Where scene meets cuisine

“HAVE you ever actually eaten here?” I hear the wispy-voiced vamp ask her fellow vamp, as the two, dressed in sparkly, bare-shouldered gowns, sashay past our table for the umpteenth time.

“No, not really,” she confesses.

And that’s precisely the dilemma of Wilshire, a new Santa Monica restaurant. Word of mouth about the hyper-glamorous garden and outdoor bar are drawing a crowd more intent on hooking up or partying than savoring the chef’s high-concept American cuisine. Oh, don’t get me wrong, some serious diners have found their way to Wilshire too, mostly Westsiders thrilled to have someplace new to go for dinner. But the scene makers far outnumber the foodies. Trying to accommodate both must be positively crazy making.

Only Spago and possibly Table 8 seem to have pulled it off, really, without becoming hostage to their glamour index. And Santa Monica is desperate for something, anything, with a little sex appeal. Here it is, on the site of what used to be Knoll’s Black Forest, a German restaurant that was homey to the point of dowdiness. Now it’s a chic restaurant and lounge with a spacious walled garden anchored with a bar at the far end.

On a Friday night, I happen to arrive at Wilshire early. There’s not an inch of space to stand at the indoor bar -- forget about sitting. I decide to wait for my friends out front.

It turns out to be highly amusing. I watch the babes pour in, teetering up the walkway on impossibly high heels, every one dressed alike, in satin-and-lace camisole tops (no wrap), their curves squeezed into narrow jeans with hems trailing. More and more arrive to a banging of car doors, so many that I’m beginning to worry if there can possibly be a table left inside. Wilshire is big, but not that big.

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Out of the ordinary

WE’VE requested a table in the garden, which, as the snippy voice on the telephone explained when we made the reservation, cannot be guaranteed.

We don’t get one. Nor even a table in the small posh dining room with antique mirrors and leather banquettes that looks onto the garden. Instead, we’re shunted off to a back room, which truly is Siberia. At least it will be quiet, I think, as I follow the host around the bar, down a candle-lighted hallway to our table.

I’m wrong about the quiet. Though there are only 10 or so tables beneath a high ceiling hung with giant white Regency lanterns, the noise level is deafening. I pity the server who has to lean down to hear us order, shouting over the roar so we can hear her. It must be exhausting, yet she manages to come across as amiable and helpful. If I were ever seated at this table again on a weekend night, I’d turn tail and go home. At Wilshire, the garden’s where it’s at.

Chef Christopher Blobaum, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who was last chef at Surf and Sand Resort and Spa in Laguna Beach, is trying to do something solid with the food. With a commitment to organic produce and local farms, the menu is highly seasonal, changing frequently to reflect what’s available in the farmers market.

In a restaurant landscape where menus all start to read the same, Blobaum has developed some unique dishes. How about crispy poached egg with baby purple artichokes, black-eyed peas and smoky bacon? As odd as it sounds, the contrast between the crisped golden breadcrumbs on the outside of the egg and the molten yolk, with the nutty artichokes and earthy peas, is beguiling. His duck confit salad isn’t shredded duck, but the real thing, salty and moist, a large piece of duck perched on arugula strewn with persimmons and pistachios. And the September menu touted a calamari and watermelon salad with opal basil and the pickled watermelon rind.

Blobaum offers this year’s must-have beet salad; the unusually tasty small red and gold beets from McGrath Farms he uses make all the difference. The jewel-like beets are dressed up with a soft fresh goat cheese, roasted hazelnuts and a honey vinaigrette.

In L.A., tuna tartare became a cliche years ago. Blobaum’s is made with the more delicate yellowfin tuna as opposed to ahi, its flavor set off with avocado and mango. For those who have to have it, I suppose it’s as good as any other around.

Among the more original appetizers are crispy sweetbreads on a bed of braised greens with orange segments. I like the fact that Blobaum hasn’t covered the taste of the sweetbreads with a sauce. Right now there’s a lovely red squash and Asian pear soup on the menu; it’s garnished with pumpkin seeds and a raft of toast. He’s resisted adding sugar to the puree (there’s already the faint sweetness of the pear), and as a result, it’s very pure in taste and very much of the season.

Curiously, this is one of the few restaurants in which the main courses are better than the appetizers. They’re less fussy and more direct in flavor. You can’t go wrong with the juicy roast leg or rack of Summerfield Farms lamb, served in its natural juices. A pan-roasted organic pork chop is cooked to a perfect pink, set on polenta swirled with cream, and escorted by sauteed Brussels sprouts and black trumpet mushrooms.

Every main course, in fact, has lovely accompaniments. The lamb, for example, might come with farro, the Italian grain, a roast chicken breast with spigarello, an Italian green. Sometimes cranberry beans show up with a meat, wild mushroom dumplings with a fish. Braised boneless short ribs come with delicious celery root-potato puree, but why are they boneless? Nibbling on the tasty bits close to the bone is a big part of the ribs’ pleasure.

In keeping with his philosophy, Blobaum serves grass-fed sirloin steak. Cut thick and cooked to just this side of rare, it’s delicious. Grass-fed beef has a completely different texture and taste than conventional corn-fed Midwestern beef. It’s somehow lighter and more digestible; here it’s accompanied by creamed spinach with an astonishing depth of flavor. I’ll be back just for that.

Black bass is always a good bet because it’s so moist and flavorful. Here, the chef might give it an Asian treatment, marinated in tamari and finished in a trendy, but nevertheless subtle sake sauce. Monkfish arrives as a dense packet, almost meat-like in texture, and to play that off even more, wrapped in crisped serrano ham.

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Off-peak performers

OVER several visits, I’ve had some very good food at Wilshire, but sometimes the kitchen misses. The execution might be off, or something’s too salty, or oversauced. Small wonder: On the weekends, the kitchen is slammed.

It can be really lovely, though, especially on a weeknight, sitting out in the garden under the trees. On nights like these, the kitchen is more apt to catch its breath and turn out food good enough to bring you back again. The management too is now making a serious effort to limit the bar crowd, which seems to be helping the noise level.

Wine director Matthew Straus has put together a wine list that’s strong on California and Central Coast wines. But spend some time with it, and you can turn up some more eclectic wines such as the Polish Hill Riesling from Australia. Or a fine Muscadet sur lies from France, even a Spanish red from the up-and-coming Jumilla or Toro regions. There’s a nice California farmstead cheese plate too.

Desserts could use some tweaking. They’re fussy, without a payoff in flavor. If you’re going to do carrot cake, it had better be the best ever, not this stringy affair that’s so sugary it makes your teeth ache. There’s too much going on in butternut squash brioche bread pudding -- not just squash and bread, but poached cranberries and chai ice cream too. Some simplicity please, which you can find in the daily selection of ice creams and sorbets. Go that direction, absolutely.

It’s thrilling to see what Thomas Schoos has done with the design. It’s sexy without going over the top. A garden designer known for his unconventional water features, Schoos, who gave Koi its Asian look, has a number of other projects in the works. Who could have dreamed that the Knoll’s Black Forest Inn could be turned into something this captivating?

Schoos has strung canvas sails between the trees, installed an outdoor bar at the far end with a balcony or terrace behind from which you can see without being seen (perfect for VIPs). Fire is a theme repeated in the masses of votive candles, urns spouting bright red flames and blue fire dancing through beds of gravel to make a low-slung fireplace.

Romantic? Very. Especially if you’ve nabbed a table in one of the darker corners. On a quiet night under the stars and the moonlight, it’s a California dream.

*

Wilshire

Rating: **

Location: 2454 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 586-1707; www.wilshirerestaurant.com.

Ambience: High-concept American restaurant with a glamorous two-tier garden patio with an outdoor bar at one end, candles and fire elements everywhere and a focus on organic produce from local farms. The bar menu is served till late, and on weekends the place is thronged.

Service: Amiable and helpful, if sometimes inexperienced.

Price: Dinner appetizers, $9 to $22; main courses, $26 to $34; desserts, $6 to $9.

Best dishes: Red squash and Asian pear soup, McGrath beet salad with roasted hazelnuts, crispy poached organic egg, duck confit salad, pork chop with creamy polenta, spit-roasted leg or rack of lamb, grass-fed sirloin steak, braised boneless beef short ribs, house made ice creams and sorbets.

Wine list: Good all-around list that covers California, with a nod to Old and New World regions. Corkage, $25.

Best table: A dark, corner one in the upper part of the patio.

Special features: Private dining room in its own little building adjoining the patio can be rented for special occasions.

Details: Open for dinner 6 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday; bar menu 5 to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday; lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Full bar. Valet parking, $5.50.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.