Mirka at Tolarno (St.Kilda) 03/2011

I had a very ordinary preordered menu at Mirka at a meeting recently. Starting with a tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella salad, which is on their menu for $22, they then served a main of three slices of pork sausage on a substantial bed of lentils.
This looked unappetizing. I don't think it was a fine example of anything, certainly not of fine dining. What I then found astonishing was that, in replacing the dish for one guest who did not wish to eat pork, they served a fillet of over cooked fish again on an equally large bed of lentils. A very unattractive combination
Desserts were average.
Ricotta canneloni were nicely presented
and, I was told, a lemon tart was very good.
Over recent years Mirka seems to have slipped quite a lot. It slipped into Gourmet Traveller for a couple of years and earned a hat from the AGF (15/20) but the following year scored only 14 and in 2010 was down to 13.5.
How often can good restaurants can serve bad meals and still be rated as good? Artistic decor and good service aside any restaurant prepared to serve really poor food can not rate as a good restaurant even if they are also capable of serving good food.
Score, for this meal 9/20