Shipshape by the shore

PICO BOULEVARD runs west, straight to the sea, and just at the end, as you approach Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, a swatch of gray-blue waves shimmers like silk between two posh hotels, Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar.

In front of the latter, bellmen and valets are busy with new arrivals and departing guests, but we’re interested in a different kind of traveler, chef Michael Reardon. The one-time executive chef for Tra Vigne in Napa Valley has just moved from Casa del Mar’s sister property in Santa Barbara, the Hotel Andalucia, to head up the kitchen at Oceanfront, the hotel’s restaurant.

Inside, a wrought-iron staircase sweeps up to the hotel lounge, which feels like the grand salon of an elegant oceangoing vessel because of its size and the bank of windows overlooking the ocean at the end of the room.

On some nights the lounge can look like a speed-dating convention with hordes of singles claiming the overstuffed sofas and armchairs grouped in front of fireplaces, knocking back premium tequila or nursing cocktails. Those who want a real sit-down dinner bypass the lounge in favor of a table at Oceanfront.

We’re early and decide to wait in the bar for the last of our party. I’m enjoying the quiet moment, desultorily taking in the scene, when I notice an older gentleman hurry over to someone at the bar to tell him his table is ready. On the way back, he recognizes one of my guests, and remembers his name -- despite the fact that it’s been something like eight years since my friend was a regular at the Grill in Beverly Hills where the gentleman in question, Allan Ludwig, was a maitre d’.

That’s an impressive feat of memory. It also means that the dining room is in good hands.

Our table, it seems, is also ready. And it’s a great one, positioned squarely in front of that ocean view. The tall French windows are cracked open just enough to let in a faint salt tang and the gentlest of breezes, barely a tickle really.

Outside, pleated palm fronds are splayed against the sky, slicing the view into slivers of blue and tan. In silhouette, body surfers ride a wave; the athletically inclined jog by while others sit in the sand and stare at the sea as the water reflects the gold and rose of the sky and then slips deeper into indigo.

Our waiter, a veteran from the old Bistro Garden in Beverly Hills, fusses over us without ever intruding. He pours water, hands us the menu with a flourish, uncorks the wine, and suggests it needs a bit more chill, which it does. And as we take a long, cool sip of Sauvignon Blanc, we begin to unwind.

It’s a beautiful room, with tall ceilings and light from the windows spilling across the terra-cotta floor. Dark rattan armchairs and potted palms reinforce the sense of the tropics. It’s also one of the few restaurants I know where, if you have a corner table, especially, it’s quiet enough to talk, but not so quiet that everyone hears your business.

Chef Reardon’s menu is one that reflects the seasons. For a California restaurant, that would seem to be self-evident, but not every local chef cooks summer food in the middle of a heat wave, as I’ve found out these last few weeks. Reardon has a number of light, refreshing dishes that suit the temperature.

Raw talent

CRUDO, raw seafood Italian style, is very fashionable now at progressive restaurants around the country, but the quality of the fish has to be, if anything, even more impeccable than sushi since there’s nothing as strong as wasabi in the Italian flavor profile.

Oceanfront’s trio of crudo makes a delightful, and very light, first course. It’s three bites, really, served on a rectangular slump-glass plate that mimics a slab of ice. The selection changes every day, but it could include an oyster, hamachi garnished with a slice of chile, and a sliver of toro or tuna. Or, you could order the hamachi sashimi with sea beans -- a slightly salty vegetable from the sea, and a splash of mild-mannered soy and aged sherry vinegar.

In the mood for something with more punchy flavors? Try the sea scallops with clams and pureed fava beans. I like the sweetness of the scallops against the briny clams and the bright green of the favas.

The chef has a nice way with vegetables, taking advantage of the farmers market and specialty produce purveyors. Baby red and green romaine is tossed in a gentle, roasted garlic dressing. And asparagus, ramp and morels go into a ragout with gnocchi that are, on the occasion I try them, a bit gummy.

I’ve had seared bluefin tuna a couple of different ways, once with white beans and cherry tomatoes in a parsley jus and more recently with hearts of palm and watermelon. It sounds odd, but the sweet, watery taste of the watermelon and the juicy crunch of the hearts of palm with the rare sushi-grade tuna make for an interesting combination.

Summer was made for pasta and Reardon’s free-form raviolo is as languid as a summer day. Made from a single sheet of fresh pasta loosely draped around a filling of sheep’s milk ricotta and herbs, with a little tomato coulis underneath, it’s another delicious light starter. The first time I tried it, the pasta was tough and dried-out; the second time, it was perfect.

Brisk business

IT’S hard to believe this is the same restaurant where I suffered through dismal evenings when the place was half empty, there was nobody at home in the dining room and the entire restaurant, in fact, felt like a lame adjunct to the bar scene. Now, weeknight as well as weekend, the restaurant is fairly busy, though it’s still possible to get a table on a few hours’ or a day’s notice. But you won’t be all alone in the dining room.

When it comes to main courses, go for either the halibut or, if it’s offered as a special, the wild salmon. The halibut dish is very subtle and pure, just impeccable snowy Alaskan halibut served with green beans, sun-dried tomatoes and sliced gold fingerling potatoes.

And pale wild salmon appeared one night recently with a flurry of summer truffles on top in a sort of delicate chowder of corn, cream and potatoes cut to the size of the corn.

In general, Reardon is very good on fish. Swordfish braised in olive oil is not going to have the firmness you get from grilled or pan-seared swordfish. In this case, the chef serves it in big torn chunks, like tuna flaked from the can. It is incredibly moist, and yet, oddly, because it looks like chicken, it almost tastes like chicken.

At any rate, in a hotel restaurant like this one, it bodes well when a chef tries something different. Though certainly, some of Reardon’s menu is influenced by fashion, he has his own point of view and doesn’t go as over the top as some of the previous chefs.

Except for a wonderfully moist Kurobuta pork loin with fennel and escarole, the meat courses have been fine, but not exceptional. The beef, such as the rib-eye, doesn’t taste as if it’s very aged. The New Zealand lamb is fine too, but not something you’d go out of your way to seek out. And suckling pig is puzzling. It’s hard to know what to make of baby chops, some breaded, some not, with a bouquet of baby vegetables. There’s none of the payoff you’d expect -- the crackling crust, the moist, succulent flesh, the glorious messy richness of roast suckling pig.

Service, though, is a huge selling point. Every one of the waiters is a pro. No one is constantly asking, “Is everything fabulous?” and I don’t think I heard one “absolutely” on any of my visits.

The wine list, though, could use some tweaking. As it stands now, it reads like a standard-issue hotel wine list and doesn’t reflect the breadth of wines available in the sophisticated Los Angeles wine market. Why not, for once, present a list that challenges and excites guests, instead of one that plays to the most familiar and ubiquitous labels?

Desserts aren’t as strong as the rest of the menu, so it might be a good idea to leave your sweet tooth at home. Both a Meyer lemon tart and a sea salt caramel tart are flawed by an oddly textured crust and too much obvious thickening in the filling. Too bad, because I loved the flavor of the caramel tart with its salt tang that takes the idea of fleur de sel caramels and applies it to a tart. The best choice if you can’t do without dessert may be the Scharffen Berger chocolate crepes with banana gelato.

Otherwise, make like a starry-eyed out-of-towner: Order a tisane or herb infusion and settle back to enjoy the summer night and that full moon hovering just over the sea.

*

Oceanfront

Rating: **

Location: Hotel Casa del Mar, 1910 Ocean Way, Santa Monica, (310) 581-5533; www.hotelcasadelmar.com.

Ambience: Contemporary Californian.

Service: Refreshingly professional.

Price: Dinner appetizers, $12 to $19; main courses, $25 to $37; desserts, $10; lunch appetizers, $11 to $15; salads and sandwiches, $16 to $24; main courses, $22 to $28; brunch, $30 to $42.

Best dishes: Hamachi sashimi, seared bluefin tuna with hearts of palm, free-form raviolo, wild salmon with corn and summer truffles, halibut with green beans and potatoes, olive-oil braised swordfish, bucatini with Gulf prawns and flowering broccoli.

Wine list: Adequate, but not much more. Corkage, $25.

Best table: One in front of the windows and the ocean view.

Details: Open for dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. daily; for lunch, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday; for brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday; and for breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. daily. Full bar. Valet parking, $6 with validation.

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.