San Diego Spotlight : Waves Leaves Its Mark on La Jolla Dining Scene

You might expect a few leaves of mint to garnish a giant brownie.

A sprig of cilantro--well, you wouldn’t expect that.

So can a bitter herb make a statement?

The first time cilantro decorated a dessert at the new Waves Bar & Grill above La Jolla Cove, it seemed an aberration. But on a second occasion, it seemed more a statement, more a way of identifying the place as quite local. That’s a lot of significance to invest in a curling stalk of green leaves, but Waves does seem very local, very site-specific to La Jolla in a way that a lot of places are not. The mood is of the unhurried La Jolla of a couple of decades ago, unfussy, unpretentious--quite laid back, in fact. It’s the sort of mood that could be expected of a place that looks down on the “Clam,” the famous promontory above the cove from which generations of teens have leaped or dived in a summer rite of passage.

This casual new eatery has all sorts of local connections, not least the menu, which updates the fare that has been popular up and down the coast for some time. The food is simple but the restaurant emphasizes high-quality ingredients and the kitchen treats them well. If a simple piece of fish with a view suits the program, this is a good place to get it.

Waves marks a return to the restaurant business for Alfred (Buzzy) Bent, who as a youth surfed area beaches and washed dishes a few doors away from his new eatery at the long-popular Holiday House, now the site of the La Jolla Chart House. In 1962, he was a founding partner in the original Chart House in Aspen, Colo.; the company quickly grew, and Bent sold out his holdings in 1974 and retired from the business except for a short-lived venture in Telluride, Colo. But he says he has loved restaurants and La Jolla all his life, and Waves is the result of those twin affections.

A touch of the Hawaiian theme that Bent helped design for the Chart House restaurants balances the blunt, California coast cuisine approach of the menu. There are, for example, the “luau kabob,” a skewer that combines chicken, beef, fish and vegetables, and a top sirloin marinated in a gingered mustard sauce--although it must be mentioned that this steak was sampled on successive evenings and, if tasty enough as a basic steak, it had not gained much from the marinade.

But it is the more local dishes that shine, even the frankly named “Waves wedge,” a salad that takes the curse off iceberg lettuce by fancying up a wedge of it with shreds of Cheddar, hunks of very ripe, flavorful tomato and a corona of decent croutons. On the whole, this is at least the equal of the house Caesar, served abundantly in an over-sized glass bowl but a little too generously flavored with anchovy paste.

Other dishes that take a local attitude include a steamed, herbed artichoke and a couple of quesadillas, both quite handsome and more than generously stuffed, one with savory shreds of grilled chicken and cheese, the second with a fairly rich blend of shrimp and crab. The accompanying salsa, however, could use a bit more heat. These starters are joined by a simple cheese and fruit plate and a shrimp cocktail that seems a natural choice in the setting and is blessed with a horseradish-spiked sauce that clears the sinuses in a hurry.

Though it takes a fairly basic stance, the menu is not without ambition. A bed of marinated black beans supports the grilled swordfish, quite nicely done and dabbed with a bit of mild, creamy sauce. Grilled vegetables replace the less succulent steamed variety generally encountered elsewhere, and accompany such things as the grilled chicken breast, one of the lighter entrees. The seafood chowder, a house concoction and substantial enough to be listed as a main dish, fills out a tomatoed broth with chunks of fish and tops the bowl with a spoon of aioli , or pungent garlic mayonnaise.

The restaurant is designed for families--it is in fact one of a very few places along the cove at which you can comfortably treat the kids to a meal with a view of the waves--and while the bacon-cheeseburger might be too large for a child to handle all at once, this is a fine, well-made sandwich. The house club, better made than many, includes thick slices of roasted turkey breast along with avocado and the usual bacon, cheese and tomato. Also in this category, and also rather off the beaten track, Waves offers a sandwich of avocado, tomato and whole wheat. There’s a likable simplicity to the idea.

The desserts stay loyal to the mood and tend to be gooey and rich; there are even milk shakes, rare in restaurants. The piece de resistance presumably is the brownie, fudge-like in flavor, stuffed with pecans and crowned with more than a sufficiency of ice cream.

The setting adds considerably to Waves’ attractions. The restaurant occupies a space at the bottom of the woodsy Coast Walk collection of shops and galleries, a space that has housed many eateries in years past. A bar and several small dining rooms open from a central court; the nicest of these, at least in good weather, is an open-sided pavilion that looks over the sea. Tables are small, but sport such niceties as candles and large shells that float tiny orchids. The young servers get the job done with efficiency and good manners, and guests on both occasions noted a pleasant development that, it might be hoped, other restaurants will see fit to follow--not a single server gave his name or otherwise attempted to join the party.

WAVES BAR & GRILL 1298 Prospect St., La Jolla 456-2326 Lunch and dinner daily Sandwiches and entrees $6.50 to $13.95. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $25 to $50. Credit cards accepted