You’d be forgiven for subconsciously patting your wallet and thinking ‘how much is this going to cost me?’ as you enter Sun Flower, the menu looks expensive, and the mish-mash of cultures hints that it is also a restaurant struggling with its identity.

Set up in the centuries old site of the imperial granary at Nan Xin Cang, the façade has a modern look, while the interior has a mixed décor of classical French armchairs, bright chandeliers hung over ancient wooden beams and walls lined with Chinese paintings and minimalist Western art works (some selling for as much as US$8,000).

Sunflower claims to serve Mediterranean cuisine, however, the Chinese language menu doesn’t have anything that fits this billing, save for roast chicken and a fish dish.

The waitstaff act a bit confused and unconvincing as they introduce the restaurant’s best dishes—hopefully this is the result of them settling into a new job and not a voted of ‘no confidence’ in the chef.

The wild mushroom soup (48RMB) is not bad, but a lot thicker than expected. Mediterranean roast chicken (98RMB) comes with two pieces of chicken (98RMB) comes with two pieces of meat encased in a pastry dough, accompanied by two pickled dishes—bell peppers in pungent vinaigrette dressing and mixed, finely sliced vegetables. The roast chicken is pretty straightforward, seasoned with salt and black pepper, tender and moist. The Mediterranean garoupa and salmon with sea salt (168RMB) arrives on a square plate that takes up a third of the table. The thinly sliced garoupa fillet, sprinkled with sea salt and doused with olive oil, filled half of the plate while sliced salmon covered the other half, with a half chunk of lemon on the side. Garnish comes in the form of two skinny bread sticks placed on a few pieces of frizzy lettuce. The two portions of fish were too much for one person, bread sticks aside, there was no side dish to accompany the fish. Sunflower has a wide selection of Australian, Chilean and French wines (ranging from 138RMB to 2888RMB per bottle).

As the building is a protected historical site, and cooking is not allowed on the premises, the kitchen is set up next door in a separate building. The 15% service charge tacked on to the bill is an unwelcome surprise, especially as the service is no match for that provided by Beijing's better hotels.

11 Nan Xin Cang, 22 Dong Sishi Tiao, Dongcheng district (tel 6409 6438). Meal for two 400RMB. Open 10am-12pm daily.

向日葵地中海西餐厅，北京市东城区东四十条22号南新仓商业街11号库