Presto change-o

Bruce MARDER doesn’t fool around.

When the chef/owner of Capo and Rebecca in Santa Monica moved in on the ailing Opaline with his partners, he didn’t even close the place. Overnight, a paper banner covered the old Opaline sign -- though the letters still bled through -- rebaptizing the place Cafe Capo. The swath of acid green that encircled the building like a ribbon was painted over -- in a beige-brown. (Mushroom color? Specifically porcini, it must be.)

Eccola! Just like that, Opaline becomes Cafe Capo.

The new management is in place, and cooks from Capo are behind the stoves. Marder is already busy transforming the interior piece by piece. He’s dismantled the stately light column that had been the dining room’s centerpiece. He’s brought in borrowed art, including some rather sinister-looking paintings on black velvet.

Every day it’s something else. Soon curtains will be arriving. And in the fall, after Marder opens a new restaurant in the old Beach House on West Channel Drive in Santa Monica, he’s going to close Cafe Capo briefly for some structural remodeling.

Meanwhile, the cafe is more or less a budget Capo, with the same ardent service, some of the same dishes and soon, I guess, a similarly cozy ambience. Get it while you can, because that may change in future -- either the prices or the menu or both. I use the word “budget” relatively: Here it means half a dozen of the entrees are less than $30. (Another half dozen are higher, and three break the $40 mark.)

Marder has just begun to sketch in what he’s going to do with this new restaurant. Right now the chef may send out a small amuse bouche, one night a cream puff pastry filled with mascarpone cheese.

You might follow with an excellent porcini soup, rosy slices of San Daniele prosciutto or heirloom tomatoes with snowy burrata cheese. Marder’s minimalist aesthetic works to advantage in a dish like gloriously fresh Santa Barbara shrimp, split, broiled and served with beautiful Tuscan-style beans.

His gnocchi napped in a restrained Gorgonzola sauce are some of the best around. Nor can you go wrong with tortelli quattro formaggi, supple pasta envelopes filled with four cheeses.

There’s something for everyone in the main courses: the obligatory steaks and chops, including a 14-ounce dry-aged prime New York steak at $44, but also lamb osso buco with saffron risotto, a lovely duck breast with polenta and green tomato marmalade and an uptown burger made with Kobe-style beef.

Marder and partners have inherited what was a terrific wine list, but as time goes on, they’ll be shifting the focus more to wines that suit this menu, not the old one, and that probably means more Italians.

So far it’s a little like Capo in miniature -- minus wood-burning oven and punishing prices.

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Cafe Capo

Where: 7450 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles

When: Dinner 6-10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Appetizers, $10 to $16; main dishes, $14 to $44; desserts, $8 to $12.

Contact: (323) 857-0660