Merry Christmas, Sydney. Your prezzie is to have one of your best dining spaces given back to you, right in time for the festive season. What was Mogens Bay Esbensen's nouvelle cuisine Butler's in the '80s, and later the Polese family's modern Italian Mezzaluna, is now, after some time wrapped up under the tree, The Butler.

The light in this room has always been pure magic, flooding down from the top level, washing over the main dining room and cascading over the broad covered verandah, decked out in greenery. The view of The Domain and the city skyline changes almost by the minute whether you're seated inside or out. As the Good Food Guide said back in 1984, it has what real estate agents call 'the Manhattan effect'.

With all that going on, you don't necessarily have to try too hard, but that hasn't stopped Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll of Applejack Hospitality (Bondi Hardware, Kirribilli's The Botanist and Neutral Bay's SoCal). Their smart new contemporary concept combines a buzzy bar vibe and French/Caribbean flavours via exec chef James Privett, formerly of The Cut.

For anyone not entirely certain what constitutes French/Caribbean cooking, it apparently covers such things as Tabasco prawns with mango salsa and coconut quinoa; jerk tofu, chilli salsa and broccolini; and black bean boulettes with couscous and collard greens. But don't let that put you off; there's quite a bit of good, well put-together non-French/Caribbean dishes here as well. Like a smashing Lyonnaise sausage turned into party-smarty sausage rolls ($12) and the cutest little boudin noir slider ($6) of grilled blood sausage, charred corn salsa and capsicum relish served with gaufrettes, those cross-cut potato chips that look like rice chex.

High-rise pale wooden tables and woven cane-backed stools inside descend to low-line wicker tables and chairs tucked in among the plants on the terrace. Plantation ceiling fans, botanical murals and a colourful back bar add an even more tropical air.

There's more gravitas to the food here than I had expected, and some mag-worthy styling (chips don't just come in a bowl – The Butler serves them in a clip-top jar.) Finely sliced swordfish cured with dill and coriander seed ($22) is topped with fleshy little clams, outcrops of sea bananas and the crunch of fennel crumb. A hearty, grilled duck sausage and slashes of duck confit ($28) sitting on a parsley puree under a camouflage of tumbled pickled beetroot, shaved target beetroot, mint, pistachio and shaved celery is a crowd-pleaser.

Creole-spiced lamb ribs ($25) are enjoyable for their fall-off-the-bone tender meat and tangy walnut and pomegranate dressing, but the Creole spicing feels powdery and tastes a little muddy.

I suggest only dedicated chocaholics order the chocolate mousse with bitter chocolate sorbet and caramel whip ($16), which is every bit as dense and sweet as it sounds. As for the drinking side of things, a lot of effort has gone into the cocktail, martini, bubbles and carafes of Pimms or sangria side of things, and there's a serviceable wine list divided equally between France and Australia. A fleshy, savoury Geoff Merrill 2007 'Bush Vine' Shiraz, Grenache & Mourvedre from McLaren Vale ($11/$50) is noteworthy for its value.

This early in the piece, service is as up and down as the staircase, some whip-smart and some clueless. But The Butler brings a new mood to the area; a confident fusion of Kings Cross' party vibe with Potts Point's food, delivered with style. That's what butlers do.

THE LOW-DOWN
Best bit: Categorically lovely views.
Worst bit: The pump-up-the-volume music.
Go-to dish: Duck sausage, confit leg, pickled beetroot, celery.

Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for the Good Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system.