The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

Tuttomare, 545 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach. (714) 640-6333. Open Mondays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Fridays 11 to midnight; Saturdays 11:30 to midnight, Sundays 5 to 10.

Service is fluid and solicitious at this smart, stunning restaurant, located in the building that used to house the Savannah Grill, but the kitchen is having its ups and downs. Wonderful, yeasty foccaccia bread served with virgin olive oil and the fine grilled seafoods are some of the ups. Naked vegetables and bland pasta dishes are some of the downs. Lombata di vitello, veal chop with fontina and prosciutto, is one reason to go back for a second look.

Umi, 2075 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa. (714) 631-2208. Open Tuesdays through Sundays 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:30, Fridays and Saturdays till 11.

Umi is a modern and imaginative but often unprofessional sushi bar with high-tech pretensions, and knowing what to order is important: You are safe if you stick with the sushi, which is fresh and crafted with an excellently prepared rice, but it is easy to run aground on the many hot dishes. Among them, best are a wonderful scallop casserole, a toothsome Japanese steak, and yaki-onigiri, grilled triangles of sushi rice with various fillings. Service can be painfully slow.

Pinnacle Peak, 9100 Trask Ave., Garden Grove. (714) 892-7311. Open Mondays through Fridays 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., weekends till 10 p.m.

Crazy Horse Steak House, 1580 Brookhollow Dr., Santa Ana. (714) 549-1512. Open Mondays through Fridays 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturdays and Sundays 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

While everyone else is busy disavowing addiction to good steak, sneak off to one of these places. Leave the tie at home when you visit Pinnacle Peak; someone will sneak up on you and cut it off. Honest. The restaurant’s trail boss steak, cooked over an open flame, is a char-broiled monster, a great value at $9.95. The Crazy Horse is a bit longer on atmosphere but, apart from the high-grade beef, it’s run-of-the-mill. Many of the side dishes have been frozen, and the whole place has a packaged feel about it.

Garduno’s Ristorante Italiano, 298 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa. (714) 645-5505. Open Mondays through Thursdays 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays till 10 p.m., Saturdays noon to 10 p.m.

Garduno’s may be the quintessential Italian sidewalk cafe-except the sidewalk is missing. Mark and Julie Garduno, an engaging young couple, run the place as if it was a small family room, serving fresh, home-cooked fare that often delights. Standout dishes include a killer carbonara loaded with fresh peas, pancetta and sauteed mushrooms; and a fabulous fusilli, twirly pasta spirals in a chunky tomato sauce with big pieces of homemade sausage. The regular menu has all the favorites, the cappuccino is frothy, and there are wonderful creamy cheesecakes to boot.

California Wok, 4466 Cerritos Ave., Los Alamitos. (714) 527-0226. Open Mondays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 10 p.m.

Eat health conscious, pan-Asian food in this spotless litle gem, owned and operated by a Thai microbiologist who is a gem herself (her name, Baiyok, means jade leaf.) Chinese dishes here are excellent, prepared with pure soy oil. Especially good are vegetarian egg rolls, and stir fried chicken in an edible basket of straw potato. Thai dishes are equally fine. Nam sod is fiery ground pork with chili. Pad Thai are fried flat noodles. And tod mun plar, rubbery fish cakes with mint and cilantro, are wonderful.