RESTAURANT REVIEW / ALEXANDER’S : Dine and Dance : Eatery draws crowds for its Western-style lessons, as well as the crab legs, steaks and view.

The first time I drove up to Alexander’s restaurant, I looked around the parking lot and figured I’d screwed up because I hadn’t made reservations. The Critical Companion was looking at me severely.

It was about 6:30 in the evening, on a weeknight yet. But we had to drive around the lot a couple of times until I finally found a parking spot, off in a far corner. I figured that Alexander’s, which is in the restaurant and bar segment of the Harbortown Marina Resort, must be packed.

So when we walked into the foyer and looked into the restaurant, we were surprised to see a large, long room fronting the marina. A room that was nearly empty. Then our ears picked up the reason for all the cars in the parking lot. When you walk into Alexander’s, you can turn right, which is the restaurant, or left, which takes you into the bar.

And on this night, the bar, and especially the dance floor, was packed with Western hats, worn by people who may or may not have been cowboys or cowgirls. I mean, how would I know whether the guy with the bedraggled hat and scuffed cowboy boots lives in a rented condominium in Oxnard, or actually rides a horse for a living on a Fillmore ranch?

This was a crowd that turned left as it came in the door, for a night of country dance lessons. Their food wasn’t the prime rib or the king crab legs for which I’d come. I think they were eating buffet tacos and beans and popcorn--part of the package for these dance lesson nights. And they weren’t there for the quality of the drinks, which, in fact, isn’t that high.

The dining room itself is carpets and captain’s chairs, rose-colored tablecloths and quiet, black-tied service. And when you’re in the restaurant, the soundproofing muffles the sound of loud music and the sometimes boisterous crowds in the other room.

The chef at Alexander’s is Jaime Caldera, who comes out of the Harbaugh Hotel’s Management Co., which runs the hotel and the restaurant. The menu has no surprises, but considering the mediocrity of most “marina” restaurants--where the view, and not the food, is the thing--Caldera does a solid, tasteful job. As Caldera himself said, “it’s not your typical, varied resort menu, but a few things, well-prepared.”

A dish the Critical Companion especially enjoyed was the Alaska king crab legs ($26.95), a special that night. Although one might complain about the unnecessary layer of paprika that covers the legs, they are carefully handled and worth ordering, with one caveat: This is one of those places where the waiter recites the specials without giving a price, leaving the customer to discover when the bill comes that the price is one-third more than most of the listed menu entrees.

The shrimp cocktail Alexander ($9.95) is a dish of good, large shrimp, firm and fresh tasting, butterflied and served with two sauces--one, the traditional cocktail sauce; the other a very tasty romoulade inspired by the sauce at the Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans. The Caesar salad, in extremely large portions, is served with the Parmesan cheese and anchovies in a subtle relationship, which is the way I like that salad.

I found the prime rib ($19-$21), to be excellent. Perhaps I liked it especially because I ordered a cut on the bone--a serving that a lot of the more upscale restaurants don’t provide these days. But the horseradish sauce needs some work. It’s got no tang and probably not much horseradish.

What the menu calls New York steak Alexander ($18.95) is a New York strip, with a pocket cut into it into which is stuffed Roquefort cheese. The meat is good and comes beautifully rare if you order it that way, but I’m still not certain about the Roquefort. Maybe you’ve just got to be in the right mood for that rich combination.

The one chicken dish on the menu is hefty, a whole chicken ($14.95), with a slight smoked flavor, served deliciously moist in a savory brown peppercorn sauce. There is plenty to take home.

The fresh fish, which are swordfish and salmon ($16.95) right now, come with two sauces on the plate. The kitchen cooks fish perfectly, bringing out its moisture. It tastes as though it had just come out of the channel.

Lunch is a much different, lighter menu, primarily of salads and sandwiches. It is a meal at which I’d try a bowl of Alexander’s seafood chowder ($3.95).

Alexander’s is the sort of operation that gives you a comfortable, sometimes especially tasty, meal at the marina.

* WHERE AND WHEN

Alexander’s, 1050 Schooner Drive, Ventura, 658-1212. Open seven days for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Reservations and major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Lunch for two, food only, $16-$25. Dinner for two, food only, $40-$72.