Home of the 20-inch sausage

LOMITA, with its quaint railroad museum and vintage ‘50s diner Hot ‘N Tot, can seem like a flashback to mid-century America’s heartland. But a growing collection of hip urban Japanese restaurants is adding spice to the South Bay town. Il Chianti Ristorante Continentale, the L.A. area’s first outpost of a Japanese chain, is one such place.

Unlike L.A.’s more established Japanese spaghettirias such as Spoon House and Akane Chaya in Gardena and Blue Marlin in West L.A., Il Chianti isn’t serving yoshoku ryori, or Japanese-style western dishes the likes of spaghetti omelets or spaghetti garnished with shiso, shaved bonito or sliced hot dogs.

Instead, there might be sausage-spinach cannelloni with four cheeses or perhaps a pasta with Mediterranean bottarga topped with fried soft-shell crab. Frequently the Japanese twist is barely noticeable and most dishes are just plain delizioso. And yet, there are soju cocktails, some unique Asian-inflected pizzas and pastas offered “soup style” as if they were ramen. When you step into Il Chianti’s entryway, the fragrance of a wood-burning oven and the perfume of roasting garlic invite you into the faux crumbling-villa decor. An amply stocked glass-front wine cabinet hints at the restaurant’s long and varied wine list, which includes some worthwhile and unusual choices. A splendid old Italian chandelier graces the back dining area and overall the effect is of a generations-old restaurant in an Italian hill town. But such details as lampshades made of rustic hand-made Japanese paper, casual counter seating for individual diners and the bilingual chalkboard specials menu give away Il Chianti’s identity.

There are about 20 antipasti (including specials), so meals could be made of little plates alone. A fish carpaccio special garnished with Japanese fish roe is dainty and delicious. At the other end of the spectrum is an appetizer for a large and hungry group: a 20-inch sausage served on a long wooden board with mounds of mustard at each end.

The menu promotes group dining in other ways. Salads, for example, come in small, medium or large servings and are brought to the table with a fish-shaped bottle of vinaigrette. The organic lettuces topped with several types of sauteed mushrooms and the arugula and watercress with crisp bacon and a scattering of pine nuts are both fastidiously fresh and supremely tasty.

“Soup style” pastas are delicious, if unusual. The soups include a spicy tomato and one, mysteriously called Greek spaghetti, made with baby clams and garlic in light creamy broth.

The wood-burning oven turns out pizzas with crusts that are thinner than lavosh with toppings that include the familiar (Margherita, quattro formaggi) as well as several only-in-Japan specimens such as sea-urchin pizza or foie gras with mozzarella. Unique though it is, I grew to love the umibe -- seafood pizza with sun-dried tomato, a bit of crunchy roe and a whole soft-baked egg at the center that spreads to enrich every slice.

From the risotto and pilaf menu section comes “baked in hot pebble,” a risotto stirred before you in a hot stone dish until crisp rice bits and melting cheese from the bottom of the bowl add their crunch. “Crab pilaf,” which turns out to be squid ink-flavored rice topped with several large crab legs, may disappoint if you were imagining something more akin to paella. But this rice dish has such a following it’s available as a side order too.

Entrees are refined. Medallions of meaty purebred Berkshire (Kurobuta) pork in a glazy reduction punched up with a small mound of mango chutney is a beautiful blend of flavors. A classic rendition of beef tongue in Madeira is braised into tender submission.

Desserts are uneven. The light tiramisu with nice coffee accents and a fresh pear compote are appealing; others are less successful. Even so, Il Chianti has a lot going for it -- including a $10.50 lunch, a kind of Italian bento with grilled meat or fish, pasta and assorted nibbles, wine or espresso and a little sweet.

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Il Chianti Ristorante Continentale

Location: 24503 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, (310) 325-5000.

Price: Pizzas, pastas, risottos (small), $8 to $14; appetizers and salads, $4.50 to $12; entrees, $13 to $23.

Best dishes: Fish carpaccio, stone-pot risotto, umibe pizza, Greek spaghetti, special lunch bento.

Details: Open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays. Rear lot and street parking. Wine, soju and soft drinks. Major credit cards.