Two options await at 49 Social

Then there’s the rear, a dining area that is subdued and often underpopulated. Staffers brush past tables with tubs of dishes. Service is more formal, even as waiters forget to explain how the lamb, described as “chef’s seasonal offering’’ on the menu, is prepared that day, or that cod will be playing the role of halibut in a fish dish. They do remember to stop by during the meal to ask how everything is, smiling awkwardly.

The bar area offers a better experience, but the dining room menu yields more polished results. Fortunately, guests can order from the latter while seated in the former. Executive chef Michael Lishchynsky (Four Seasons, New York’s David Burke Townhouse) brings creative twists to both menus, playing with flavors and presentations and bringing in occasional techniques from the molecular-gastronomy playbook.

The bar menu sounds enticing, with descriptions that can make your mouth water. Who can resist fried oyster po’boy sliders, calamari with Thai red curry sauce, or a carbonara flatbread topped with pancetta and fried egg?

But the oyster sliders come on past-its-prime baguette, which would be too chewy and thick for the tender contents even if fresh. One can’t taste the oysters, just the celery root slaw, lettuce, tomato, and Old Bay aioli.

Augmented with kumquats and pickled jalapenos, red curry sauce is a genius accompaniment for fried squid, the flavors of Southeast Asia enlivening the dish. Yet the breading on the calamari is sodden rather than crisp, falling off the squid in clumps.

The carbonara flatbread is better, a rich pleasure. It arrives with bright yellow yolks wobbling on top, then becomes a runny delight when cut. It’s a pizza that tastes like a croque-madame.