A splash by the sea

I’M well aware that if I don’t stop eating the fondue -- soon -- by the time I get to the main course, I won’t have room for anything. And yet I skewer one more chunk of bread and swirl it into the molten mass of cheese, savoring the Gruyere’s nutty tanginess and the Fontina’s satiny gloss. What makes it so compelling is the quality of the cheese. This is fondue from a chef that takes the dish very seriously. His is utterly classic and utterly delicious. As an alternative to bread, he’s also slipped sliced Fuji apple and Bosc pear onto the plate. Both make sense. It’s just like eating a slice of fruit with cheese, but warm.

Until I encountered the fondue at Ocean and Vine, the restaurant in Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, I was not prepared to cut the retro-dish any slack, remembering the rubbery sludge that made its way around living rooms in the ‘70s. Or was that the ‘80s? But hey, its rumored comeback is true. The restaurant at Loews may be ready for its comeback as well.

Over at the fire pit in the middle of the dining room, blue flames dance across a bed of crushed white glass. Seated on a chocolate-brown corduroy couch, two girlfriends, heads together, giggle over glasses of white wine, languorously dipping bread into the fondue pot. One order is plenty for our table of four, so these two should have enough to make fondue dinner, for sure.

The restaurant certainly looks different than in the days when it had a Provencal theme and was named Lavande. This was the hotel’s high-end dining, built for Alain Giraud after Citrus closed and before the French chef left to become the opening chef at Bastide. For a while, it was one of L.A.’s few destination hotel restaurants. And then it wasn’t. This time around, the hotel opted for concept over the lure of a high-profile chef.

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Room with a view

THE name Ocean and Vine is, I guess, meant to refer to the view and the focus on wine. The place is definitely more comfortable and less formal than Lavande ever managed to be. There’s no starchy maitre d’ at the door. And whether you’re dropping in for an impromptu bite or a full-scale meal, you’re equally welcome. Yet tables aren’t crammed together the way they would be at a bistro. They’re widely spaced, the better for conversation, and the chairs are comfortable enough that it’s not a punishment to stay for more than an hour.

I also think much of the new restaurant’s appeal has to do with the way the designer has exploited the ocean view, placing the bar down a few steps, right up against the floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s been opened up too, with an inviting outdoor patio that features a handful of fire pits to gather around on cooler evenings.

At night, you sense more than really see the ocean, though you can pick out the lights of the Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. If you press your nose against the windows, you can monitor the progress of the condos that are, unfortunately, going up at the edge of that view.

The menu fits the casual setting. It’s just one page, appetizers on the left, main courses on the right, and in the middle, wines matched with each course. The chef is Gregg Wangard, who comes from Wisconsin, and has put together a fresh and appealing array of dishes. Not enough L.A. diners seem to have noticed: On several recent visits, the room was never quite filled. The sparse audience has got to be discouraging for a young chef eager to show his stuff.

He starts off strong with the appetizers. Like any chef worth his mettle, he changes the lineup frequently. I appreciate the fact that you can order oysters Rockefeller as a threesome or a half dozen. Cushioned on a bed of finely chopped sauteed arrow leaf spinach, they’re plump and delicious, topped with Nueske bacon and a graceful Meyer lemon hollandaise. It’s an intelligent update of this classic. Another standout on the appetizer menu is steamed Prince Edward Island mussels -- the small black ones -- in a broth redolent of coconut milk and smoky chipotle chile. Macaroni and cheese is a good bet too, more restrained and elegant than you’d expect, made with elbow macaroni and aged white cheddar with a garnish of crisp paprika-streaked chorizo.

But what’s with the Pismo clam chowder? Our vivacious server tells us that it’s so named not because it’s made with Pismo clams, but for the way it’s served, with the clams on the side. Hmm. Wonder who came up with that particular piece of research, all of which is moot once you taste the chowder. The flavors are delicious, but the texture, unfortunately, seems to be modeled after wallpaper paste, just like every New England-style clam chowder you find in these parts. And the clams in their shells served on the side sit in an incredibly salty broth.

A special beef fillet “spring roll” comes close, but no cigar. Asparagus is wrapped with a thin piece of beef and then with a slice of heirloom potato. To give it an Asian touch, there’s a sauce of sweetened and rather salty soy, just a bit too intense for the delicacy of the other flavors.

Our server asks, smiling, if we don’t want to know anything about the wine. “I’m dying to tell somebody,” she says plaintively.

Running down the middle of the menu is a list of wines served by the 4-ounce, 8-ounce or 16-ounce pour, one for each dish. Not to panic: If you order the 16-ounce, you’ll get a carafe, not a fishbowl-sized glass.

They’re all interesting choices. For example, oysters Rockefeller is paired with a minerally Bott Geyl Riesling from Alsace; Arctic char in a black olive glaze goes with Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Blanc from Oregon.

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Farmhouse cheeses

MAIN courses generally don’t show as well as the first courses. The plating is sometimes awkward and some of the concepts too tricky. Anybody who loves duck will naturally gravitate to the duo of white Pekin duck, which pairs the seared breast with shredded duck leg confit. For all the fanfare in the name, the result is just OK. I would however, recommend the Berkshire pork chop and its accompaniments. The thick juicy chop comes with a delicious sauerkraut made from gentle nappa cabbage and a tart-sweet Fuji applesauce. Black Angus fillet is worth trying too. Ordered charred medium rare, the beef is tender, but gives you something to chew on, and has some flavor. It comes with fingerling potatoes, asparagus and a dribble of black truffle sauce souped up with truffle oil and something sweet. Get the sauce on the side, if you can.

If you’ve still got some wine left, check out the cheese selection -- all American farmhouse cheeses. The servers are well versed in their differences, and cheeses are listed next to the desserts on the after-dinner menu with a couple of adjectives each. I very much enjoyed the St. Pat and Red Hawk triple creme from Cowgirl Creamery, and a crumbly blue from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. Cheeses are served with a thinly sliced raisin bread, but I wish they’d offer a plain baguette as well.

Desserts get into that fondue thing with a chocolate fondue, perfect for sitting around the fire outside, but maybe too much of a fondue thing. I liked the Fuji apple fritters with apple cider syrup and caramel ice cream and the pear tarte Tatin with pear and blueberry sorbet, though I wish somebody hadn’t scribbled all over the plate with caramel. A trio of chocolate desserts on a big square plate will calm any chocoholics out there. But maybe after all that fondue and such, the house-made sorbets are the way to go.

I give the hotel credit for trying something new. All in all, though the menu has its ups and downs, chef Wangard is making a promising start for the new restaurant. If that fondue can work its seductions and lure more non-guests into this beachfront hotel, it should be a go.

*

Ocean and Vine

Rating: * 1/2

Location: Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; (310) 576-3180; www.oceanandvine.com.

Ambience: Casual beachfront hotel restaurant with a bar overlooking the beach, a firepit surrounded by plush couches in the middle of the dining room and lighting that cycles through the color spectrum. The crowd is mostly hotel guests and a few locals.

Service: Engaged and engaging

Price: Appetizers, $8 to $18; main courses, $17 to $35; cheese plates, $11 and $18; dessert, $8 to $12

Best dishes: Cheese fondue, steamed mussels, oysters Rockefeller, macaroni and cheese, Berkshire pork chop, Black Angus fillet, cheese plate, pear tarte Tatin.

Wine list: Eclectic and well-priced for a hotel restaurant. Corkage, $15.

Best table: One closest to the view

Details: Open for breakfast from 6:30 to 11 a.m. daily; lunch from 11:30 to 2 p.m. daily (brunch served Sunday); dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Full bar. Valet parking.

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.