Modern Maturity : The dining is civilized--and so are the prices--at Victor Hugo’s

Victor Hugo’s, 235 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. (213) 858-7292. Open for lunch Monday-Friday, for dinner Monday-Saturday. Full bar. Valet parking. All major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $50-$80.

When was the last time you went to a really grown-up restaurant? It’s probably been so long that you hardly remember what it was like.

Los Angeles restaurants have been going through a phase of adolescent rebellion, and most of us have become so accustomed to their tantrums that we’ve come to accept them as the norm.

But there really was a time when you could make a reservation at a restaurant and know that a table would be waiting when you walked in the door. You could sit down at that table with the reasonable expectation that your seat would be comfortable enough to harbor you for a few hours without demanding the services of a chiropractor the next day. You could even talk all evening, hear what was being said, and not wake up hoarse the next morning. Best of all, when the waiter came to take your order, that is all he would do. There would be no jokes, no small talk, no introductions.

We still have a few restaurants like that, of course. Unfortunately, most of them are very old (and stodgy), very expensive (and formal), or both. And that is why the opening of Victor Hugo’s, a very grown-up restaurant that is very new and not outrageously expensive, is such a pleasant surprise.

What further distinguishes Victor Hugo’s from the other grown-up restaurants in town is the sleek modern look of the room. This is a stunning place--pale, cool and up to date with artistic accents everywhere you look. The major work of art is the exhibition kitchen, dramatically framed so that it is the focus of the room. But unlike most open kitchens, this one is glassed in so that you can watch the chefs perform without listening to the whir of fans, the buzz of mixers and the clank of pots.

But despite its trendy touches, this room manages to be both elegant and extremely comfortable. The upholstered chairs are gorgeous and very cozy, the booths along the walls make intimacy easy, and no matter where you are sitting, noise is never a problem. It’s a very civilized room.

And the service lives up to the ambiance. It’s so professional that you hardly even notice it.

All this is what took us out to eat in the days before we all started going to restaurants just to see what new sort of morsel would appear on our plates. For although the adolescent restaurants may not be reliable, comfortable or cozy, many of them make up for it with fabulously enticing food. And while some of the food at Victor Hugo’s is very good, much of the time you find yourself wishing that the kitchen had a little of that adolescent energy.

With the exception of the specials, most of the food is not very high on the excitement quotient.

Clearly the kitchen is capable of more. The specials have been spectacular: One day there was a heap of mussels topped with a julienne of vegetables in a rich, buttery saffron sauce of incredible intensity. Lying across the top was a whimsical banner of pasta--a thin sheet in ribbons of color. The dish was fabulous.

Another night the special appetizer was taramasalata , the Greek speciality made of fish roe whipped into a creamy paste. Chef Yves Buso (who once worked at the Regency Club) elevated this simple dish into a tour de force: The taramasalata itself was wrapped up in smoked salmon, appearing on the plate as a bright orange disk. Surrounding it was a creamy cucumber sauce shot through with ribbons of green chile puree. The green pattern added both visual appeal and a small jolt of flavor. The dollop of caviar on top of the salmon did much the same.

But few of the dishes on the menu are this inviting. Appetizers include a range of choices from the seafood bar prominently displayed in the kitchen; the shrimp, clams, oysters, etc. are all fresh and fine, but you hardly need a great chef to prepare them. The salmon tartar, on the other hand, was a bit bland. It needed more ginger--or maybe some lemon, anything, to give it pizazz.

There are some nice salads, but with one exception, none are remarkable. The spinach salad, however, is a new take on an old theme: the spinach is finely shredded, mixed with bacon and then topped with a perfectly poached egg and a dab of vinaigrette that has some corn whipped into the blend. The dish is also on the luncheon menu, and it makes a perfect light lunch.

The pasta dishes (carefully listed as “appetizer pastas” lest you be tempted to order them as main courses) did not impress me. Rigatoni with tomato, basil, jalapeno and pepperoni somehow managed to be bland. And the creamy risotto with fresh porcini mushrooms was odd--the rice, cooked until it had started to fall apart, was served in a circle around a stew of rather rubbery mushrooms cooked in red wine.

Entrees aren’t always successful either. Steamed striped bass served on a bed of oyster mushrooms was mostly bland--and the rather tough little broccoli-filled ravioli that came with it weren’t much help. I thought the venison was not very happily paired with a sweet raspberry vinegar sauce (although I did like the accompanying celery root puree, cunningly wrapped up in a leaf). And the “ scaloppini “ of chicken--a breast that had been pounded flat and filled with a layer of olive paste--was served in a creamy sauce that totally masked the flavor of the chicken. A very bitter garlic mousse didn’t help. As for the beef tenderloin, the large serving of very tender meat was absolutely overwhelmed by a bordelaise sauce tasting strongly of bacon. And the potato ravioli that came with it were no more successful than the broccoli ravioli served with the striped bass.

For the most part, this menu plays it safe. There really is something for everybody. People who like plain food will find that they can have a shrimp cocktail, a salad and top it off with a simply grilled piece of protein. The grilled dishes have been generally successful: One night I had a beautiful piece of tuna, another a large and very respectable veal chop.

Those who are looking for more exotic eating can find that too. I found the best of the dishes to be tournedos of salmon-- little rounds of fish served on a bed of cabbage with a robust onion and black pepper sauce. Another satisfying dish was loin of lamb, served in beautiful rare slices draped across little logs of spinach and accented by the seductive potato tuiles that the kitchen serves with many of the dishes. These large, crisp, round disks of potatoes are so delicious that you may find yourself asking if you can have an order on the side.

Desserts are not one of Victor Hugo’s strong suits. A warm apple tart came in an apricot sauce that tasted mainly of honey. A lemon tart was overwhelmed by an unnecessary pina colada sauce. Peanut butter pie will be horrible to those who hate peanut butter--and disappointing to those who don’t. It was thin and airy, served in a graham cracker crust with a very unassertive chocolate sauce.

The chocolate-raspberry cake, on the other hand, was delicious. I suggest that you finish your meal with that. As you eat it the waiter will arrive again and again to offer more coffee, more water--anything that will make your meal more pleasant. In the face of such service, you may find yourself thinking how happy you are to be here. The adolescent restaurants may serve more interesting food-- but the grown-ups really know how to take care of you.

Recommended dishes: Spinach salad, $7; taramasalata, $8.75; tournedos of salmon, $17.50; loin of lamb, $16.75; veal chop, $23.50; chocolate raspberry cake, $5.50.