An Old Italian Standby Off To Warm Beginning

XX 1/2 Settebello, 1525 E. Olive Way, Italian. Lunch ($7 to $11.95) 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dinner ($11 to $20) 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Lounge, full bar. Major credit cards. Nonsmoking area. Reservations: 323-7772.

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So many new Italian restaurants have opened in the city during the past year that it is almost with a sense of relief that one wanders back into an old one. Or, at least, an older one.

Settebello changed hands a couple of months ago. Luciano Bardinelli, who founded the Northern Italian restaurant in an oddly shaped, triangular structure at the corner of Olive Way and Denny in 1982, sold the business to Amir Heshmatpour in late December.

Presumably, the transaction freed up Bardinelli to take greater personal charge of his new Eastside restaurant. Stresa, located in the Carillon Point complex between Kirkland and Bellevue, may be - rumors persist - faltering.

Settebello has had perhaps the most checkered culinary history of any of Seattle's significant, top-level eateries. It was one of the first of the city's Northern Italian spots; one of the first to roll out its own pasta.

It enjoyed, or was thwarted by, a succession of touted chefs who seemed to arrive and depart with the seasons (two in the last year alone).

Yet the food always was at least very good and sometimes nudged

the spectacular. Service could be fine or spotty, swift or snotty. The chilly tile floors and exposed glass gave the interior a noise level that transcended mere acoustical excess.

What was worse, for at least two seasons a year, you dined with cold feet. In short, despite its excellent menus and transient kitchen talent, despite Bardinelli's considerable charm, Settebello was not an easy place, for me at least, to love.

Others swore by it. Architect Fred Bassetti, gourmand Bob Block, television commentator Lou Guzzo all were frequent visitors. Peter Dow, who owns and runs his own Cafe Juanita, once confided that Settebello was the best Italian restaurant in Seattle, bar none.

Well, Bardinelli departed. What remained? The cook.

Chefs come and chefs go, but Settebello has had Hung Chau in the kitchen since since 1982. That's right: Vietnamese Hung Chau, the loyal backup cook to all those chefs. He is as good as ever.

Start with the Mista Salad ($3.50 at lunch; $4.50 dinner), a simple, beautiful, gently dressed plate of perfect shreds of butter lettuce, Italian greens tossed with extra virgin olive oil and radicchio (red-leafed chicory).

Three recommended antipasti: Calamari fritti ($6.50), very lightly floured, then deep-fried and served with a chilled red tomato sauce for dipping. A recent serving was slightly overcooked and beginning to toughen.

Carpaccio di manzo e parmigiano, thin, raw slices of filet mignon layered in olive oil with a lemon-mustard and parsley sauce. And the house assorted antipasto plate, marinated vegetables, mushrooms, caponata, tomatoes, etc. It is served with the Grand Central bakery's Como Loaf.

The antipasto would have benefited from some sliced, preserved meats, olives or perhaps Fagioli con Tonno. Giancarlo, in Federal Way, incidentally, serves an exemplary house antipasto.

House pastas are irresistible: Cappellini with tomato and basil ($7 at lunch; $10 at dinner), the light angel hair pasta, is a good choice.

Paglia e fieno ($7.50 and $10.50), green and white linguini, is tossed with pancetta, peas and cream.

My pick was Penne (quill-shaped pasta) with chopped pancetta, shredded radicchio, and gorgonzola cheese in a light cream sauce ($11 at dinner).

A Linguini Tuttomare is available with mixed fresh seafood in a fresh, light tomato sauce for $13.

Scallopine di vitello al limone ($10 at lunch; $14.50 evenings) is similar to the ubiquitous veal picatta, except it omits the capers and the white wine-butter-lemon-parsley sauce is somewhat more thickened in the sautee pan. The veal cuts used (four slices) are apparently from the top round; the flavor is excellent, but the texture slightly more coarse than those from the tenderloin, which costs three times as much.

Then there is the veal chop, which sounds much more impressive when ordered as Lombata di vitello al cognnac ($18.50). It is pan-fried and finished with Cognac, fresh herbs and butter - and a sprig of rosemary over the top. I neglected to tell the waiter I'd like it rare; it came medium-well done but was acceptable.

The best buy at Settebello is the Milanese Lunch, $11.95 for a three-course meal: antipasto, the pasta special and a choice of either veal or the fish of the day.

Heshmatpour, whose family was in the hotel, restaurant and theater business in Tabriz, left Iran after the downfall of the Shah. He ran the Calder Cafe in State College, Pa., for six years before joining his parents in Seattle.

He has reduced Settebello's prices (and the wine markups) and vows to do something about the floor.

``We are going to clean the place up, bring in some carpets and plants. New chairs are coming next week. It is horrible to have cold feet. They stay cold all day.''

Warm thought for a new Settebello.