RESTAURANT REVIEW : Viva for This Spot’s Fine Fare, Service and Value : Italian-style eatery in Westlake proves it’s more than just another chain restaurant clone.

By trying to avoid chain restaurants whenever I can, I sometimes end up dining in some dismal places that have the single and somewhat dubious virtue of being one of a kind. Formula restaurants may not appeal to my serendipitous nature, but they do exhibit a certain amount of forethought and know-how.

Initially, I was hesitant to dine at the recently opened Viva La Pasta! in the Westlake area of Thousand Oaks because I assumed it was just another clone of sister restaurants in Los Angeles. But I found that I had prejudged this particular place.

Things began to look promising as I entered the premises and spied a giant wheel of aged Parmesan that yields large chunks used in the servers’ individual cheese graters. The room has mirrored walls, comfortable booths and tables and a dandy outdoor patio area with heaters. There’s a mundane but very inexpensive wine list, and I appreciate their carrying delicious Morreti Italian beer. The serving staff is well-trained and knowledgeable.

As the tape deck was playing Mozart and Vivaldi, all of my initial misgivings evaporated when I dug into the basket of hot, freshly baked rolls with flecks of sun-dried tomato and herbs accompanied by a tasty olive dip. Considering that nearly everything comes with a fine house salad of arugula, radicchio, romaine and tomatoes and that the portions will keep you from going home hungry, I found it superfluous to order an appetizer.

The most expensive entree on the menu is cioppino ($14.95), and it’s worth every converted lira you may have just exchanged. A huge metal pot contains a mountain of clams, shrimp, scallops, mussels and pieces of salmon in a delicious tomato-based broth accented by rosemary and dill. Also worth sampling are the grilled jumbo shrimp with garlic, hot red pepper and tomato ($13.95) and moist charred salmon ($13.95) sprinkled with fresh dill, tarragon and basil. The fresh sea bass ($13.95) is perfectly cooked but suffers from a too-salty topping of capers, tomato and black olives.

Among the chicken offerings, I recommend the simple grilled breast ($10.95) seasoned with garlic, rosemary and parsley. I also enjoyed chicken breast Florentine ($10.95), which comes with a mantle of mozzarella along with spinach cooked in wine. The chicken alla preziosa ($10.95) in a sauce of cream, walnuts, cognac, olive oil, garlic and basil, has too many conflicting flavors.

As you would expect from this restaurant, pasta comes in trendy forms--angel hair, penne --and the old-fashioned--spaghetti, fettuccine, tortellini, ravioli and gnocchi. Any of these fresh pastas can be prepared in 25 different ways so the permutations are mind-boggling.

My own favorites include alla puttanesca ($8.50) with green and black olives, fiery red pepper, capers and tomato; al pesto ($8.50) made with fresh basil, pine nuts and Romano cheese; alle noci ($8.50), in a rich Gorgonzola and walnut sauce; al salmone ($9.95) with pieces of moist salmon in a creamy basil sauce, and alla mediterranea ($11.95), which I had with firm penne pasta in a tomato sauce filled with mussels, scallops and large shrimp.

The chefs do a creditable job with cannelloni ($8.95) stuffed with chunks of sirloin, spinach and tomato, and I also liked the baked ziti ($8.95), layered with ricotta, a rich meat sauce and mozzarella. Tubes of manicotti ($8.95) filled with spinach, ricotta and spinach become drowned in a too-heavy cheese sauce.

As good as I found most of the pasta preparations, I was extremely disappointed in the pizzas. I tried the margarita ($4.25 small, $7.95 medium, $13.95 large) with fresh tomato, garlic and basil, and the scamorza ($6.25 small, $10.25 medium, $15.95 large) topped with prosciutto, eggplant, smoked mozzarella and tomato, and discovered that these are just ordinary pizzas with flaccid crusts. Now I know why the restaurant is not called Viva La Pizza!

For dessert, the restaurant makes a good tiramisu ($3.25) and a fair cannoli ($2.75). But you probably won’t have any room left for dolci because everything served before is Gargantuan. This restaurant is justifiably popular because it offers high quality food and service at affordable prices.

Details

* WHAT: Viva La Pasta!

* WHERE: 951 Westlake Blvd., Westlake.

* WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

* HOW MUCH: Meal for two, food only, $25 to $40.

* FYI: All major credit cards accepted; beer and wine.

* CALL: 497-8482.