Something possessed me to ask Kyle Kristenbrun to describe the Museum Tavern as if it were a woman and he paused, thought for a minute, then deftly sketched the personality.“She’s beautiful, elegant, approachable with a subtle sexiness,” said Kristenbrun, who opened the Museum Tavern July 11 with his older brother Glen Kristenbrun. “She’s refined yet a lot of fun. You can sense the mischeviousness underneath.”I’ll do him one better. Besides looking good, the Museum Tavern feels good, a welcome reprieve from food trucks and noodle bars.The brothers opened the Museum Tavern above their EggSmart restaurant across from the Royal Ontario Museum. They wanted an American brasserie inspired by the nostalgic feel of New York’s Minetta Tavern and The Campbell Apartment. When the brothers unveiled the concept to their father, legendary restaurateur Tom Kristenbrun, he told them it sounded like his disco-era hotspot, Bemelman’s. “Dad threw us the keys to a couple of storage lockers. We found old fixtures from Bemelman’s and two old photographs, which we gave to designer Harvey Cowan and asked him to capture the look and the vibe,” says Kyle, 28.I wasn’t part of the bar scene during Bemelman’s heyday, so I can’t say if the Museum Tavern’s hammered copper ceiling, penny-tile floors and big mirrors evoke the original. The cozy bar and 56-seat dining room feel Parisian, despite the vintage El Mocambo poster signed by the Rolling Stones. (Kristenbrun senior owned the club.)The food certainly harks back to an earlier age. Take the caesar salad ($12), a version so refreshingly old-school it could be made tableside.A balanced, caper-flecked dressing barely coats chopped romaine hearts, double-smoked bacon bits and homemade croutons. White anchovy fillets on top are a luxe touch, as are the Laguiole steak knives at every place setting. “We’re like a throwback to the old days,” brags chef Stephen Gouzopoulos (ex-L’Unita) of his classic-with-a-twist menu. The menu’s so-called small plates — full-fledged main courses elsewhere — are particularly skilful. Gouzopoulos accents good-quality raw tuna with Asian flavours for a Hawaiian-style salad($16) scooped into savoury tuile cones. Who needs ice cream? Next, Gouzopoulos takes us to Peru with salmon taridito ($14), sashimi splashed with the fruity heat of aji amarillo chilies. Purple potatoes and toasted corn complete the Andean tableau.Also amongst the small plates are a pair of substantial elk sliders ($14) or, as I like to call them, flavour grenades. And I finally understand the fuss about lobster rolls ($18). Lobster salad in a hotdog bun never appealed to me. The golden buns pastry chef Cora James (ex-Scaramouche) makes from Japanese milk bread are rich enough to qualify as dessert, like her brioche-like hamburger buns.Bartender Moses McIntee (ex-Ritz Carlton) makes sly $12 cocktails, for example the Prime Minister (imagine a Bloody Mary crossed with Scandinavian gazpacho) and a watermelon collins that will make you rethink gin.Other elements are less successful. The waiter and I agree the seared tuna burger ($22) would be best cooked rare. Yet the square slab of fish is grey throughout. It’s also half as thick as the one delivered to a neighbouring table.A torpedo sandwich ($15) of pulled lamb is decent enough but needs more oomph. A vegetarian entrée of shucked Mexican street corn ($22) disappoints when compared to real street food. At least the fries ($5), served in tiny canisters, hit the sweet spot. Ditto the coleslaw ($5), which changes daily as Gouzopoulos lets his salad cook improvise.Desserts ($11) are a similarly mixed bag. Key lime parfait is like a delicious cheesecake but the devil’s food cake is as dry as sawdust. Pocket pies filled with strawberry are heavy on the dough, but who wouldn’t want more of the homemade Oreos? Service at the Museum Tavern can be as smooth as Bistro 990’s crème brûlée. But sometimes it verges on amateur, like the night main courses are delayed without explanation. And no waiter should smarm, “Have we decided on what we’re having?” I’m disappointed by that, given the hospitality DNA in the Kristenbrun family.We can forgive a good-looking woman a lot.