From the outside, the Hotel Lincoln looks like nothing much: one of those old-fashioned pubs found on almost every street corner in inner Melbourne, that hasn't changed in a hundred years or more.

Go inside, skirt round the bar, and you'll be very surprised. Tucked away inside is a very formal dining room, with an atmosphere that can be a little intimidating if you just dropped in for a parma and pot.

You can choose to eat in one of three areas: (a) in this formal dining room; (b) in the bar area next to Cardigan Street, or (c) in an area between the bar and the dining room. In Area A, you order from the fine-dining menu only; in B, from the blackboard bar menu only; and in C, it seems to depend on which waiters are on duty and how obliging they feel today. On a good day, they'll let you order from either menu, which is my preference.

I've eaten at Hotel Lincoln perhaps four or five times, always at lunchtime, and I've never been served a dish that was less than satisfactory. Some have been exceptionally good. There is clearly a lot of talent in the kitchen; they know how to select good produce, and they cook it with great skill and care.

But I do have a criticism. It can often be difficult to find a dish on the fine-dining menu that I feel like eating. There is a strong emphasis on heavy dishes with powerful, meaty flavours. These are not my favourite foods, especially at lunchtime. I look at the dining room menu, and once I've subtracted dishes such as duck, venison, pork belly, osso bucco, steak, sausages, brains, kidneys, and the like, there's really not much left to choose from. And I at least do eat meat; if you're a vegetarian, your choices from this menu are limited indeed.

I must emphasise that I'm not criticising the execution of these dishes in the least. My (mostly male) dining companions all have carnivorous inclinations and hearty appetites, even at lunchtime, and have been perfectly content with the range of dishes on the fine-dining menu. I have occasionally had a taste of some of their dishes, and I can't fault the execution. This is seriously impressive food - as far as it goes. All I'm asking is for the chef and management to give a bit more thought to the overall composition of the menu. Specifically, I'd like to see some lighter dishes to help balance out the robust ones, and I'd like to see some more vegetarian choices, or at least more dishes where the meat is just one component rather than the centrepiece.

Which is why I much prefer to order from the bar menu. It's substantially cheaper, but that's not the reason why I like it. It simply has many more dishes on it that I feel like eating: light, snacky things; shareable dishes such as fritters, crab cakes, and samosas; Middle Eastern and Asian inspired dishes; and good old plain pub food such as fish and chips.

On balance, I do like the Hotel Lincoln. I always get excited by the prospect of eating there. But if they'd just tweak the fine-dining menu a bit, I'd like it a whole lot more. Look, all the food is coming out of the same kitchen - why not just have a single combined menu that covers all the eating areas? That's all it would take to bump my rating up from four stars to five. I don't see the point of trying to maintain the fine-dining vs bar menu distinction.

One other thing worth mentioning is that the food can occasionally take quite a while to appear on the table. If you're not in a hurry, then that's not necessarily a bad thing; good food does take time. But I'd never choose Hotel Lincoln for lunch if I had an afternoon meeting or appointment. On one occasion my companions and I would have liked to have ordered dessert. But we'd already been there for well over two hours and had only just finished our main courses, so we had to leave.

We booked a table in the dining room for 7.45pm on a Monday night, rang to say we were running late and arrived about 8.15pm. It was not a busy night and the meals arrived in good time. The wine list is good but pricey and there was one very popular dessert that had disappeared by the time we got to dessert. We had a very pleasant evening and were not rushed out even though we were well and truly the last table. An extra and vital bit of service was our waiter tracking us down at the car in Cardigan St to return my bag with wallet and phone that I had left, yet again, on the back of a chair. Apparently the solution to this problem is that I should always pay because then I'd always notice if my bag was missing!

Approximate cost: $23 - 32

I had dinner here on a Monday night - great value. Everything on the bar menu is $10 on MOnday night which is great value - they have soups, chicken and vegetable dahl, cod fritters, beef rendang etc etc! All bery good meals. They also have a more upmarket menu with prices ranging from $18 - $15. It has that great relaxed pub atmosphere - but with enough room so you do not feel like you are sitting on top of people.

Approximate cost: $10