Orestes: Potential Under The Blob

X Orestes, 14 Roy St. Greek. Lunch ($5 to $9) 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Dinner ($10 to $17) 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. nightly. Lounge, full liquor, entertainment. Major credit cards. Nonsmoking area. Reservations: 282-5514.

------------------------------------------------------------

Orestes was a Greek tragic hero (458 B.C.) whose life was a mess (his father was killed by his mother, he and his sister killed their mother, he went nuts, was restored to sanity and then, to top it all off, got married).

Why anybody would want to name a restaurant after Orestes is beyond me, but to the best of my knowledge, at least two such places exist. The first Orestes opened in Vancouver, B.C., in 1972. Its Canadian owners, Brian and Beverly Hauff, unveiled its Seattle namesake here seven weeks ago on lower Queen Anne.

In so doing, they deserve great civic thanks for putting to use the Great White Blob. Others have suggested that they might have deserved even greater thanks had they simply blown it up. In any event, the Blob is now open, and its interiors are far more congenial than its melted-snowman, free-form exterior.

Seattle does not have any great Greek restaurants, although it has several good ones. With the opening of Orestes, that situation remains unchanged.

I have had a few good lunches there and a satisfactory dinner or two, but the kitchen - at the very least - needs some serious fine-tuning, if not a major overhaul.

It's easy to forget that some years ago the Blob was a rather accomplished restaurant known as Pablo's, a high-end Mexican spot.

In 1984, a highly imaginative architect-owner, Anthony A. Dadvar, began an unlikely reworking of the exterior, calling it ``a free-form architecture and functional sculpture.'' In this instance, function followed form - by about seven years.

The dining rooms still have a few rough edges. An unsanded, hastily painted two-by-four serves as an armrest (and sweater-snatcher) along one wall. The tile floor seems persistently cold.

The menu has all of the usual Greek touches.

Hot and cold Mezethes (appetizers) are available from $1.50 for a serving of warm pita bread to $9.95 for a dish of Garlic Prawns. Platters of a variety of either the hot or cold starters cost from $9.95 to $21.95 for such offerings as Kalamari (deep-fried and quite good), Spanakopitta, Keftedes, Saganaki, Sikotakia, olives, feta and artichokes.

The traditional Greek Salad comes with great cubes of cucumber and feta, olives and tomatoes (and, of course, no greens).

I started one dinner with the Garlic Prawns and a plate of the restaurant's excellent whole-wheat rolls. The prawns were beautifully fresh but undercooked by about a half-minute, with several pieces slightly translucent. The lemon-garlic sauce they came in with was impressive, but also less than fully hot. Thirty seconds and an attentive line cook could have made a lackluster dish into something memorable - or less memorable.

Lukewarm food was a problem with a couple of the lunches. An order of Souvlakia (kabobs; in this

case lamb) arrived barely warm to the touch, but seriously overcooked. Conclusion: They had been cooked a while ago, kept warm until they were cooked through, then briefly reheated on the grill. Were they edible? Of course. Was it the best way to cook cubed lamb? No.

A couple of days later, I dropped in for one of the world's great peasant dishes, Moussaka ($10.25), eggplant layered with spiced ground lamb. The flavors were correct, but the edges of the portion were hardened and tough.

Keftedes, Greek meatballs, were barely warm.

Rice pilaf, pan-roasted potatoes and vegetables come with most of the entrees. But the quality and portions can vary. On one occasion there were lots of potatoes; on another there was one quarter slice. The pilaf was dry and uninteresting on one visit; moist, tasty and plentiful a couple of nights ago.

The overall quality seems to be on the upswing. I first went to Orestes shortly after its opening, primarily because the building itself has been an ongoing source of public curiosity, and any commerce occurring there has been of interest.

But the first two meals were so disappointing, I held off for several weeks. Friends have had better luck.

``Had a wonderful dinner of grilled salmon,'' said one.

``I'll go back,'' said another, ``but not in a hurry.''

For all of that, Orestes in Seattle may be hitting its marks slowly, but is hardly a tragedy. The kitchen needs to settle down. Yet there is a sense of conviviality and energy about it that appeals.

Some excellent and modestly priced Greek wines help (do try the 1987 Boutari Naoussa). Things should get better. The last thing this Orestes needs is another Cassandra.