RESTAURANT REVIEW : Rive Gauche Is a Filling Place for Menu Full of Old-Line Favorites

Rive Gauche is exactly the kind of place people are referring to when they say, “I know the nicest little French restaurant. . . .”

Tucked in a charming, vine-covered courtyard of small shops, Rive Gauche is an old-fashioned, romantic take on the Left Bank.

I loved the quiet courtyard--it must be one of the San Fernando Valley’s prettiest eating areas. If it had been 20 degrees warmer, I would have insisted on sitting there. But the dining room, with its walls of French windows and low, wood-beamed ceilings, is lovely too. Tables of lunching ladies and couples, and the all-American faux-Parisian atmosphere made me feel as if I were out to lunch in a ‘50s romantic comedy.

The menu was full of old-line Continental favorites: escargots, crab-stuffed mushrooms, crepes, quiche, entrees a la wine-rich sauces. My friend and I ordered appetizers and entrees, which turned out to be an obscene amount of food. The slab of pate maison alone could have fulfilled our recommended daily allowance of protein, sodium and fat. My quiche was a bit overcooked and bland, Robert’s whitefish less than choice.

I know from experience that it often takes a few forays into a well-established, older restaurant to discover what it does best. And I was more than willing to find a good reason to make that patio a haunt.

When I found myself back at Rive Gauche recently for dinner with a couple of friends, we spied on the other diners, studied the menu and decided that this was exactly the kind of old-fashioned place that would have good French onion soup, sweetbreads and lamb chops.

Our impulses ultimately proved correct, but we had to learn a lesson first: At Rive Gauche, forget starters, cut to the entrees. We did not do this.

The toast points were the best thing about the smoked salmon appetizer; the fish itself was mushy, with a slightly sandy texture. The coquille St. Jacques, some well-cooked scallops and mushrooms in a white wine sauce in a big shell, were quite rich: Even passed among three of us, we didn’t finish them.

Soup and salad were next--all the entrees come with them. The soup du jour , a cream of tomato, was quite good, but the salad was swamped with a bitter, salty Roquefort dressing.

I ordered the onion soup, which is not included in the options. This meant that I had both soup and salad--the waitress insisted on serving me the dinner salad since it came with the meal.

Suddenly, there was way too much food on the table. What’s worse, the onion soup didn’t turn out to be worth all the negotiation: It came sealed under a remarkably thick blanket of rubbery cheese. I had a tug of war with the ropy stuff, then gave up.

Finally came the entrees and a revelation. We didn’t need appetizers, we didn’t really need much of a salad and we really didn’t need the soup. Here, in front of us, was what anyone would call a square meal: boiled red potatoes, broccoli, steamed spaghetti squash, meat and sauce.

My sweetbreads were soft and dreamy and came with delicious fresh shrimp and mushrooms in a classic rich sherry sauce. The lamb chops, in an herbed sauce, webe meaty and tasty and perfectly medium rare. And although the fettuccine was disappointingly overcooked, all the seafood in the pasta pescatore was fresh and tasty, though I’m not sure how this dish ended up on a French menu in the first place.

Chocolate fans might learn another lesson: At Rive Gauche, forget filling up at dinner, cut to dessert--the “death-by-chocolate” cake is a helluva way to go. An apple tarte tatin was less-inspired: too sweet and under-caramelized. I was happy to close the meal with a respectable fruit and cheese board and cup of cafe au lait .

Although we ultimately found satisfying food, something about Rive Gauche makes me a little sad: It’s such a pretty little restaurant, but hopelessly old-fashioned.

Rive Gauche feels like a restaurant that was once quite good but hasn’t been quite as good for a while . . . and won’t be again, unless there are some major changes. (One knows that it’s possible, for the owners also own the smart, up-to-the-minute MaBe restaurant in West Hollywood, which offers a stunning, definitive array of innovative French/Italian/California dishes.)

Maybe it’s just a food reviewer’s fantasy, but I’d love to see Rive Gauche dust itself off and put on a fresh new face.

Rive Gauche Cafe, 14106 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 990- 3573. Open seven days. Lunch 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., dinner 5 to 10:30 p.m., Sunday brunch 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Full bar. All major credit cards accepted. Valet parking. Reservations accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $25-$45.