Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Oak Room, in The Plaza Hotel on Manhattan’s Central Park South, has always been better known as an old bar than as a good restaurant. Well, it’s still old and there’s still a bar. And after an elaborate renovation, the restaurant still charges exorbitant sums for uninspired food.

Appetizers are priced like entrees ($18-$58). Burgers are priced like steaks ($28). Steaks are priced like 3-course meals ($55-$59). All this for sleepy, continental-style hotel fare. Gilded Age markups don’t fly in the recessionary era of Momofuku and Corton, where gourmet dishes sell at discount prices.

Does anyone care what snails antiboise are? Not when the concoction is this bland. Do New Yorkers still crave bananas dariole? Not when the cake is this dry.

An international symbol of wealth, around since 1907, the Oak Room reopened recently after Elad Properties bought the “Chateau-on-Steroids” for $675 million and overhauled it for $400 million. With more than $1 billion at stake, rooms by the night at $900 seem cheap.

The Plaza was always about visiting celebrities brushing shoulders with New York’s elite. Eloise charm meets Truman Capote elan. The 2008 version, however, gives us all the warmth and class of a Las Vegas casino. Afternoon Tea at the Palm Court means $100 Darjeeling for two. Not one champagne at the Champagne Bar under $25. Cocktails at the Rose Club start at $20.

Man in Mink

Skip all that and have a $18 drink at the Oak Room bar. Doormen (both of them) look dressed for a ball. One holds the door. The other hails cabs. Hosts (four of them) occasionally greet you, occasionally ignore you. Bar stools (9 of them) are always occupied. Not a seat in sight at 10:45 on a Thursday night. The front room is dark. A man walks in wearing a full- length mink. A piano player is sometimes louder than the crowd, sometimes not.

Order the Camerons Kicker. Scotch whiskey, Irish Whiskey, almond syrup and citrus. It’s smoky and sour and sweet. Manhattans are correctly stirred, not shaken. Aged rum, Benedictine and creme de cacao constitute a capable riff on the Brandy Alexander; it’s milky with a pleasant alcohol sting. Grated nutmeg adds a hint of Christmas.

Yankee Doodle

Walk back to the dining room. Gorgeous. Ceilings look 30 feet high. A plaque for George M. Cohan hangs (guess he was a regular). Old chandeliers emit a dim, orange glow. It all looks like a faded photograph. No, you can’t eat decor, but you can certainly pay for it. Chef Joel Antunes is responsible.

Overcooked, extra-gamy venison costs $44. A dry slab of pork was $40. Do mashed potatoes need foamy mushroom broth that turns watery? Do they need sea urchin that you can barely taste? Does chewy smoked salmon need cold mustard ice cream? Raw bigeye tuna needed something: salt.

Black truffles are shaved in the kitchen. Result: the heady perfume is released for the chefs, not the diners. That’s a big mistake for an otherwise forgettable $58 risotto. Abalone was gray with all the flavor of rubber.

Just three of 17 dishes I tried stood out. Try the pheasant ($38); moist meat surrounds briny tapenade. Rouget is delicate and flaky, with a light meuniere sauce. That $28 burger ($31 with cheese!) has the juicy, mineral tang of dry-aged beef.

No smoking in 2008, but here’s a chocolate cigar with tobacco cream. It’s $19 but tastes cheap. That’s the Plaza.

Rating: *

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? The shirt off your back.

Sound level? Low.

Date place? “Eloise charm” is now Eloise flash-for-cash.

Inside tip? Bar is old-school. Restaurant is old-fashioned.

Special feature? Bread basket must weigh 10 pounds.

Private room? Yes.

Will I be back? Maybe to the bar, never to the restaurant

The Oak Room is at 768 Fifth Ave. at Central Park South. Information +1-212-758-7777; http://www.theplaza.com.

What the Stars Mean:
****         Incomparable food, service, ambience.
***          First-class of its kind.
**           Good, reliable.
*            Fair
No stars     Poor.

(Ryan Sutton writes about New York City restaurants for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

For Related News: Top arts and lifestyle stories: MUSE <GO> More articles by Ryan Sutton: NI SUTTON <GO> Dining and wine reviews: TNI GOURMET MUSE <GO> New York dining reviews: TNI NY DINE <GO>

Last Updated: December 23, 2008 00:00 EST