RESTAURANT REVIEW THE GREEK : Dinner With Dance : Musicians, belly-dancers, leaping waiters--followed by <i> baklava </i> with a hint of orange.

My friend Elizabeth and her husband had practically parted ways over an argument about who was greater, Charlie Parker or Shakespeare. Meanwhile, my husband had invited people we didn’t even know to move into our house and do some work for him. Since both Elizabeth and I felt we had just cause to run off on a wronged-wives cruise to Greece, we did the next best thing--we went to The Greek restaurant.

If you’d like to taste the culinary pleasures of Greece, you won’t be disappointed with this new restaurant in Oxnard, which opened less than three months ago.

Entering through a foyer, complete with a fountain and Greek statues, the big, plush dining room is filled with elegant high-backed chairs and surrounded by comfortable banquettes built against the walls.

The focus of the room is a small marble dance floor set between two Corinthian columns. In the evenings a couple of musicians sing and play lively music while dancers perform. We watched a stunning belly-dancer, some leaping waiters and even guests who felt the urge to get up and be Zorba.

On a subsequent night we saw (gaped at) a young man whose amazing acrobatics surpassed anything I’d ever seen set to Greek music. With all this visual and musical excitement, the restaurant feels like a dinner theater--except that the food is much better.

One appetizer-- taramasalata-- was as good as any dish I’ve tasted anywhere. Made from red caviar, it had the consistency of whipped cream, the piquancy of Greek olives and a hint of the sea. It came with hot, fresh, fantastic pita bread, which, according to the waiter, actually came from Chicago.

The appetizer plate, with a selection of nine different hors d’oeuvres, provided one of the most interesting samplings of The Greek’s fare. In addition to the sublime taramasalata, the plate included a robust hummus , a mashed-eggplant dip, a couple of keftedes-- hot meatballs laced with lemon and cumin, grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice and served with a lemon sauce as thick as custard, slices of feta cheese, and some wonderful filo stuffed with spinach and cheese.

The dinners here are planned for big appetites, which could be a problem considering the temptations that come in appetizer form. Furthermore, you wouldn’t want to miss their fine avgolemono , Greek lemon chicken soup with its marvelous flavor, textured with pieces of chicken and celery.

Filo-wrapped entrees such as lamb exohiko and beef Orestis , while well flavored, were somewhat overdone. Grilled shrimp came very close to this same fate. Perhaps the food had been left too long under the warming lights when the restaurant got crowded and the waiters were busy dancing for us.

While the moussaka was disappointingly bland, the rack of lamb was superb and tender enough to eat with one’s fingers. Scallops Mykonos came in a pungent, herbed tomato sauce, possibly enriched with feta, definitely with a smoky flavor.

I particularly liked this restaurant at lunch when it feels so serene, padded and cozy. Many of the excellent dinner items, like the succulent g yros , are less expensive at midday. The Orient Express salad (in no way Oriental) came with excellent, plain chicken on top and an odd dressing that was mostly mayonnaise.

They do make a decent Caesar salad and a delicious befteki kebob plate, consisting of a herb-flavored meatball served on pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes and a sour cream cucumber sauce.

To top off any meal, the baklava is a must. It will make anyone a convert to this Middle Eastern sweet. The Greek’s is not overly honeyed, and the wonderful chewy layer of ground nuts has a hint of orange peel. It’s the perfect dessert to take home as a peace offering to a recalcitrant husband. Just ask Elizabeth.

* WHERE AND WHEN

The Greek, 2343 N. Oxnard Blvd., (805) 981-1891. Lunch and dinner, Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Dinner, Saturday 5-11 p.m. Sunday brunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday dinner, 5-10 p.m. Beer and wine, credit cards. Dinner for two, food only, $28-$66.