RESTAURANTS : Viva Italia Gains a Following in Laguna Beach With Its Chefs, Swift Service

Viva Italia is the combined effort of brothers Vittorio, Ignacio, Vincenzo and Antonio Romeo (whose first initials conveniently form the acronym VIVA). Almost immediately, the restaurant has become a hit with Laguna locals.

Reservations aren’t accepted for parties of less than six, so if you arrive at peak hours, expect to spend a portion of your evening at the bar. One consolation: people tend to eat quickly here.

Perhaps the best reason for the high turnover at Viva Italia is the restaurant’s firecracker team of chefs. Another may be the restaurant’s snappy, cheerful servers: At no time did I have to wait more than five minutes between courses. Of course, the problem with such speedy service is that you sometimes get the feeling you’re in a fast-food restaurant. And several dishes I tried, despite good ingredients used, were curiously lacking in flavor.

That wasn’t the case, however, with the appetizers. Arancini , stuffed rice balls the size of tennis balls, were filled with good melted cheese, peas and spices, and fried a crisp golden brown. Around the arancini were batter-fried mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower and eggplant--sort of an Italianate version of vegetable tempura.

Another good choice is antipasto misto . Various imported cold cuts, cheeses and pickled vegetables with a centerpiece of the restaurant’s very good eggplant salad, it was the best thing I tasted here.

Even though it’ll cost you extra, I recommend sending back the disappointing house bread and ordering the focaccia al rosmarino from the wood-burning (eucalyptus) oven. It is brushed with plenty of butter, garlic and rosemary, and is pleasantly flavored--perfect for scooping up that good eggplant salad.

Pizzas from the wood-burning oven are fine but, unlike the focaccia , they don’t live up to the high expectations brought about by the scent of smoldering embers. Pizza alla checca --with its topping of diced tomatoes drenched in good olive oil, garlic and chopped basil--is probably the one to get, though the garlic might come out frizzled to bitterness. Pass on the doughy calzone .

Salads seem to be on every table. The best I tried was the tricolore salad--radicchio, endive and arugula in a good vinaigrette. Insalata mista --lettuce and tomato in a creamy dressing--was fine. But the Marco Polo--grilled chicken with crispy spaghettini on a bed of greens--was so salty I couldn’t eat it.

None of the sauces used on the pastas here really hit the mark, but thanks to the kitchen’s use of that excellent olive oil, they don’t miss badly. Gnocchi served in a cream sauce with spicy luganica sausage and porcini mushrooms were delightful. Also good: bianchi e neri , black-and-white angel hair with shrimps and scallops, and the penne which came in a red pepper, garlic and tomato sauce, with fresh grated imported Parmesan smothered on at the last minute by the waiter.

Of the grilled meats I tried, polletto al mattone --grilled, flattened Cornish game hen marinated in olive oil--was a touch too oily, but quite flavorful. Osso buco , on the other hand, was a big disappointment: The meat tasted as if it had been boiled, not braised, then covered with a thick, generic sauce.

You can console yourself with a few good, trattoria-style desserts, however. Semifreddo al caffe is white chocolate and vanilla gelato in a pool of espresso, and very refreshing. Ask to get yours without whipped cream--it tastes like the canned stuff. Also consider the homemade cannoli with your espresso. The filling is rich and indulgent with raisins.

Viva Italia is moderately priced. Antipastos are $4.50 to $6.25. Pizzas are $3.50 to $7.95. Pastas are $5.75 to $8.95. Grilled items are $7.50 to $16.95.

* VIVA ITALIA

* 303 Broadway, Laguna Beach

* (714) 497-6220

* Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:30 p.m.

* All major credit cards accepted