On the Waterfront

An outdoor eating space would have befitted a restaurant like Boccaccio’s from its inception.

It has taken 31 years, but the dining establishment finally has a patio to take full advantage of its prime location, looking out to Westlake Lake.

The near 1,000-square-foot concrete terrace is the latest addition by owners Jim and Kathleen Emmons, who have in some measure contemporized the venerable restaurant since they purchased it in August from founder Victor Colucci.

Now when patrons arrive, they are asked by a hostess if they would prefer the more laid-back Boccaccio’s lakefront or the genteel indoor confines.

Outdoors, you will find an Italian-Mediterranean motif in the green and tan wicker patio furniture, and even the heaters are styled to fit the setting.

The bordering planter boxes are replete with scent-filled rosemary and flowers. “We tried to maintain the same Boccaccio’s ambience, but with a more casual setting,” Jim Emmons said.

The new patio comes with a special menu all its own, featuring more moderately priced fare than is available on the regular dinner menu.

The “lakefront dinner menu” includes specialty salads and appetizers, pasta selections, soups, sandwiches and seafood entrees.

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The menu also offers some of Boccaccio’s standards like New York steak frites and scaloppine of veal. Prices mostly range between $10 and $18.

The grilled swordfish--with potatoes, arugula and tomato-rosemary vinaigrette--is the most expensive item at $23.50. A children’s patio menu is also available.

Note: While outdoor diners have the option of ordering from the more expensive regular menu, indoor seating will remain strictly formal--the patio dinner menu is not offered indoors.

The patio’s lakefront dinner menu is served Sunday-Friday, 5 p.m. to closing.

Regular menu service only is available on the patio Saturday evenings. Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., can also be served outdoors.

The regular lunch menu service on the patio is available 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. every day except Saturday.

DETAILS

Boccaccio’s is at 32123 W. Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village. Call (818) 889-8300.

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Benevol-event: 71 Palm, Buon Appetito, Capistrano’s, Classic Carrot, Mattie’s, Milano’s and Yasmeen’s will be among the 31 restaurants serving up gastronomic delights at the annual Casa Pacifica Wine & Food Festival on Sunday at Ventura’s Pierpont Inn. The wares of more than 15 wineries will be poured along with those of three microbreweries and a tequila vendor. The seventh annual event will raise money for the temporary home in Camarillo for abused and neglected children.

When guests aren’t filling their plates or glasses, they can sway to music performed by the Drifters, Sonny Mone, an Elvis impersonator and others. There will also be a luxury automobile display, and a silent auction will offer bidding on travel and golf packages.

DETAILS

Casa Pacifica will hold its annual Food & Wine Festival from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Pierpont Inn in Ventura. Tickets are available at the door for $50 ($35 tax deductible). Call 445-7804.

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Wine-food pairings: Ventura’s Pierpont Inn and Franciscan Estates will team to present a winemaker dinner Friday. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. at Pierpont’s Terrace Patio, where participants will first snack on assorted cheeses, fruits, smoked salmon and croustades and sample a 1998 Chardonnay.

The dinner, attended by chef Louis Ludwig and Tony Glovioso, a representative of the Franciscan winemaker, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Anacapa-Marine Room. Here is a look at the courses and accompanying wines:

Alaskan halibut cheeks filled with peeky toe crab salad encrusted with peanuts and served with papaya-pineapple beurre blanc. Estancia Reserve 1998 Chardonnay from Monterey.

Breast of pheasant salad with spring greens, pink lady apple and hazelnut vinaigrette. Estancia Estates 1997 Merlot from the Alexander Valley.

Main entree, osso bucco with creamy rosemary risotto and rapini. Franciscan Oakville Estate 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon of Napa Valley.

Phyllo cheesecake triangles with vanilla bean anglaise, fresh blackberries and mango. Franciscan Oakville Estate 1996 Magnificat from the Napa Valley.

DETAILS

The Pierpont Inn will host a winemaker dinner Friday, featuring the wares of Franciscan Estates. Cost: $65, plus tax and tip. The inn is at 550 Sanjon Road, Ventura. For more information or reservations, call 643-6144.

Rodney Bosch writes about the restaurant scene in Ventura County and outlying points. He can be reached at 653-7572, fax 653-7576 or by e-mail at: rodney.bosch@latimes.com.