be great with a little twist of lemon and the crunch of coarse salt.

On the other hand, the sandwiches that dominate the lunch menu tend to fall flat. For example, the eggplant-tomato panini ($10) with mozzarella could hit the spot if the kitchen could master the preparation and seasoning of the bitter, firm eggplant slices. The lemon-zested chicken salad ($11) emanates an astringency reminiscent of floor cleaner, and the pulled pork sandwich ($12) has moisture but little else. Where is the smoke I smelled on the way in? What’s with the wood pile out back?

Those hickory stacks fuel the wood-burning grill that’s used for the bricked chicken ($18), which comes juicy and with a nice char. The chicken’s a safe bet, but even better are the accompanying fork-tender mustard greens in a mustard-scented potlikker that begs for a cornbread sop.

The octopus ($12) that comes from that grill is perfectly tender, but is served thrown into a jumble of room-temperature ingredients including creme fraiche, soft, green-tomato cubes and greasy potatoes cooked long prior. A little reworking may be necessary here.

In the same vein, the shrimp and grits may not make quite the statement the kitchen intends. The flavor-concentrated overnight tomatoes and crisped square of pork belly should make the dish pop, but the dish as a whole lacks the depth and richness we’ve come to associate with this hearty classic.

It might be worth checking out the specials. I ordered the smoked ham-hock rillette ($8) one evening and preferred it to some of the menu regulars. The meaty quenelle came with pungent pickled rapini stems and tart elderberries to counterbalance the richness of the rillette.

And if it’s on the menu, definitely save room for Southbound’s classic buttermilk lemon chess pie ($6). It has an all-butter crust that has every nuanced flavor and texture you’d expect. Don’t tell grandma — it’s rich, warm, flaky, gooey and probably even better than hers.

Southbound’s ensemble requires a bit of tailoring. If the kitchen, rather than the decor, could just provide the bold and unique statement, we could have a showpiece on our hands.