One of the most striking features of the new Silverleaf Tavern is the sheer speed of the service. Even on the busiest nights, the only way food could arrive faster is if the server were already hiding the first course behind her back as she took the order. Though that level of smooth professionalism was elusive in the restaurant’s first months of operation, now it permeates many aspects of the dining experience. Kimpton Hotels, which owns the restaurant and the 70 Park Avenue Hotel that houses it, has a portfolio of impressive, well-run hotel restaurants, including San Francisco’s remarkable Fifth Floor. Silverleaf is its first attempt to put a mark on the map of Manhattan.

It’s a curious mark; Kimpton Hotels’ rigidly professional way of doing things is not always the most comfortable. Designer Bob Puccini has equipped the rococo black-and-silver dining room with bright, Renaissance-esque still lifes depicting the (obsolete) four food groups, and plunged much of the rest of the room into darkness. Occasional severe spotlights pick out a gleaming bald head or retro architectural detail, but often simultaneously allow one’s own shadow to obscure crucial elements like the menu and the food. The highly trained staff are deft and personable but occasionally poignant in their scripted entreaties that diners “come back some time.”

Kevin Reilly has cooked at Zoe and Union Square Cafe, and he brings to Silverleaf Tavern a lusty, rich style of American cooking that swoops up local ingredients and styles, along with other influences, in an exuberant rush of flavor. Portions are huge enough to please any ravenous traveler, and Mr. Reilly never shies away from fat. He considers French fries ($8) not a side dish but a starter, and serves them, hot and crisp, with a thick and lush mayonnaise studded with bits of black truffle, and a peppery house made ketchup. Another unpretentious starter is fried as well: delicate calamari in a satisfyingly crunchy buttermilk batter ($11), accompanied by mayonnaise pungent with anchovies, pays eloquent tribute to the bar-food classic.

Mr. Reilly works well in this pastiche mode. He makes a dinner version of French toast ($15), filling thick, savory brioche with excellent goat cheese from Massachusetts’ Westfield Farm, frying it, and swathing it with wild mushrooms and truffle sauce. The dish is unabashedly, deliciously rich, which is the secret of its success, but the substantial portion so early in the meal doesn’t leave much room for a main course. A creamy chowder ($8) made with smoked cod and big chunks of bacon makes a somewhat more reasonable starter; concentrating and deepening flavors like this seems to come naturally to the chef.

Main courses are no more reserved. The “East Coast pan roast” ($31), a dazzling stew served in a bright Le Creuset pot, burgeons with shellfish. The voluptuous, slightly peppery flavor of the creamy lobster based bisque lingers in the mouth for minutes, almost overshadowing the clams, mussels, and big lobster claws that crowd together in the pot.

Pork schnitzel ($21) is a carpet of meat some 60 square inches in area, crowned with a fried duck egg (Holstein-style), just for excess’ sake. The giant portion can feed two normal people comfortably, especially with a sprawling side order of chestnut spaetzle ($5), handsomely browned and sweet with butter and herbs. A crisp and light but far from greaseless jacket of Japanese breadcrumbs coats the mild-flavored pork snugly; a stalk of broccoli rabe lolls on top, alongside the large, delicately truffle-scented egg. The tartness of lemon aioli cuts nicely through the richness of the schnitzel but escalates the dish into a juggernaut of fat; a squeeze or three of lemon juice would suffice.

A hanger steak’s beautifully charred, heavily salted crust intensifies the tang of the beef within ($24); tart cidery reduction cranks up the flavor another step. In a nod to local tradition, a round knish, stuffed with smooth mashed potatoes and tender short-rib meat, accompanies the steak, along with zesty leaves of braised escarole. Another entree, of wide noodles topped with pieces of lamb ($21), is uncharacteristically low in flavor: sweet golden beets and a faint creme fraiche allegedly flavored with gremolata make little impression on the tasty but relatively unimpressive dish.

Desserts, created by Hilda Terrero, are a mixed bag. A de rigueur individual chocolate cake topped with caramelized banana ($9) offers nothing special; but a tasteful napoleon ($10) made with caramelized pear slices, smooth, nutty Tarentaise cheese from organic Thistle Hill Farm, and a custardy cream richly infused with fruity white wine is superb. A homey assortment of cookies ($8) comes with a cup of tasty hot chocolate comfortingly laced with not quite enough Maker’s Mark.

The restaurant offers an innovative approach to wine service: any of 21 wines, grouped into three tiers of quality (and price), can be ordered in four different serving sizes: a three-ounce “sip” ($4/$5/$8), a six-ounce “taste” ($8/$10/$15), a bottle ($30/$40/$75), or, for the very thirsty, an unlimited pour ($35/$45/$83). The lowest tier includes such selections as a simple, refreshing gruner veltliner from Loimer, and Calera’s bright pinot noir, while the top of the range includes Chalone’s focused, substantial syrah and a superb, lingering sauvignon blanc from New Zealand’s esteemed Cloudy Bay. A fruity cocktail list devised by Dale DeGroff includes a tall, purple Grapefruit Julep ($10) and the Stone Pole ($10), a refreshing, spicy blend of Zubrowka bisongrass vodka, apple cider, and ginger.

The flexible wine list and substantial portions mean that the restaurant can comfortably accommodate a range of budgets and tastes, and Mr. Reilly’s skilled, high amplitude cooking provides a focus and meaning to the restaurant. But the showy, uncomfortable dining room contrasts harshly with such accessible, delicious food and seamless operation, to give an awkward, disunified feeling. Silverleaf Tavern has improved its service immeasurably since the fall; perhaps the setting will be remedied next.

Silverleaf Tavern, 70 Park Avenue Hotel, 48 East 38th St., 212-973-2550.