Classic Spanish Food and Youthful California Spirits Make Heady Mix

As in the sport of bullfighting, certain dangers come with the territory at the minuscule Ole Madrid restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter: You are likely to leave not only stuffed to the gills, but hoarse.

The temptation to precede the entrees with entirely too many tapas (appetizers, in the truest sense of the word) is nearly irresistible, and the decibel count attained by the paroxysm of voices and recorded music that reverberates in the narrow space demands that you shout to be heard above the racket. Anyone who has observed his 30th birthday--an occasion that would seem well into the future for much of Ole Madrid’s clientele--may find his vocal cords going wonky after half an hour or so of attempting to be heard above the din.

Far from being a source of complaint, however, the noise level makes Ole Madrid seem particularly alive and vital, which must be one of the main attractions for the young, willfully avant-garde crowd that throngs the place. Flamenco music and contemporary Latin pop tunes alternate, with flamenco the clear favorite of the staff, which pauses from its chores to clap in time to the music. Other draws would be the fairly affordable menu of classic Spanish dishes, and, in some ways even more interesting, the deliberate anachronisms of the decor.

Gaslamp Quarter restaurants increasingly seem to take a Janus-like attitude that emphasizes both the antiquity (in local terms) of the premises and the thoroughly contemporary outlook of the management. At Ole Madrid, vestiges of past centuries, such as the plank floor, the rush-bottomed chairs, the round wooden tables and the cabinetmaker-perfect back bar (hung with sausages, ropes of peppers and a serrano ham) bespeak the quintessential Iberian taberna . Juxtaposed against these are such purposefully modern notes as the wall-sized canvas painted with a copy of Picasso’s “Guernica” and the exposed heating duct-turned-architectural statement, which is no longer a novel statement but does make a point. The lighting, oddly enough, glows brightly, a situation that does not seem to slow the crowd for a moment.

Ole Madrid is the result of a collaboration among three men in their mid-20s, two Spaniards and a Mexican, who have written a menu that touches upon many of the basics and some of the highlights of everyday Spanish cooking. The cold and hot tapas lists are sufficiently extensive to offer the makings of a complete meal, an option that would be completely acceptable in the Ole Madrid idiom and would have its virtues on many occasions. However, there is much of interest under the other menu headings, notably the white bean and garlic soups and such seafood entrees as the zarzuela and the parrillada de mariscos .

The kitchen likes strong, definite flavors and is not shy about its use of garlic, spiced olives and lemon. Even the butter that accompanies the sliced baguette in the bread basket is infused with garlic and lemon. Even better are the bread slices half-saturated with crushed raw tomato, a delightful trick that makes a beguilingly tasty snack out of two very ordinary ingredients.

Tapas generally are understood to be small portions of highly seasoned food to be consumed as snacks or as a prelude to a meal. The selection at Ole Madrid is fairly straightforward and fits the definition perfectly. Among the simplest are a plate of sliced, imported chorizo sausage, which tastes of paprika but is fairly mild; the spicier cantinpalo, a rich, fatty sausage based on smoked ham and seasoned with about treble the amount of paprika as chorizo, and the grand jamon serrano , a subtle cousin of both the French Bayonne ham and Italian prosciutto, thinly sliced and worthy of the diner’s undivided attention.

Ole Madrid makes two versions of tortilla, the most universal tapa , which is simply a baked omelet built around a layer of cubed potatoes. It sounds bland--and it is, when made carelessly--but there is a satisfying, eggy smoothness to the preparation, a room-temperature wedge of which fits in quite nicely among a collection of spicier plates. The slightly more deluxe de la casa version has an especially smooth finish.

The choice of hot tapas includes fried baby squid, pastry empanadas stuffed with tuna and a choice of shrimp, chicken or mushrooms smothered in garlic sauce, all of which are classics. Another traditional item, the croquetas de pollo (deep-fried chicken croquettes), had a rather good flavor but a heavy, pasty texture that was off-putting. The least familiar choice, tosta de Excalivada, also is among the most satisfying. It consists of tomato-saturated bread, dressed with strips of roasted peppers, eggplant and onion, and heated in the oven.

Among lighter plates, there are sandwiches of serrano ham with Manchego cheese and grilled chicken with Romaine and tomato, and such dressy salads as the catalana , an Italian-style plate of buffalo-milk mozzarella alternated with basil leaves and sliced tomato. Italian influences are not uncommon in catalan cooking, which makes a specialty of such things as cannelloni. Some of the soups could make a meal, particularly the richly savory fabada , a brew of white beans flavored with sausage and ham, and the sopa de ajo , a pungent garlic soup thickened with crushed bread and beaten egg whites.

Three of the entrees are prepared for two diners only, which demands a degree of negotiation before a table can taste the paella Valenciana (saffron rice cooked with seafood, chicken and sausage), paella marinara , a rice dish garnished solely with fish and shellfish, and the parrillada de mariscos , a fairly straightforward platter of grilled salmon, shrimp, squid, sole and crab.

Other choices include octopus stewed in its own ink, a fairly challenging dish that many who have had past experience with are content to leave to others, and fish filet Ibiza-style, dressed in an herbed cream sauce.

The act of consuming the zarzuela , a soup-stew of mussels, clams, unshelled shrimp and the tiniest imaginable squid, requires eagerness, panache and a certain disregard for the state of one’s apparel, since it is served in a great quantity in an earthenware bowl and is quite messy to eat. The broth takes its pungency from the addition of chopped, spiced olives, which also make it rather too salty.

The pasta mediterranea , on the other hand, seems uncertain in its Spanish heritage but is an elegant dish of fettuccine tossed with plump shrimp and a rich cream sauce flavored--most unusually but likeably--with rosemary and lemon. The beef filet andaluz , sliced thinly and baked with cheese under a pungent tomato sauce, is another simple but elegant dish. The saffron rice on the side is outstanding and should be a revelation to anyone who accepts San Diego’s ubiquitous “rice pilaf” as this grain’s gospel.

Ole Madrid offers a brief but sufficient list of Spanish vintages, and also serves house wine in the traditional glass porones, which add a festive note to the table setting. The dark sangria , which went unsampled, seems a great favorite with much of this restaurant’s clientele.

DAVID NELSON ON RESTAURANTS * OLE MADRID

423 F St.

557-0146

Lunch Monday through Friday; dinner nightly until at least 1 a.m.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, $20 to $60.