RESTAURANT REVIEW : Nice Surprises in Middle of the Road : It’s casual and it’s a chain, but the ale, the steaks and the setting make dining at the Chart House a pleasure.

“Hi, I’m Kati, and I’ll be your waitress this evening,” has never been a phrase calculated to win my heart.

I’m not the least bit interested in trying, during the meal, to recall the waitress’ name. I guess the prejudice I carry against this informality is what’s made me tend to stay away from the casual, middle-of-the-road chain restaurants such as Charley Brown’s, Chuck’s Steak House--and The Chart House.

So it was with a stiff upper lip that I met the Critical Companion’s suggestion that we stop at the contemporary wooden structure--overlooking the freeway and the ocean, in that order--across the street from the Pierpont Inn in Ventura. I’m-your-pal service and average steaks, I muttered, were to be avoided.

What a surprise it was, then, to find myself comfortably seated in an upholstered booth, the hum of the freeway below somewhat muted behind the closed doors and the winter sun setting gorgeously behind the Channel Islands.

The Chart House, which has 65 outlets in the United States, began, I was told, in 1969 when several surfers-turned-skiers opened a tiny restaurant and bar operation in Aspen, Colo.

Several things immediately appealed to me at the Ventura Chart House. Specifically, the selection of draught beers--Guinness stout, Bass ale and Pete’s Wicked ale. With a tall glass of cold Bass ($3.50), I had no regrets.

In the modern, wooden, marine dining room, every table has a similar ocean view. And I had to grudgingly admit to the CC as we perused the menu: “Ol’ Kati the waitress who does a cordial but not too cordial job, turns out to be a real professional.”

Dining at a Chart House--and I understand there are some differences among them, for example, some have seafood bars--is a bit of a production. The salad bar, access to which comes with every entree ($1.95 by itself), stretches out quite a distance. Distinguishing characteristics include a freshly tossed Caesar salad--an average rendition of the classic--and a platter of caviar, crackers, onions, sour cream and egg. The lump-fish caviar emerges nearly inedibly salty.

There was dissension at our table with regard to the appetizers. The CC and I were in agreement that the artichoke ($4.75), served with a dish of melted butter and aioli sauce, is an excellent dish. But I felt that the shrimp cocktail ($8.95) produced watery shrimp, though the accompanying cocktail sauce was excellent, with a fresh horseradish tanginess. The New England clam chowder ($4.50) was simply too gluttonous for my taste.

None of these were as good as the smoked salmon and cheese plate ($7.95), with a good-sized hunk of gently smoked fish. We ordered it as an appetizer at Kati’s suggestion, even though it is found at the back of the menu, just above the draught beer selection.

Meat, apparently a staple of the original operation, is still the best thing going here. While it is cooking, you get to dig into awfully good bread--two kinds--that the Chart House brings in from its Paradise Bakery in San Diego. It’s soft, doughy stuff and comes in a sourdough version and a sweet model, a brown bread of honey and molasses.

Finally, the meat. You can try the Alaskan king crab legs ($28.95), steamed and served with drawn butter, but they’re pretty much your tasty but expensive variety. Or the fresh swordfish ($17.95), which I found meager in comparison to the other portions, overcooked and dull. Which is also the way I feel about the chicken breast Santa Fe ($14.95), which, though it’s described as charbroiled and chili-coated, has only traces of chili and an uninspired blue cheese dressing. On the menu, the combination of flavors sounds great, but the dish itself doesn’t work.

Try the charbroiled New York steak ($21.95). The piece is aged, hand cut and would stand up in just about any restaurant. Ditto for the filet mignon ($22.95), beautifully charred on the outside, red as you want it on the inside.

While the CC was munching on the baby filet mignon ($17.95), I was tearing into the largest piece of meat on the menu, the Callahan ($21.95), an extra-thick cut of prime rib, complete with bone. This luscious hunk of red meat comes floating in its own juice and is served with a tangy horseradish sauce. One of the pluses here is that, if you want just plain horseradish, they’ve got it.

One of the items that has been around as long as the original Chart House is the mud pie. The CC and I remembered this as a crust of chocolate biscuit crumbs, in which sits coffee ice cream, chocolate syrup and perhaps whipped cream. True, the Chart House mud pie ($4.95) has all the ingredients, but the nearly six-inch block of ice cream gets boring, since you can’t get a melding of flavors. I guess they feel the drama of those six inches is more important than the quality and taste of the dish.

I’d opt for the Belgian chocolate mousse pie ($4.50), a rich, chocolaty dessert, also in a cookie crumb crust, not too sweet and not too tall.

Details

* WHAT: The Chart House.

* WHERE: 567 Sanjon Road, Ventura.

* WHEN: Open for dinner Monday through Friday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Saturday 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday 4 to 10 p.m.

* COST: Dinner for two, food only, $40 to $60.

* ETC: Full bar. Major credit cards, reservations accepted. Call 643-3725.