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YEARS AGO, it was a restaurant called the Moorings. Back in the early '80s, this choice bit of real estate along the Chattahoochee was the special occasion restaurant in Atlanta. In 1984, Ray Schoenbaum, a restaurant industry veteran who also founded Rio Bravo Cantina, bought it to make it into the city's finest fish house.

Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Ray's has a new look, but the view hasn't changed (above). Inside, Tom McEachern's menu is best described as steak and seafood favorites with modern flourishes — such as shrimp cocktail (top) and oysters Rockefeller (middle).
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Ray's on the River served fresh seafood and offered live music with a scenic view of the Hooch, but what it cooked up best was an old-fashioned mouthful of the kind of hospitality Atlantans of a certain, shall I say — generation — expect. They were the last to notice when the exposed beams, worn carpet and floor-to-ceiling views of the now-tarnished Chattahoochee began to look more like an Okefenokee Swamp Epcot venue than a fashionable restaurant. But brunch will be brunch, and this Bloody Mary-quaffing crowd wasn't about to let an outdated look keep them from a steamship round.

But new money knew better, and began to go elsewhere. Atlanta is a competitive restaurant town with a short attention span, and though Ray's has always kept a certain set of dedicated patrons, 23 years is a long time. Shinier, newer pennies have surfaced. Still, Schoenbaum has managed to open and maintain two other successes — Ray's in the City and Ray's Killer Creek — with his company, Ray's Restaurants, LLC.

And earlier this year the company was smart enough to finally realize that Ray's on the River needed to undergo a metamorphosis and closed the facility for several months to remodel. The restaurant reopened last month, after a purported million-plus redo — including a tile wall fountain behind the reception area with "Ray's" inlaid across its blue and silveresque color scheme and a fountain out front with patina-finished fish that look like a cross between unusually large trout and pointy-nosed salmon (neither of which occur naturally in nature ... at least I hope not). They seem to be inadvertently jumping over strange aqua-blue rocks emerging from the water. It's a scene that could only be appreciated by someone either 8 or 80.

Inside, the digs are different, but mostly on the surface only, though the new bar area is more spacious, and is home to live jazz (I can never get enough pseudo Sinatra!) most nights. The bar is separated from the tiered dining area by a walnut-colored wall studded with brightly illuminated blue portholes. . The rolling view of the river remains the same, only now the perch is from black leather banquettes deep enough for a small person to get lost in — I had to climb to get in and my feet barely touched the floor, leaving me feeling a little like Alice after eating the small pill.

The transformation also includes the appointment of chef Tom McEachern as executive chef, though — as with the rest of the changes — this is mostly a face-lift. Much of the menu will look the same, even to the most stalwart of Ray's followers. McEachern was previously at Horseradish Grill, where he must have gotten used to a clientele — similar to Ray's — who expects a certain amount of stability in the offerings from the kitchen: at Ray's he blends a heavy dose of steak and seafood favorites with a few modern flourishes.

The best of any of these breeds is a nightly fish offering of grilled yellowtail snapper, though the fish changes depending on availability. Served whole, over a succotash of corn and bits of green pepper and red onion, it is a glorious fish, and McEachern is wise to leave it alone for the most part and let it do its fish thing.

Raw oysters are sometimes misidentified by the servers, but they are cold and fresh nonetheless, one night a dozen Willapa Bays (a fat west coast oyster with mild brine); another night a half-dozen beausoleil, both served on ice with a pleasingly tart champagne mignonette and horseradish heavy cocktail sauce. Cocktail shrimp are colossal, pink, plump and perfect. Crab cakes are feathery light and bathed in a mouth-tingling, velvet-textured lemon beurre blanc.

Yet other than a cloud-like Key lime pie and a fun rootbeer float flanked by chocolate chip cookies for dessert, the rest of the catch at Ray's is fairly unremarkable, and a little outdated — the day I never see another florentine cookie basket filled with ice cream or a stack of fried green tomatoes with remoulade and goat cheese can't come too soon. "Barbecue" shrimp are heavy with a brooding beer and butter sauce that even a tasty grit cake can't rectify. Sea scallops encrusted with Parmesan cheese came raw in the center over a lobster risotto that the week before had been a creamy delight, but now was a salty mess.

A petite filet and a massive slice of prime rib would both be in the running for first place in the non-seafood options, though a New York strip lacked the char and juice this cut usually conveys.

Truffle blue cheese with macaroni? What's not to like about blue cheese and noodles? Whipped potatoes and crispy calamari with fiery peppers? Totally likable. There's not a lot here to complain about; there's not a lot to rave about, either.

Ray's track record is praise enough, I suppose. Twenty-three years of devoted patronage is a lot of crab cakes and creamed spinach. Like the river, it just keeps rolling along.

RAY'S ON THE RIVER

Food: American seafood and steak

Service: Dining room staff and bartenders are unwaveringly good, though servers can be a bit iffy on food knowledge at times. The hostess station, however, can't seem to make the trains run on time.

Address, telephone: 6700 Powers Ferry Road, Sandy Springs, 770-955-1187

Price range: $$$

Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club

Hours of operation: Open for lunch Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; dinner Monday-Thursday 4 to 10 p.m., Friday 4 to 11 p.m., Saturday 5 to 11 p.m. and Sunday 5 to 9 p.m. (Sunday brunch from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Best dishes: Yellowtail snapper special, fresh oysters, crab cakes, Key lime pie, prime rib

Vegetarian selections: Sides of creamed corn, creamed spinach, seasonal vegetables, whipped potatoes, variety of salads, fried green tomatoes

Children: A very nice way to treat children to a special occasion

Parking: Complimentary valet

Reservations: Accepted

Wheelchair access: Yes

Smoking: Patio only

Noise level: Medium

Patio: Yes

Takeout: Yes

Web site: www.raysrestaurants.com

KEY TO RATINGS
Outstanding: Sets the standard for fine dining in the region.
Excellent: One of the best in the Atlanta area.
Very good: Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining.
Good: A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss.
Fair: The food is more miss than hit.
Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Poor.

Pricing code: $$$$$ means more than $75; $$$$ means $75 and less; $$$ means $50 and less; $$ means $25 and less; $ means $15 and less. (The price code represents a meal for one that includes appetizer, entree and dessert without including tax, tip and cocktails.)