RESTAURANTS : DA VINCI: IT’S A PLACE TO WEAR YOUR PEARLS

There are times I merely want a bite to eat. Some other nights I enjoy trendy, lively fare. But, once in a while, after too much “inventive” food, I want a simple yet leisurely repast in a place to wear my pearls. Gracious dining. Is that an outmoded term? Not at Da Vinci, the Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills, a comfortable spot with traditional, well-made cuisine. “Traditional,” “well-made.” Remember when chefs were artisans, craftsmen, not artistes, celebrities or czars?

Picture an intimate room with cozy, muted peach velour banquettes and the sort of lighting that makes everyone look more serene. A kind of private club. Imagine lots of white napery and a tuxedo-dressed staff without the officiousness formality can breed. Although the restaurant is small, a mirrored wall enlivens it, and the booths feel private enough for a tryst or a simple quiet conversation.

There is a large selection of hot and cold appetizers. Carpaccio was very fresh and appropriately paper-thin but overpowered by its dollop of too-tartar-like sauce. I enjoyed the zuppa rustica , a delicate chicken based broth with whisked egg, parmesan cheese and dark crunchy spinach. The only bow to nuova cuccina was the complex, sweet and rugged arugula, radicchio and endive salad finished with a sprightly vinaigrette.

The a la carte menu tends to be fairly expensive, but Da Vinci also serves a complete dinner--appetizer, salad, choice of one of six entrees, including a fresh fish of the day, and dessert--for the remarkable (in the golden ghetto) price of $18.50. One night my companion chose to order the dinner and happily began with mozzarella marinara , a lovely warm rectangle of cheese floating in a clear tomato pool.

The fettuccini and cannelloni are freshly made. The latter, fat tubes of tender dough, came filled with a delicate mix of spinach puree and veal. A couple of weeks ago my cousin asked if I had noticed how hard it had become to find red sauces in good Italian restaurants. I hadn’t, but, in her honor, decided to try the linguine alle vongole (thin pasta with clams) in the red, not the white, sauce. What a good choice that was: the thin ribbons of perfectly cooked linguine lapped up a robust, peppery bath of fresh, whole tomatoes and clams decorously served in the shell. A world away from tomato-paste sauces of the past.

Fish, on two occasions, was marvelously fresh and agreeably served with the sauce of the customer’s choice. Sand dabs, on the prix-fixe menu, were sauteed in a heady lemon-garlic butter. Swordfish, a la Livornese , ordered grilled, came with a fine mix of capers, ripe tomatoes and slivers of very good olives. Osso bucco , that remarkable creation of veal, is occasionally offered as a daily special. The well-simmered meat fell away from the bone, the marrow was velvety. The creamy halo of risotto really did melt in my mouth. Abbacchio alla ligure , lamb brushed with herbs, bread crumbs and mustard and served with a rosemary sauce, came to the table as a dramatic rack of lamb and was deftly carved by the waiter. The glistening, pink chops were tender, the sauce piquant, the well-textured herb-bread crust just right.

Portions are large but, we felt impelled to try some of the mammoth pleasures on the dessert cart. One pneumatic chocolate and coconut layer number was cloyingly sweet. A chocolate mousse cake with meringue tasted like the richest of carnival fudge. There is cheese cake, fruit dipped in chocolate and other fantasies adorned with large white chocolate leaves. One might wish for a more refined end to the meal. There is a reasonably good list of imported and some California wines. Cappuccino, unfortunately, often comes spiked, and there is, I’m always glad to see, a good selection of teas.

While Da Vinci does not have the stellar brilliance of a Leonardo, there is a craftsman with a steady hand in the kitchen. The prix-fixe menu is a very good deal and a young person could surely impress a date. For the more affluent of a certain age, there’s a welcome solidity to the menu and an atmosphere that positively glows.

Da Vinci, 9737 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. (213) 273-0960. Open Monday-Friday, 12-2 p.m., Monday-Saturday, 6-11 p.m. Valet parking. All major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two: $40-$85 (food only).

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Pinafini (8612 Beverly Blvd., 854-3039) has barely opened its doors, but if the owners manage to keep things the way they are (and this, it seems to me, is a big if), it will probably be a long time before they close them. For this slick, hip, high-tech place with its white tiles, hard edges and loud music is serving extremely interesting Italian food--and at rather reasonable prices.

The menu is Venetian, with regional specialties like sguassetto, a wonderful shellfish-filled tomato-based broth, pasta with radicchio, liver and onions, and an impressive risotto nero made with squid ink. There is also delicious-looking pizza. Entree prices range from about $6 for pasta to $14 for a good veal scallopine.

I can’t help wondering, however, if the kitchen will continue to turn out food of this impressive quality as the young Beverly Center crowd pours into the place and heats up the atmosphere.