RESTAURANT REVIEW : At Il Pastaio, the Wait’s Worth It

Before capellini alla checca was a universal phenomenon, you could go to Celestino in Beverly Hills and eat a bowl of angel hair pasta topped, of course, with uncooked chopped fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic ignited with an excellent olive oil. It was a dish of stunning and characteristic simplicity. At a time when many of the city’s chefs were in a frenzy of eclectic invention, Celestino Drago kept his food uncomplicated. As a result, I remember certain dishes with startling clarity: a bright goat cheese salad, a puckery raw artichoke salad, a squid ink seafood risotto that looked like gravel and tasted like heaven.

Celestino Drago eventually left Celestino to open the well-regarded Drago in Santa Monica. Now, he’s back in Beverly Hills too, with a small, quintessentially simple pasta place: Il Pastaio. In the old Kaktus space at Canon and Brighton, the room is long and narrow, with white walls, lovely wood-sashed windows, a long bar and pasta-making area. The early dinner rush is largely older folk; gradually, the clientele grows hipper and younger, or seems to--in Beverly Hills, it’s impossible to tell for sure.

Prices are reasonable. The service, as ever, is gracious, intelligent, high-humored, swift. The food, in general, is terrific. Il Pastaio’s major drawback, however, arises from exactly these virtues: For a restaurant of this price range and quality, Il Pastaio is too small.

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So there’s almost always a wait. I’ve gone early, I’ve gone late and the wait is 20 to 30 minutes for a table for two, up to an hour for one of the larger tables. We cram against the bar, scatter on the sidewalk, take walks through the neighborhood. The wait is worth it.

Il Pastaio’s menu is distinguished by its lack of secondi --entrees. It’s all starters, pastas and risottos. Within each of these categories, however, there’s admirable range and a few choice rarities.

A juicy, bright seafood salad appetizer is punctuated with crunchy cornichons--a day at the beach on a plate. The goat cheese salad with strips of grilled peppers and baby eggplant sparkles with excellent olive oil. Sweet grilled shrimp sets off the Sicilian caponata, a dark, intense eggplant concoction bristling with mysterious textures that, under scrutiny, reveal themselves to be crisp fried capers, lusciously plumped stewed grapes and pine nuts.

Farro , or spelt, is an ancient variety of wheat with a lovely nubbly texture not unlike round, firm rice that, traditionally, was the last meal Roman soldiers ate before going to war. Il Pastaio has an appropriately inspiring bean and farro soup which, however, is not a recommended appetizer to risotto--the two share the same heft and gratifications.

Of the four carpaccios, the cool swordfish with shaved fennel and blood oranges is the most sensuous and swoony. Marinated venison, with its bosky after-taste, is smartly matched with arugula and a musky dried ricotta cheese.

Black and white trenette , a thin, squared egg noodle, sits in a light, bracing, wine-scented broth with fresh clams and a small, aromatic dose of shredded arugula. Half moon ravioli stuffed with sweet lobster and zucchini loll in a luxuriantly creamy lobster reduction. I was disappointed to find that the tomatoes in the capellini alla checca , as in most versions available in this town, were thoroughly heated.

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Not to be missed are the outrageously pleasurable garganelli : Chewy and porous, these curls of wheat pasta are shaped like lips or not-quite-closed tubes and hold in their folds a lusty amatriciana sauce (pureed tomato, pancetta, pecorino, onion).

I was delighted, of course, to find the classic granite-gray squid ink risotto: Lighter than many risottos, faintly and pleasingly oceanic in flavor, it is studded with fat and sweet pink shrimp, small cylindrical scallops and chewy snarls of calamari. Richer, creamier, the risotto with mascarpone cheese and wild mushrooms is, in contrast, a cozy snooze under a goose down comforter. A subtle grass-green risotto with peas and a custardy spinach puree could have been stirred a minute longer.

Luckily, Drago’s fluffy definitive tiramisu is available, because other desserts are not very good. Ordering ricotta cheesecake, I expected Drago’s light, lemony cake with pine nuts and raisins; I received a dull, overly perfumed wedge of pie.

* Il Pastaio, 400 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 205-5444. Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. Full bar. Valet parking. Major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $30-$52.