GONE FISHING

Think fish. It’s lower in total calories, fat and cholesterol than most meat or chicken, and it’s neither plain nor boring at these recently reviewed restaurants. Kaktus (400 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, (213) 271-1856). Kaktus is lively. Everybody seems to know everybody else, and the place is always packed. Kaktus is also small and modest, without much in the way of decor but a turquoise accent here and there to give the place its New Southwest/Upscale Mexican look. Have a margarita and dip warm tortillas into a tasty fresh tomatilla salsa. That salsa, and a wonderful cilantro sauce served on grilled swordfish is the best thing on the menu. There are also huge salads (one is served in a hollowed out pineapple), flautas , and enchiladas made out of sweet corn. The seafood cocktail called vuelve a la vida --full of scallops, squid, and shrimp--has a tomato, pepper and lime sauce that is more flavorful than you find at most Mexican seafood restaurants. And there’s nice rice pudding for dessert--cold, crunchy and heavy on the cinnamon and clove. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., dinner only Sun. All major credit cards. Full bar. Street parking and valet evenings. Dinner for two, food only, $35-$65.

Maxine’s Seafood Cafe (6775 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 461-5644). Maxine’s has a homey, friendly atmosphere and a whole cast of characters that frequent the restaurant. The menu is a mixed bag of American regional-ethnic fare with plenty of mesquite-grilled fish and seafood house specials. There are excellent Manhattan and New England clam chowders, oysters on the half shell, steamed and baked clams, mussels, and a ceviche tostada. If you’re really trying to keep calories down, try something from the mesquite grill: mahi mahi, snapper, shark, trout, kebabs, orange roughy, sea bass, halibut, swordfish and salmon. There is also an Australian lobster tail for $17.95. Lunch and dinner daily. MasterCard, Visa and American Express. Beer and wine. Mini-mall parking. Dinner for two, food only, $20-$40.

Rondo (7966 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 655-8158). Walking into Rondo used to be a shock. You’d brace yourself for the clamor and then you’d shout all evening. Now it is quiet, restful and twice as big as it used to be, dominated by an incongruously romantic painting of a buffalo. It feels like a little restaurant in Italy, a place that serves simple food that’s more satisfying than fancy. Begin with a puffy ball of rosemary bread that is snatched from the wood-burning oven as you sit down. Next, try a bowl of homey and satisfying minestrone. Then settle into the whole grilled fish served with roast potatoes and string beans. There are also plates of pasta, thin slices of steak, and more grilled fish. Lunch and Mon.-Fri., dinner only Sat. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $25-$50. Parker’s Seafood Grill (309 Palm St., Newport Beach, (714) 673-3741). This waterfront restaurant with an open kitchen and mesquite grill is jammed with people. It is built on two levels of the new Edgewater Place complex overlooking Newport Harbor with a maximum of window and patio tables and a terrific view. There are yeasty, chewy, warm bread sticks with a crusty topping to munch on as you wait for your food. Start with the Parker sampler, a terrific hot appetizer plate with three of the best things on the menu: buffalo wings, mozzarella fingers and Cajun fried shrimp, along with three dipping sauces. There’s a daily selection of fresh, mesquite-grilled seafood; good choices include halibut, albacore tuna , Pacific yellowtail and swordfish. Mesquite shrimp and scallops are lovely, too. If you want steak, they’ve got it, and it’s great. Desserts are all made on the premises. The toll house pie and the walnut pie are both worth thinking about . . . a lot. Lunch and dinner daily. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $25-$75.