Echo is one of those places that flies a bit beneath the radar, turning out decent food that doesn’t seek to make headlines, or challenge anyone’s palate. It doesn’t underachieve so much as undershoot, which is evident even in the simple, cool space. In fact, this building once housed a brothel, around the turn of the last century. Large windows spill light into the room, and a patio is kind of back-alley cool, sheltered on one side by ragged bamboo plants and on the other by an old brick wall that still bears the painted standard of some past incarnation.

When it first opened, Echo was pretty spectacular, but as commonly happens, the consistency and quality just tanked. It seems to have lately hit another stride, and we’ve had some classic dishes that, again, break no new ground, but are judiciously prepared, like, on one visit, a juicy roasted pork loin justly paired with an onion-fennel confit sweetened slightly by apple, or green beans cooked gently enough not to lose their snap. Mac and cheese with cavatappi pasta is a smart rendition, with the small corkscrew shape ideal for holding the lush white cheddar and the addition of spicy andouille sausage and baked bread crumbs making for a textural hoedown.

The wine list is short and mechanical, with either New World or New World-style wines, none very interesting, but most hard to argue with. With all of them available by the glass, we recommend that you ask your server to direct you to whichever ones were opened that evening—there’s a good chance that some will be a few days old.

Vintage cocktails sound promising, but are made with bottom-shelf liquors. Compared to what else is available in the city, we don’t have much confidence in these. Take, for instance, the Dark and Stormy, which should be made from Gosling’s Black Seal rum and ginger beer. It’s got as much bite as it has bittersweetness. Here, a lighter-style rum is substituted, even though Gosling’s is used behind the bar for other cocktails. Why on earth do that? And then instead of ginger beer, the bar uses ginger ale, which is much sweeter and gentler. The end result? More like Overcast With A Mild Drizzle.

But for now, it suits mild-mannered Echo just fine.