RESTAURANT REVIEW : Los Robles Inn Turns Back the Clock and Fits Diners to a Tee : The handsome eatery, off the fairway of a Thousand Oaks golf course, offers a flexible menu and gigantic portions.

As a child, I remember it was always a treat when my parents took the entire family to dinner at our local country club. For me, it was like being at a completely different kind of restaurant where everybody knew everyone else. Waiters would treat us like members of the family, acknowledging how much taller my siblings and I had grown since our previous visit. And the mostly American food was always delicious (to my untrained palate) and served in gigantic portions.

Although not a country club per se, Los Robles Inn in Thousand Oaks sits on the edge of a beautiful public golf course, and a sign on the door warns patrons not to wear spiked shoes indoors. On this site once stood the original Los Robles Inn, which evolved into the Hungry Tiger, then into Reuben’s, and finally into Charley Brown’s before coming back full circle to its original name.

The large building looks like the country club of my childhood, with long Spanish arches, huge windows overlooking the fairways, a sizable separate bar where the over-par golfers can drown their sorrows, and a series of dining rooms filled with comfortable booths and well-spaced tables. The youthful serving staff compensates with enthusiasm for what is lacking in skill, and the overall feeling here is warm and welcoming. The wine list is modest; a wide variety of beer and ale is on tap and in bottles.

I recommend the appetizer combo ($8.95) for those of you who can’t decide since it contains nearly everything on the starter list. The Gargantuan platter, which could easily feed six, contains a giant fried onion cut to look like a chrysanthemum, fried chicken strips, Buffalo chicken wings, potato skins loaded with Cheddar and jack cheeses and, best of all, tongue-tingling jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and fried a golden brown.

Happily, everything that’s deep-fried here comes out light, crisp and greaseless. And a cautionary note based on my own lack of control: try to restrain yourself from eating the entire basket of delicious hot garlic Parmesan bread and the constant refills.

Dinner entrees come with the house Caesar salad or unlimited trips to the salad bar. The Caesar lacks the requisite garlic and anchovy bite; the salad bar offers water chestnuts, baby corn cobs, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and hot corn-studded muffins. Bigger appetites may opt for a hollowed loaf of sourdough filled with either a routine New England clam chowder or an especially nice potato soup topped with cheese and bacon ($5.25).

Thai chicken pasta ($7.95), consisting of sauteed chicken, shrimp and chicken sausage tossed with linguine, doesn’t work because of the too-sweet Thai peanut sauce. And a combination of steamed vegetables, spinach tortellini and bow tie pasta in a heavy cheese sauce ($7.95) suffers from too many inimical ingredients.

I am very happy with the full rack of lean barbecued pork ribs ($14.95), large barbecued beef ribs ($12.95), and an entire smoked chicken ($11.95). All of these items have a strong mesquite smoke flavor and are served with a delightfully tangy barbecue sauce.

There’s a triple combo barbecue dinner ($15.95) consisting of generous samples of the above, or you can choose the enormous porterhouse steak ($18.95), a tasty top sirloin ($15.95) or perfect prime rib ($14.95)--all of which are fork-tender. Skewered grilled jumbo shrimp ($14.95) are tasty and not overcooked, but the charbroiled salmon filet ($14.95) is too dry for my taste.

From the offered side dishes accompanying the entrees, I recommend the garlic mashed potatoes or the baked potato, which is the size of a small battleship.

What I like best about this place is that the same flexible menu is served all day long for both lunch and dinner. If I’ve finished 18 holes in the morning, I can sit down to a big steak or rack of ribs for lunch; and if my appetite is small (a rarity with me), I can have a smoked turkey sandwich on a crunchy squaw bun ($6.25), a mountainous tostada with chicken, black beans, guacamole and sour cream ($7.50) or a juicy 10-ounce burger topped with avocado, Cheddar cheese, tomato and grilled onion ($6.95) for dinner.

Among the desserts, I recommend the moist chocolate fudge cake ($5.95), which is large enough to munch on for three days afterward, and the bananas Foster ($4.95), which consists of a whole banana nut cake topped with four scoops of vanilla ice cream swimming in brandied walnuts, fresh sliced bananas, hot caramel and whipped cream. This one dessert can satiate three, and even our table of four eaters couldn’t finish it.

Overall, the cuisine here is tasty, satisfying and served in portions that would stuff a marathoner after a race.

Details

* WHAT: Los Robles Inn.

* WHERE: 299 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks.

* WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Sunday brunch 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner 4:30 to 9 p.m.

* HOW MUCH: For two, food only, $18-$50.

* CALL: 495-0431.

* FYI: All major credit cards accepted; full bar.