RESTAURANT REVIEW CHARLIE’S SEASIDE CAFE : Looks Deceive : It may appear tired and abandoned, but this waterfront eatery surprises with food that is quite good.

Long before it was known as a musical venue, Charlie’s was a place where you could always count on a good dinner. When the live music scene took off, people began to think of Charlie’s if they wanted to hear original rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues or reggae bands, and the food seemed to take a back seat. It’s certainly a hot spot and a bar; but it’s also a restaurant.

When we went for lunch recently, it didn’t look promising. For starters, you have to park in the most depressing garage in Ventura. It may be convenience in concrete, but its seedy gloominess does nothing to raise the spirits.

Charlie’s is nicely located, right on the waterfront near the Holiday Inn, but the whole area was so deserted it looked abandoned. Inside, the restaurant had the tired, worn look of a place that has partied too hearty.

I guess I’m used to places where the decor is better than the food--so the surprise here turned out to he the quality of the cuisine, which was remarkably good.

Testing the standards, we ordered a hamburger. They call it a steakburger ($6.05), and the half-pound of meat lived up to its name. There may have actually been too much meat for the fresh wheat bun, but we happily added ripe slices of avocado and met the challenge of finishing it.

Grilled chicken breast was another big sandwich on the same good bun, less exciting than the hamburger but more virtuous. It had a heart symbol on the menu, as did a number of other dishes that meet the approval of the American Heart Assn.

There’s a curious amalgamation here of good intentions and questionable ones. The menu seems to care about your heart, but the restaurant has no nonsmoking area. They also plunk down two drinks right in front of you, if you happen to order one during happy hour. (If nothing else, this really makes you look silly).

Over a number of visits, the place never improved in appearance, but the food continued to impress. Piping hot sourdough rolls were always on the table. On different nights, I had two excellent soups, a potato soup so thick it was almost cheesy and a chunky vegetable soup that was tasty with herbs.

Grilled salmon was also excellent and came with a fine cilantro butter sauce. Barbecue chicken ($12.05) was sweet and tangy enough to pucker lips. Top sirloin steak ($14.25) was a good piece of meat, nicely grilled to order. On all the entrees, the vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and potatoes were carefully prepared.

The least satisfying dish was a Chinese chicken salad, which tasted as if someone had given up on it halfway through its preparation. But I loved the fettuccine with pesto. The aromatic sauce had a nice consistency. Also good was a spinach casserole ($6.55), with very hot spinach, which was slightly creamy and subtly flavored with nutmeg and onion and covered with melted provolone cheese.

I imagine that the glass-walled outdoor patio would be marvelous for a sunny breakfast. And the desserts, like German apple pancakes and hot waffle ice cream sundaes, are just the thing for a serious case of late-evening munchies.

At night, the restaurant is almost as dark indoors as out. I found I liked it best before dusk, sitting at a table looking over the ribbon of silver ocean and the occasional solitary jogger along the boardwalk. I also liked watching the evening’s band members bringing in their instruments and starting to set up. You could almost taste the sweet smell of hoped-for success.

* WHERE AND WHEN

Charlie’s Seaside Cafe and Restaurant, 362 California St. Mall, Ventura, (805) 648-6688. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Full bar, parking lot, all major credit cards. Dinner for two, food only, $23-$63.