Just-Opened Pescatore Off To A Tasteful Start

----------------------------------------------------------------- Restaurant review

(Not rated) Pescatore, 5300 34th Ave. N.W. ($$ 1/2) Lunch ($8 to $12) 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Dinner ($8 to $22) 3 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; until 10:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday; from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday. Sunday brunch: 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. View lounge and terrace. Full bar. Major credit cards. No smoking. Reservations: 784-1733. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Pescatore, Italian for "fisherman," pretty much explains what the new restaurant between the Ballard Locks and Shilshole Bay is all about.

It's a largely seafood menu with a distinct Italian flair assembled by the corporate brass at Consolidated Restaurants (Metropolitan Grill, the Union Square Grill, Elliott's and others), positioned to compete head-on with two well-established view/seafood restaurants: Ray's Boathouse and Anthony's HomePort.

Consolidated didn't enter the venture lightly. It took one of its existing properties (Hiram's), redesigned the interior extensively (at a cost of "more than $1 million; less than $2 million") and hired the highly regarded Barbara Figueroa (formerly of the Hunt Club) as consultant and menu developer.

In short, it was a gamble - and an expensive one.

If sheer numbers and plate counts are valid indicators, the gamble has already begun to pay off. The "valets" doing the parking are noticeably long on business and short of breath.

It is probably too soon to fairly rate the restaurant (it's been open just over a month), but the summer dining season is upon us, Pescatore is there in neon lights and it's hard to ignore. It's a two-star restaurant at this point, and improving.

Can't beat the view

The structure and design are clear winners: colorful and inviting without being strident, playfully elegant but still informal (i.e., wear whatever you want). The view of the canal is immediate and engaging.

The staff is still shaking down. Coordination between kitchen and dining room is still sometimes shaky (despite telephonic headsets worn by some of the waiters). And an occasional dinner is less than thrilling, although all is generally competent.

What works especially well are the less-traditional, less-formal aspects of the menu. The fruitwood-fired pizzas (try the White Heat Pizza; $9.95), the opulent bowls of pasta with Parmigiano-reggiano grated freshly at the table and the various antipasti are immensely appealing.

The Caesar Salad ($4.50 and $7.95) may be ubiquitous in the trade, but it's well-made here, with hearts of romaine, croutons from fresh-baked focaccia and either Bay Shrimp or grilled chicken for an additional $1.

Calamari Fritti ($5.95) served with aioli are light, tender and go down like popcorn, although a less dense batter might suit the summer waistline more kindly.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms ($6.95) are smokily seductive, arriving with a highly effective three-cheese polenta and an assertive (but not strident) porcini mushroom sauce.

White Heat Pizza's a winner

In its first menu revision, Pescatore has added several items, including Crab Cake ($7.95) made with Dungeness crab, chopped scallop, shrimp, celery, onions and a roasted red pepper sauce that strongly reminds of the grand version served at Elliott's.

So far, the best thing I've had from the oven was the above-mentioned White Heat Pizza, with rock shrimp, poblano peppers, arugula, cheeses and a drizzled creamy red pepper sauce. It's full of flavor surprises, none of them quirky.

A Quatro Seafood Pizza ($11.95) adds clams, pesto, rock shrimp, salmon with red-onion rings and marinated calamari to the concept. It's quite good, but a trifle cluttered, with braided borders of pizza dough separating the opposing quadrants.

A sun-dried tomato, artichoke and goat-cheese pizza ($7.95) is another rouser.

A nightly special of grilled Copper River King Salmon ($21.95), a seasonal treat, was pleasant but not compelling. The fillet was sliced fairly thin and grilled a bit too long.

I've tried a couple of the pastas: a Mafaldine (broad noodle) with Smoked Chicken ($12.95), with wild mushrooms in a Roma tomato sauce; and a basic (but inviting) Clam Linguini ($11.95), with garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, grated cheese and parsley.

Pesto mashed potatoes accompany many of the entrees, a variant of the glorious garlic mashed potatoes served at the Union Square Grill. The basil and olive oil version seems heavier, and although briskly flavored, less appealing.

The only real disappointment was a half of Fire Kitchen Roasted Chicken ($12.95). It's prepped in a rosemary-garlic marinade and roasted to a lovely mahogany color. But it was frankly overdone.

The setting ("on the Ballard Riviera . . ."), the covered outdoor terrace and a high-energy view bar add to Pescatore's merits. In another month, after the staff and the front desk settle in, I'd expect the service and kitchen glitches to fade away - into some remarkable sunsets. (Copyright, 1995, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.)