NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. — From the outside, it looks like everyone’s country inn dream. Riverbend has all the proper attributes, at least: It’s white, it’s pillared, the gardens are breathtaking and the vineyard site seems to stretch on forever. The only word to describe it is “gorgeous.”

Indoors, it’s equally charming. A comfortable lounge opens up into a formal dining room that overlooks the outdoor patio and a gazebo. Occasionally, a white-clad cook ventures out to the garden to bring in an herb or two. During the warmer months, the inn claims that 90 percent of the menu comes from local suppliers, and another bonus is the fact that it’s so close to town.

Situated about half a mile down the road from the Shaw’s Festival Theatre — you can see the theater on the horizon if you look closely— the inn offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and upscale bar snacks. The Canadian Automobile Association is in love with it — you can count the framed diamonds as you enter the dining room. And though that dining room is carefully decorated with traditional furniture, white table cloths and silencer pads and there’s a pianist during cocktail hour, the dress here can be informal. Niagara-on-the-Lake is, after all, a vacation destination. As for the menu, it features traditional favorites with a contemporary tweak or two.

An example: the Companion’s Vegetable Soup ($6) featured some floating baby zucchini. Very cute. My own gravlaks appetizer, $16 and an evening special, was a very vertical creation, layered with truffle oil goat cheese. The tower of goodies rested on greens. This colorful plate was garnished with red pepper puree and the whole thing was topped with yellow saffron vinaigrette. Quite an assemblage — difficult to attack, however.

I finally took a deep breath and my fork, flattening the whole construction. Poof! Then the food went down with extreme ease.

I chose an Ontario Saddle of Lamb ($33) entree. It was roasted to medium. (To be fair, the server, who sported an amazing resemblance to the second-grade teacher I still have nightmares about occasionally, had warned that rare was unavailable.) The meat was certainly tasty, no trace of mutton despite its long sojourn in the oven. With the lamb came braised greens and teeny-tiny skinned potatoes. Pleasant enough with nonthreatening flavor but not — how am I going to describe this? — memorable. That would just about describe most of the food we tasted. Some diners would describe it as “good honest food.”

Our other entree, also from the menu, was Lobster Ravioli ($28) served with dill butter. Rich, rich, rich — but why was that lobster so tough?

Desserts were exemplary, all baked in house, something you won’t doubt as soon as you taste them. Hurrah for Lemon Curd Pavlova ($9). More layering this time with meringue and fresh fruit — just tart enough to set off a large meal and just crunchy enough to be interesting. The Nougat and Caramel Tart sported milk chocolate and was touched up with a little fleur de sel. Dessert lovers will love this place. (Britain’s greatest contribution to the culinary hall of fame, Sticky Toffee Pudding, is on the menu, too.)

Riverbend serves its own wine from its 17-acre vineyard managed by Reif Estates; they are available by bottle or glass (starting at $6.50.) Other dinner entrees include Muscovy Duck, Lake Erie Pickerel accompanied by Fennel Orange Emulsion, and Grilled Chicken with Peach and Pecan Crust.

RIVERBEND INN & VINEYARD

Two and a half stars

WHERE: 16104 Niagara River Parkway, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. (905-468-8866, 888-955-5553, www.riverbendinn.ca). Think of it as a Canadian version of Tara. This pillared white house overlooks its own vineyards and provides opportunity for both indoor and outdoor dining. Enter from John Street.

Credit Cards: American Express, MasterCard, Visa.

FAVORITE DISH: Lemon Curd Pavlova

NEEDS WORK: Lobster Ravioli

PRICE RANGE: Dinner entrees with vegetable start at $26 (Canadian).

SERVICE: Very good

HOURS: Seven days with breakfast, lunch, dinner and a lounge menu.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS:

Stairs make access difficult.

PARKING: In the lot

RATINGS:Stars reflect the overall dining experience at the time of The News’ visit — including service, ambience, innovation and cost — with greatest weight given to quality of the food.