The Mediterranean washes up in WeHo

Funny how a name can put you off. When I first heard about a new restaurant called Mix in West Hollywood, I figured it was yet another louche lounge with more emphasis on the bar than the food. It dangled at the end of my list of places to check out.

But then I saw the menu. The food from chef John Jackson looked interesting and seasonal enough that I rushed to make a reservation for the next night.

On a day’s notice, they only had something very late. I took it, though I couldn’t quite picture the location from the address: Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Heights? As soon as we pulled in front, I realized it’s that cute little bungalow I’d noticed being remodeled months before.

Mix, it turned out, is mostly an enclosed patio built around two rough-barked trees, with only a handful of tables inside the building proper. This gives it a relaxed vacation feel, the kind of place for chinos and Top-Siders and sundresses.

The menu has a broader Mediterranean mix than we’re used to seeing around here -- Italian, Spanish, Portuguese. Jackson has cooked around the country, including in the Pacific Northwest, San Francisco and New Orleans, and brings that experience to bear in his cooking at Mix.

For starters, there are sweet corn soup, potato frittata with fines herbes, or a delicate salad of Bosc pear and chicories. Among the handful of “small” plates is an excellent risotto made with oyster mushrooms and bright green fava beans.

The wine list is well supplied for summer with Pinot Gris, Rhone blends, Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays. But if you’re going for frilled cote du boeuf for two, or the grilled flank steak with poached marrow, you should be able to find a sturdy red.

The Portuguese love to mix seafood and pork, as in Jackson’s seafood cataplana. That’s shellfish and chorizo served tableside, steamed in a hinged copper vessel that opens like a clamshell. Sea scallops with Tuscan black cabbage and lobster broth are delicious too.

Mix invites lingering over dessert (say, pain perdu, French toast with fresh berries) or a glass of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise.

They’ve got lunch now too, and brunch, with fresh berry pancakes with mascarpone to consider.

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Mix

Where: 1114 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., West Hollywood

When: Lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; dinner 6 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Saturday; brunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Dinner appetizers, $7 to $14; main dishes, $19 to $27; lunch items, $7 to $23; three-course prix-fixe brunch, $28.

Info: (323) 650-4649