RESTAURANT REVIEW WINE CASK : Lovely but Chancy : The setting in a Spanish-style courtyard is pleasing, but the food and service can be inconsistent.

Hidden inside the El Paseo, a Spanish-style complex of narrow passageways, tourist-grabbing shops, stone courtyards and sparkling fountains, is one of the loveliest restaurant rooms on the South Coast. As if the room alone wasn’t enough, the restaurant continues out into an adjoining patio, flanked by yellow hibiscus, magenta bougainvillea and oranges just asking to be picked.

On a sunny afternoon, or a warm fall evening, you’d think you were in the Barrio Santa Cruz in Seville, Spain, next to the Alcazar.

At Santa Barbara’s Wine Cask--which recently moved from its very tiny location just across the courtyard--there’s been a complete change in decor, and in feeling. The new room has stark white walls, a fireplace on one side, yards of lovely space between tables and colorful splashes from large, contemporary paintings by co-owner and artist Hugh Margerum.

The overall effect is just right. It makes you say, “This is going to be good” and makes you want to like the food. With co-owner Douglas Margerum at the helm and chef Jeff Vinion in the kitchen, most of the time it is no effort at all to like Wine Cask. It can be outstanding.

But that isn’t the whole story. Just when you’re thinking, “This is really a great restaurant,” a dish comes along that is just so-so. It may even be the same dish you raved about the week before.

One of Vinion’s dishes that I would have sworn by after trying it the first time--the sea bass Calcatada--was beautifully tasty one night. With perfectly cooked, moist sea bass sitting on a bed of spicy pureed white beans, it was great. Another evening the fish was overcooked and the beans were simply boring.

On the other hand, my favorite Wine Cask appetizer, the grilled stuffed Anaheim chiles, has always been perfect. They’re served with fresh corn fritters and a homemade, coarsely chopped salsa. Also on the appetizer list, the homemade gravlax, marinated salmon in a dill sauce, is just OK--except for those times when it’s too salty.

I’ve never gone wrong with the mixed summer vegetable appetizer, fresh vegetables grilled with olive oil and then served with crumbled feta cheese, fresh oregano and calamata olives. A fresh, simple dish.

Two dining companions, both reliable Caesar salad aficionados, agreed that the Caesar salad dressing just wasn’t happening, that it was dry and dusty in their mouths.

Also on the salad side of the menu, the roasted lamb salad contributes to the inconsistency. With grilled sweet onions, peppers, wild rice and pecans, in a cassis vinaigrette, the dish was beautiful and crunchy on one occasion, but on another I found the lamb overdone.

None of us who’ve dined at the Wine Cask recently have eaten better prawns. I don’t know whether they will still be taking the spot prawns out of Santa Barbara Channel by the time this piece hits print, but if they are, grab them. If not, Doug Margerum promises seasonal menu changes that we hope will measure up to the prawns.

Whether for lunch or dinner, they’re always grilled just perfectly, sweet and juicy, either as an appetizer or as an entree, served on a bed of fresh vegetables and papaya, or simply with saffron aioli and basmati rice.

Also, go for the charred leg of lamb. It’s served over braised leeks, with a rioja sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. But be certain they don’t overcook the meat. I’ve noticed the cooking definitely varies.

I understand that Chef Vinion, who has been at Michael’s and at Nordbert’s in the past, is still living in the Los Angeles area. Does this explain the inconsistency? One recent dining companion summed it up succinctly: “The food is remarkable--when he’s there.”

The same could be said for the waiters. The service is excellent--when they’re there. Generally, the young waiters are real professionals. They’re especially articulate and they know their food. But on more than one occasion we’ve had to wait when it wasn’t necessary.

The wine list at the restaurant is definitely all there and commands attention. The Wine Cask has its own wine store on one side of the patio, which probably explains the especially large selection of wines on the menu sold by the glass.

For those as interested in desserts as wines, here is where the Wine Cask flies its very best colors. Among the homemade ice creams at the restaurant is a peach-cinnamon, which is worth trying even if you’re a chocoholic, as I am. A fresh fruit cobbler comes in a very large portion, juicy, not always as doughy as I like cobblers, but awfully good. And the tart peach crisp simply melts in your mouth.

Chocolate lovers, do not despair. What can I say about the flourless chocolate cake? Just, that it is terribly rich, sticks to the roof of your mouth and is alone worth a return trip.

* WHERE AND WHEN

Wine Cask, 813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, (805) 966-9463. Open for lunch Monday through Friday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., for appetizers, salads, soups and desserts 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., for dinner seven nights a week 5 to 10 p.m. Major credit cards and reservations accepted. Beer and wine. Lunch for two, food only, $20-$48. Dinner for two, food only, $25-$56. Recommended dishes: grilled spot prawns, $19 at dinner; charred leg of lamb, $17.95.