RESTAURANTS : Mesquite Seafood Grill Overlooking the Harbor Makes a Big Splash

Parker’s Seafood Grill in Newport Beach may be little more than the next evolutionary step up from genus Fisherman’s Wharf, but, by me, it’s a definite leap: The old ocean-view-with-fresh-fish clone done with a twist of some timely genetic engineering. Finally, somebody realized that the waterfront restaurant was more than ready for an open kitchen and a mesquite grill.

And judging from the reactions of the people I observed at Parker’s, this concept should make waves in the industry. Open just one month, the booths already are jammed with the kind of mixed crowd a waterfront attracts. The restaurant is built on two levels of the new Edgewater Place complex overlooking Newport Harbor, and there are a maximum of window and patio tables with a crow’s-nest view of Balboa Peninsula life: the yachts, the Ferris wheel, the car ferry, the endless throngs of pleasure seekers.

The dining room and upper-level bar almost trick the senses into thinking they have stumbled upon a cruise ship in port--all nautical colors, polyurethane and ship’s fittings. The stairway to the bar winds around just as it would on a passenger ship. Shuffleboard on the bridge deck, anyone?

Service is cheerful and infectious, unlike the joyless professionalism of San Francisco’s wharf (where the width of your waiter’s smile is proportionate to the size of your check). The somber dark wood of the typical wharf restaurant has been changed to bright pastel; the expected ‘50s, sedan-style leather booths are now soft and comfy. Then there is the menu. That’s where the improvement becomes really significant.

When you are ready to order, fend off the server’s cocktail suggestion--in my case, a horrendous blue wine margarita called the Parkerita--and go right for the Parker’s sampler, a terrific hot appetizer plate with three of the best things on the menu: buffalo wings, mozzarella fingers and Cajun fried shrimp. The plate comes with three separate dipping sauces: Cajun mustard, homemade salsa, and chunky blue cheese; the combination is dynamite. The mozzarella fingers are coated with a fabulous herbed crumb crust, and the wings are dripping with a spice mixture hot enough to blow you right out of the water.

Other appetizers are less than perfect. Steamed clams get a giant bucket to contain them, but somebody is stingy with the broth, leaving the poor clams to dry out on the bottom. Calamari is served in tiny ringlets that have about as much taste as teething rings. Oysters Rockefeller (baked oysters on a bed of creamed spinach with a dollop of cheese sauce) are just what the name implies--too rich.

While you’re playing with the salad, you’ll eat a lot of the addictive house bread--yeasty, chewy, warm bread sticks with a crusty topping. Salads are good, but this is one of those restaurants where the servers put the dressing on and that means trouble. If you don’t tell them otherwise, you get a big glob of the stuff.

If you don’t eat too many bread sticks (I did, the first time), then you can look forward to a nice piece of fish. There’s a large daily selection of fresh, mesquite-broiled seafood, which unfortunately can succumb to the drying tendency of the open grill--fine if you’re ordering shrimp, scallops or the oilier fishes, such as swordfish or ahi, but problematic when you get to the delicate ones such as halibut or orange roughy. I got around the problem by asking for my halibut slightly undercooked and that’s exactly how I got it.

Other good choices are albacore tuna, Pacific yellowtail and swordfish. Mesquite shrimp and scallops are lovely, and there’s a wonderful New England-style dish called scallops de Jonghe, which is a casserole dish full of buttered bread crumbs, sherry and the scallops. Back in the other Newport--Rhode Island, that is--it’s called scallop pie.

And if you want steak, they’ve got steak. What would a mesquite grill be without it? One day I tried the filet mignon, and it was just great. The steamed, redskin potatoes that come with the steak are the best of all the side dishes, much better than the mushy herbed rice you get with all the seafood. If you want to be really sneaky, ask for some of the avocado bearnaise that comes with the halibut and put it on the steak. It’s wonderful on potatoes too.

Desserts--all made on the premises--are sensational. There are things such as toll house pie, which can do without the ice cream and hot fudge spooned generously on top, and apple walnut pie, which the ice cream enhances. Key lime pie is smooth and creamy, and the plain baked cheesecake is worthy of a Brooklyn deli. Even the chocolate mousse is up to par.

OK, so this place is not as au courant as New York’s Le Bernardin, or even comparable to the best old seafood houses in San Francisco. It’s not supposed to be. That would be like comparing a voyage on the QE2 with a party cruise. But if you’re in the mood to party, your ship has just come in.

Hot appetizers are $4.50 to $10.95. Fresh fish is priced daily from $10.95. House specialties are $11 to $26. Most dinners include salad.

PARKER’S SEAFOOD GRILL

309 Palm St., Newport Beach

(714) 673-3741

Open for lunch Monday through Saturday, dinner nightly and Sunday brunch.

All major credit cards accepted.