RESTAURANTS : A Little Gem of a Cafe Hidden Away in a Newport Beach Shopping Center

Showley-Wrightson is an unlikely name for a restaurant, but then again Showley-Wrightson is an unlikely restaurant. The proprietors, Grant Showley and Shirley Wrightson, are a married couple, and the food they serve reflects their background as cooking teachers. Because they can cook in almost any style, they do. Lyon, Jakarta and Santa Fe could be envisioned as tri-cities in the restaurant’s tiny kitchen.

It’s a tiny restaurant, too, tucked away in a hard-to-find shopping mall called Eastbluff, in a ritzy part of Newport Beach. The owners have tried to give the place some atmosphere--a collection of posters depicting life in provincial France, white tablecloths and candles at night--but the look is still that of an upscale grocery store with tables. Racks of comestibles like good imported olive oil and fancy pastas line the room, which is papered bath shop-style in dotted white. A real estate agent might key on the word cozy in his description of it.

But as a neighborhood restaurant, Showley-Wrightson works perfectly. I know some local people who wouldn’t dream of eating anywhere else, and they are not alone. The wide variety of entrees caters to every taste. The menu changes daily. Owner Wrightson is a friendly woman, and she greets every one of her customers like house guests. “I can procure just about anything for a customer with a few days’ notice,” she says, “and if I can’t, neither can anybody else.” When I ask her about Bresse chicken, she says, “Give me until Tuesday.”

The candles were flickering one Friday evening as we took our seats, and the music of Vivaldi reverberated throughout the crowded room. Little canapes of shrimp mousse and spinach-laced ricotta were served to us on a silver tray, making the greetings from our two servers seem even more genteel. Service is warm and relaxed in this restaurant, with noble attempts to render the experience more European. (Silverware is replaced between courses. Butter is served in little crocks.)

We began with wonderful breads, a dense, chewy walnut bread and fougasse , a Provencal flat bread topped with onions. I could have gone on eating bread all night--if I had, I would have left in total contentment.

But I didn’t. Subsequent courses exposed the major problem at Showley-Wrightson: many dishes here are more adapted than reproduced. And while all are well-crafted, their flavors seem muted, minimally spiced, ephemerally smoked, lightly salted, quickly simmered.

A case in point: the pate plate. When it arrived everyone’s eyes got a little bigger. But when we tasted the components our initial hopes were dashed. The duck rillettes actually could have used more fat (that’s where the real flavors come from). The chicken-liver mousse needed more texture (Gerber couldn’t have made it much smoother). Thanks to a fine, grainy country pate served with an excellent pear chutney and a superb mustard, we finished off somewhat impressed.

A tomato bisque was food-processor silky, but though the basil in it was clearly visible, it was not easy to taste. The lentil soup was better, a light broth with carrots, onions and delicately stewed lentils. That soup had real flavor, though I would have liked it better with a little more garlic.

About the best of the main courses that night was Tante Paulette’s garlic chicken, boned chicken sauteed with unpeeled garlic cloves and brandy. The caramelized garlic was especially delicious. But I couldn’t help noticing that the chicken tasted as if it had been partially boiled before hitting the saute pan. Tante Paulette would never take a shortcut like that.

Some entrees listed on the menu that night seemed so interesting we couldn’t resist ordering them. Indonesian lamb loin, served with chutney and, according to the menu, rice sticks, was one of them. But the rice sticks turned out to be ordinary fried rice, and the lamb, while fresh and tender, had none of the perfumed coriander or turmeric that I associate with Indonesian cooking. Tortelli with spinach, ricotta and Parmesan--advertised as pasta rounds--was in reality one giant sombrero of baked pasta with a rather innocuous filling. I thought it looked and tasted like a German pancake.

On a second visit I found more of the bright spots. Risotto with asparagus, shrimp and fresh spinach was perfectly cooked, and nicely balanced. I could taste several divergent flavors in every forkful. Grilled tenderloin of beef, lightly smoked over grapevines and sauced with red wine and porcini mushroom, would have been at home in any of the great restaurants of Tuscany.

If you have room after your culinary world tour there is a dessert tray filled with homemade goodies. Two stand out: One is the flour-less chocolate cake, a dense wedge so popular with the table that the person who ordered it surrounded it with empty wine glasses to keep the rest of us at bay; the other is the ginger-snap ice cream with ginger-snap cookies on the side, a raised-consciousness version of ice cream and cookies. This is an adult dessert, but it arouses childish emotions. With a little more nerve, most of the other dishes in this restaurant could do the same.

Showley-Wrightson is moderately priced. At lunch time, attractive salads like chicken lemon, Tex-Mex potato, and mushroom feta, are offered in combinations for $8.75. Picnic baskets, filled with goodies that Lynn Redgrave wouldn’t touch, are $20. At dinner, appetizers are $5.50 to $8. Main dishes are $12.50 to $18.

SHOWLEY-WRIGHTSON

2531 Eastbluff Drive, Newport Beach

(714) 760-9700

Open for takeout Monday through Friday, 10 a.m to 6 p.m., lunch Monday through Friday, 11 a.m to 3 p.m., dinner Tuesday through Saturday, 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

American Express, MasterCard, Visa accepted.