A World Tour

The truth is, the name put me off for months. Jer-ne, a play on the phonetic spelling of “journey,” came across as gimmicky, and I wondered if the food would be as convoluted as the name. So, for months I let Jer-ne languish toward the bottom of my list of possible reviews, waiting for the moment when I had the will to face what I envisioned as another hopelessly trendy meal.

I was wrong. The “world cuisine” at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey’s new restaurant is splashy in concept, but it delivers what matters most: solid cooking. Manila clams steamed in German Riesling and French butter come to the table in a Japanese cast-iron casserole fitted with a cedar lid to hold in fragrance. Inside, the clams are strewn with bay leaves, and the broth melds the flavors of flowery Riesling with sweet butter and the clams’ briny juice. Kobe beef, the fabulously expensive massaged and fat-marbled beef from Japan, does a star turn in Jer-ne’s carpaccio. Cut into slices so fine you could read the newspaper through them, the bright red beef is fanned out on the plate like the petals of an enormous overblown rose. A thin thread of extra-virgin olive oil allows just enough of the delicate flavor of this extraordinarily tender beef to emerge.

Another worthy appetizer, crispy calamari, has become something of a cliche on Southern California menus. But it’s not often you find a great version like this one, a heap of violet-tinged tentacles and pale calamari rings fried to a glassy crisp at high heat in clean oil. Two dipping sauces accompany it: a fiery, fresh ginger one and a Thai-style hot-sweet sauce.

Most hotels in the Ritz-Carlton chain are all about pomp and circumstance. Walk into this one, and you immediately sense the difference. It has tried to come up with a way to attract guests into the restaurant from outside the hotel, namely the huge population of singles and young professionals with discretionary incomes in Marina del Rey and the surrounding beach towns. The restaurant isn’t behind closed doors, but flows into the bar and the lobby, where a disc jockey swaying to his earphones spins ‘70s soul music, contemporary eclectic and techno dance music. On a weeknight, the gorgeous terrace, which overlooks the marina, is almost deserted. But at least someone is making an attempt to be with it. For the Ritz, admittedly, it’s quite a stretch--a little like the Queen Mother going in for the Stella McCartney look.

Instead of faux Louis XIV chairs, cushy carpeting and chandeliers, the designers went with striped hardwood floors, gold-leafed ceilings and looming frosted-glass light fixtures encrusted with bas-relief squiggles. A tall onyx communal table lit from within dominates the middle of the room, which I guess would be fun if you had 12 or so friends perched on the stools. Flirtatious banquettes for two divide the restaurant and the bar. But the best tables are out on the terrace, where you can watch sailboats glide in and out of the marina in the dark.

When I heard they’d hired chef Troy N. Thompson from Atlanta’s trendy Fusebox restaurant, I thought the choice uncharacteristically bold. But it turns out not to be so daring a move after all. Thompson is actually an alumnus of the Ritz-Carlton at Buckhead, in Atlanta, one of the real stars of the chain, where he worked under phenomenal chef Guenter Seeger, who now has one of Atlanta’s most acclaimed restaurants, Seeger’s. A lot of chefs have ideas, but Thompson has the skills to pull them off. He likes to play with the look of the food. And the hotel has let him go on a buying spree for unusual tableware.

His bouillabaisse comes in a red enameled tagine, the Moroccan casserole with a conical lid. And it’s a beguiling version--the broth redolent of clams, lobster, various fish--and fresh fennel. Instead of a garlicky parody of the French seafood stew, his is a light, flavorful bouillabaisse that makes sense in California. An Asian duck cassoulet arrives in a small, lidded cast-iron wok. The beans are cooked to a melting tenderness, the better to soak up the flavor of the cooking juices. Slices of moist duck with an Asian spice glaze sit on top, and more duck is mixed in with the beans. He also uses bento boxes, the lacquered Japanese trays with small compartments, to good effect, serving a series of appetizers in them, or a collection of lunches.

Calling the soup of the day “soup inspiration” or the special the “fish inspiration” sounds a bit silly, but when one night the latter is sauteed Dover sole with oyster mushrooms and summer truffles, he can call it whatever he wants. Each ingredient--the delicate flaky fish, creamy sliced mushrooms and flurry of summer truffles--has its say. Even the fish hater at my table has to admit this one has its charms.

I like the rosy little lamb chops that you’re supposed to dip in a velvety blue cheese fondue. But when it comes to steak, one of the safer choices, the dry-aged New York strip steak with smoked Gouda croquettes doesn’t quite make it. My steak is medium rather than medium rare, like sawdust in texture, with surprisingly little flavor. The chef needs to talk to his meat purveyor, because this doesn’t begin to compete with steaks at some other restaurants and steakhouses in town.

Wine, however, is a strong suit. Instead of the usual dull, overpriced hotel wine lists, Jer-ne’s is smart and well-priced, full of finds from cutting-edge producers and areas around the world. It’s the work of wine director Sean Crowley, former managing partner of Hayes and Vine Wine Bar in San Francisco. He has also worked as assistant sommelier at Boulevard and sommelier at Stars, both in San Francisco. And if Crowley happens to be on the floor, he can talk wine with the best of them.

Service leaves a lot to be desired. When we arrive on a quiet night, with two or three other parties seated in the restaurant, we ask to sit outside, (having called ahead and been told it’s first come, first serve), the hostess tells us “no” without any explanation. Exasperated, one in my party asks whether anyone is close to leaving. “No.” Not, “Let me go check” or “Let me see if we can seat you in the bar area outside” (which had half a dozen tables empty). Just “no.”

On another occasion we point out to our server that she charged us for a glass of wine instead of a bottle. She shrugs it off without a thank you. The Ritz-Carlton used to be all about service.

Desserts are designed to bowl over anybody with a sweet tooth. Order creme brulee and you get five flavors--vanilla, roasted pineapple, coconut, passion fruit, caramel--lined up on a rectangular tray in lovely mismatched sake cups. A raspberry tart using berries with great depth of flavor is decorated with a tall curl of cookie spiraling upward. And chocolate pyramid, made of a sweet chocolate ganache, is crowned with what looks like a crinkly black Fortuny gown in flight. It’s a chocolate tuille.

Whether I went on a weekend or a weeknight, diners had yet to find their way to Jer-ne. The restaurant was never full, and it’s a shame, because Thompson can cook. You can stop in for drinks and an appetizer or two, or stay for a no-holds-barred dinner. Get the word out.

The Ritz-Carlton

4375 Admiralty Way

Marina del Rey

(310) 574-4333

Cuisine: New World

Rating: **

AMBIENCE: Over-designed trendy dining room with sleek bar and gorgeous terrace with view of the marina.

SERVICE: Not as professional as it should be.

BEST DISHES: Kobe beef carpaccio, crispy calamari, grilled lamb chops, bouillabaisse, Asian duck cassoulet, creme brulee. Appetizers, $6 to $16. Entrees, $16 to $30. Corkage, $15.

WINE PICKS: 1996 Clos Floridene, Graves, France; 1997 Chateau Musar, Lebanon.

FACTS: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Brunch Sundays. Valet parking. Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. eeee: Outstanding on every level. eee: Excellent. ee: Very good. e: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.