RESTAURANT REVIEW : Santorini’s Mixed Bag of Hot and Cold

Walking into Cafe Santorini makes me feel I’m in a romance/espionage film. One goes down an alley and up a flight of stairs before surfacing at this small, handsome Mediterranean restaurant.

On warm days, the patio’s the place to sit--a crow’s-nest perched over an Old Pasadena plaza containing Il Fornaio, Banana Republic, the AMC theaters and Crate and Barrel. These frosty days, though the patio’s partially enclosed and warmed with heaters, almost everyone wants to be inside, where the kitchen is clattery, the big oil paintings owe a debt to Francis Bacon and the small wooden tables would actually be cozy if they’d keep the patio doors closed.

I like this restaurant, despite the occasional blasts of frigid air and a few other rough edges. I like the clean, contemporary good looks, the friendliness of the staff, the moderate prices and the interesting, beyond-Italian menu. I like Cafe Santorini for not being just another franchise in a redevelopment project made up largely of chains.

The service is pretty good, once you get in the groove with it--once the waitress knows, for example, that she’s your waitress, a process that can take up to 20 minutes after you’re seated.

Comprehending the parking takes longer, in my experience. The day I parked at the De Lacey lot, as per the instructions I received upon making reservations, I was told the cafe only validated for the Green Street lot. A few days later, I was told they only validated for the De Lacey lot. And indeed, they validated my friend’s De Lacey lot ticket and, just to be nice, gave me a buck toward my parking debt. So go figure.

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The food is also a bit of a mixed bag, some of it quite marvelous. In fact, my idea of bliss these days incorporates several of Santorini’s appetizers. Baba ghannouj has that haunting, smoky flavor of fire-roasted eggplant. Although Americanized with lettuce and bejeweled with slivers of yellow and red peppers, the Greek salad is luscious with feta cheese and excellent, thoughtfully pitted Greek olives. The tabbouleh is made properly, with more parsley than bulgur. Chewy grilled squid is served on a bed of baby greens dressed with lemon and basil oil. Stuffed grape leaves always seem to me rather otherworldly--food for lake creatures--and these vegetarian dolmades have an odd, compelling gumminess of which one grows quite fond.

I can’t say the same of the pizzas, however. The toppings are gutsy and unusual, but the rich crust is as flimsy as cotton cloth. The Santorini pizza’s chunks of baked lamb, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese are too heavy for the crust--you can’t lift it. Soujouk pizza, with Armenian sausage and tomatoes, is less heavy, but distinctly salty.

A generous bowl of penne , with succulent plump shrimp and julienned vegetables, is overcome by a too-intense tomato sauce. Better is the farfalle , bow ties mottled green from cilantro pesto, served with tasty chicken breasts.

Some entrees are impressive. Plaki , a tender slab of cod, is heaped with crisp vegetables. Sea bass, fennel and artichokes are served under a subtle, velvety blanket of egg-lemon sauce.

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The lamb, however, is disappointing. The souvlaki is a rather measly skewer of dried-out lamb. The rack of Colorado lamb, besides being the most expensive item on the menu, is also positively discouraging. The menu says it’s served with butternut squash gnocchi; instead, we get three very small chops--very tender and delicious, but essentially three bites of meat. In place of the exotic gnocchi, I got a big scoop of plain white rice and a lot of musty dark reduction sauce.

The baklava is fairly generic, pretty much what you can buy at any Middle Eastern grocery store . . . except for the pink petals of raspberry coulis . The so-called Italian cheesecake, which the waitress says is made with mascarpone cheese, is an odd, sodden, freezing-cold tart unredeemed by its elaborate presentation.

Despite occasional moments of discomfort, I find myself looking forward to a dinner there again, probably after a Twilight Special movie at the AMC: tabbouleh and that wonderful grilled squid.

* Cafe Santorini, 64 West Union St . , Pasadena, (818) 564-4200. Lunch and dinner daily. Beer and wine. Major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $22 to $55.