RESTAURANT REVIEW : Large Portions, Longevity Make Amelio’s a Favorite : Solid, basic Italian cuisine finds its way to Ventura via Chicago. The pastas are among the best around.

On a Saturday night, the room of red leather booths, dark green walls and white linen tablecloths is filled. A couple of people are sitting on a leather bench against a rear wall, waiting for a table, and some others are relaxing at a house table back by the piano, half-hidden behind a partition.

Large portions, longevity--the place has been around for 36 years, although not at the same location--and solid, basic Italian cuisine that found its way to Ventura via Chicago have made Amelio’s Fine Italian Foods a popular restaurant.

Papa Amelio is long gone, but his adopted daughter, Rita Pisani, direct from Naples, has been at the stove for about four years now. Working the room is her husband, Theodore Nauman, a portly guy with slightly soiled apron and a real concern for what’s being served. On some nights, there’ll be a college student-type at the piano.

The menu at Amelio’s is conventional. Some dishes are done quite well, some others are a bit suspect. The appetizer list is not the restaurant’s strength. Avoid the fried calamari ($5.95), which are tough; and the antipasto ($8-$12), which is more of a salad with meats, beans and cheese buried in a mound of lettuce.

Where the house can come through is with the blackboard appetizers, such as large portobello mushrooms in a Marsala wine sauce ($9.95). Sort of a vegetable steak plenty big enough for two, it’s an unusual appetizer for California.

Some of the best dishes are specials. The tortellini rusticana ($12.95) is an excellent example. Hearty and vigorous, the tortellini is nearly a stew of bell peppers, onions, garlic, oil and prosciutto, with a fresh tomato sauce and spinach. The fresh spinach makes this an interesting, especially attractive dish.

Another special is thick, grilled bluefin tuna ($12.95), served in a Caesar dressing. The dressing may offend purists because it has no egg--and a lack of texture shows--but the fish is cooked beautifully, almost crisp on the outside, moist in the center.

The pastas at Amelio’s are among the best around. The house side dish, pasta con salsa fresca, is made with fresh tomatoes, basil and oregano. Fettuccine with a Gorgonzola sauce ($12.25) is as rich as you’d expect, tangy and creamy--just what you want if you’re hungry and ready for strong flavor.

Over on the pizza side of the menu, perhaps simple is best. The house pizza bianca ($10.95-$17.95) is just about the best around. It’s got that thin Chicago crust, four cheeses, olive oil, fresh spices and garlic. If you want something heavier, try the pizza ala ricco ($9.95-$16.95), with its layer of Gorgonzola cheese and fresh vegetables, just lightly cooked, with garlic, olive oil and an herb sauce. The crust is just slightly thicker--to hold the weight of the vegetables?

Pizzas are served on standing racks at the table, and the house wine is served from a small pouring pitcher. It all seems to go together.

Details

WHERE AND WHEN: Amelio’s Fine Italian Foods, 3431 Telegraph Road, Ventura, 642-0201. Open for lunch (note that luncheon prices are less than those dinner prices listed above) 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner, 4:30-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Beer and wine, major credit cards accepted, reservations accepted. Lunch for two, food only, $10-$25; dinner for two, food only, $17-$30.