At Buon Gusto, Meals Are an Unremarkable Prelude to Wonderful Desserts

My mother would have known what to say about Buon Gusto. She had a million wise sayings (such as, “If you can’t find something, pick up your room. It’s somewhere under the mess”). At Buon Gusto she’d have looked extremely wise and whispered, “Don’t start out with dessert, you’ll spoil your meal.”

She would have liked Buon Gusto. It’s a charming little place just on the Santa Monica side of the Venice line, and quite handsome inside: faux-marble arches and pilasters; posters and paintings; a rather loose mural of some Italian city, presumably Florence; and a clay statue of an imposing woman in fiesta clothing, possibly named Florence.

Outside, even better, is a little courtyard with a couple of tables in it. All done in fired brick, it has a solid, comfortable feeling, as if it could withstand a tidal wave. There’s a fountain, a structure of smooth river stones defying gravity, and high-class neighbors like jewelry shops and gelato dispensaries sharing the courtyard. It’s as cozy as brick can get, and when there’s an offshore breeze, it’s a great place for espresso and dessert.

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Yes, dessert. This is the problem: Buon Gusto is an Italian restaurant that actually has remarkably good desserts. A major tirami su , not at all soppy, its sweetness nicely cut with bitter chocolate. An excellent, very moist ricotta cheesecake. A particularly chocolaty chocolate rum cake. Even a carrot cake that is not the usual crude source of vitamin A and dietary fiber, but a real cake. Unfortunately, nothing else on the menu is quite on the same level as the desserts.

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of things to like about Buon Gusto. There’s always fresh bread and olive oil on the table, and if you think your salad needs something, you are casually handed a whole bottle of balsamic vinegar. For those who care about such things, I suspect a concern for diners’ health in, say the pollo alla Marsala : the creamy sauce definitely needed salt.

Possibly, too, there’s a fanatical devotion to good ingredients. At least I hope that’s the reason why the place has been out of the calamari , the crostini topped with eggplant, and swordfish every time I asked. Basically, though, this is no more than the mainstream modern L.A.-Italian menu. That is, no spaghetti with meatballs, but no arancini or maccheroni alla chitarra either. Nothing really remarkable until you get to dessert.

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Among the appetizers, there’s good bruschetta , three big slices of bread topped with lots of ripe tomatoes and basil. The paper-thin carpaccio seems to be the sort that’s made from frozen meat, very briefly cooked so that there is a brownish tint around the edge of each slice. It’s very tender, not very flavorful, and sprinkled with Parmesan, basil and capers.

The menu leans strongly to fish and chicken, and mushrooms too; the pollo alla Marsala that I thought wasn’t salty enough is notable for its generosity in the mushroom department. However, I can’t say I liked the mass of spinach, ricotta and mushrooms, rather like ravioli filling, that sat on the side.

One of the better entrees is pollastro alla diavola , nice grilled chicken with a thick garlic sauce and a sprig of rosemary. The osso buco is good, the sort that comes in a lot of tomato sauce on green fettuccine. Fazoletti (the one unfamiliar name on the menu) are largish raviolis stuffed with spinach and ricotta in a rich, cheese-thickened tomato sauce. There are some pizzas and a calzone here, the philosophy of the crust being the cracker-like sort that’s thin and barely leavened.

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Despite my suspicions about a health orientation at Buon Gusto, there are several rich sauces; even the Caesar salad has a particularly rich dressing. The fettucini alla Medici --with peas, slightly peppered sausage and even a couple of flecks of red pepper on the pasta--come in a rich sauce (I see: The Medici were rich, or at least comfortably well off, if memory serves). The best thing I’ve had was not on the menu, a special of sand dabs in a smashing, and extremely rich, cream sauce.

Still, if I’d started out my meal in the brick courtyard, sitting next to the fountain, basking in the nearness of jewelry shops and gelato dispensaries, having espresso and tirami su , and then had to go inside and have antipasto and a main course, I’d definitely have spoiled my meal. Right again, Mom.

Recommended dishes: bruschetta, $2.95; fazoletti, $9; pollastro alla diavola, $10.95; tirami su, $4.

Buon Gusto, 3110 Main St., Santa Monica. (213) 452-4288. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. -11 p.m.; Sunday brunch. Wine and beer. Parking lot on Marine Street. Carte Blanche, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $14 to $60.