Looming over the oceanfront, the new $6 million Lake Worth beach casino building has been home to Mulligan’s Beach House Bar & Grill for a little over a month now.

At first glance, this sprawling spot has got it all: a prime location, a variety of seating which includes breezy deck tables, an ample bar, branded Mulligan’s “fun wear” and a menu loaded with fried, blackened, seared and sauced beach-house fare.

And this must be said before anything else is said: the fish and chips platter ($12.95) is superb. The fish is moist and tender beneath a hearty, well-seasoned crust. It’s a large fillet, rather than the usual smaller (more manageable) pieces, and it’s served atop super-crispy fries with a side of creamy, darn-good coleslaw.

The place does fried right.

Service — that’s another story. Barely six weeks in business, Mulligan’s is working out the kinks when it comes to service. At least we hope that’s the case. On a recent visit, we found some of the service missteps to defy common sense.

Our starters and entrees were brought just minutes apart. We barely had taken a second bite of an appetizer, when a staffer showed up, arms loaded with our main plates. At our request, she returned them to the kitchen.

Several minutes later, another staffer appeared with the entrees. By then, having made a dent in our starters, we made room on the table for the larger plates.

Later, empty plates sat for a while before anyone came to clear them.

Nothing takes the thrill out of a good meal like sloppy service. And here, the meal was just about average.

Our starter dish of conch fritters ($10.95), though flavorful and generous with six good-sized fritters to the order, lacked the fluffy finish of truly good fritters. The smoked fish dip ($9.45) lacked smoky depth and coherent presentation. It was served surrounded with several wedges of seeded flatbread and sliced lemons. On one side of the plate were mini mounds of chopped onion, tomatoes and jalapeños, all hidden by an array of wrapped saltine crackers.

I did enjoy the mahi mahi sliders ($13.95, two to an order), filled with tender, lightly blackened bits of the dolphin fillet, crispy fried onions, bacon and cool leaf lettuce. They were served with those delicious crispy fries and a feta-dotted salad of leaf lettuce and diced tomatoes.

The sliders and fish and chips were a far better choice than the heftier priced Florida grouper platter ($21.95, with soup or salad included). It was presented with a nice sear, beneath a scoop of fresh pineapple salsa, with mashed potatoes and slaw on the side. But the fillet itself wasn’t smooth and flaky – we found a pretty sizeable bone in it.

It’s possible the experience was made worse by the fact that getting to the restaurant in the first place was a challenge that night. The casino area is still very much a construction site, so parking is tricky. Cars are directed along a large, one-way dirt path around the casino and into a parking lot that sits a good block away from the restaurant. It’s a long walk (even from the handicapped spots).

The place is not ready for prime time.

That said, the construction is fleeting. The sea is not. And if Mulligan’s has something going for it, aside from its sinful fish and chips, it’s the sea.

◊

R E V I E W

Mulligan’s Beach House Bar & Grill

FOOD: B-

SERVICE: C

ADDRESS: 10 South Ocean Boulevard (in the casino building), Lake Worth

TELEPHONE: 561-588-4133

WEBSITE: www.MulligansRestaurant.net

PRICE RANGE: Moderate

HOURS: Open daily at 7 a.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner

DEALS: Thursday is Family Fun Night from 5 to 8 p.m., with balloons and face painting for the kids (who eat free with the purchase of an adult entrée and child beverage)

CREDIT CARDS: All major

RESERVATIONS: Walk-ins welcome

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes

WHAT THE GRADES MEAN:

A — Excellent

B — Good

C — Average

D — Poor

F — Don’t bother