Sharing the hidden treasures of Tabu Grill

The name Tabu implies a forbidden pleasure, but here it signifies a hidden treasure.

Tucked into a tiny space on South Coast Highway, partially screened by a jungle of papyrus and tropical flowers, this stylish bistro reveals its riches with a hip Pacific island vibe.

Nancy Wilhelm -- a prominent figure on the Laguna restaurant scene for many years, being a glutton for punishment -- opened this charming spot a year and a half ago, miraculously transforming the former Dexter’s into a warm, contemporary room with tiki touches, dominated by an open kitchen.

It certainly helps to have Christine Hallenberg, one of the best interior designers in town, as a partner. The dramatic stone wall at one end of the room is dotted with flickering, candlelit niches, creating an intimate, romantic atmosphere. Large, carved, black-framed mirrors create the illusion of a bigger space, and the bamboo ceiling suggests a Polynesian dwelling. Many other tasteful touches carry out the theme, such as the unusual placemats and the basket-like hanging fixtures.

There are several seating choices. Inside, you can sit gazing at your companion across a cozy table or sit at the bar and watch the chef executing his craft; outside on the patio, you can contemplate the papyrus swaying in the breeze.

The recently modified menu reflects some of the flavors of fall. Among the starters, the seared Hudson Valley foie gras with Sauterne-poached quince and the house-made lamb and portobello potstickers invoke the savor of autumn.

It’s not always a good idea to mess with success, so the grilled scallops and tangerine sauce, one of their most popular dishes, remains the same. We enjoyed the surprise of a dollop of creamy mashed potatoes that acted as a foil to the crispy-edged, juicy scallops. The other surprise was that the tangerine sauce was just a drizzle on the plate. What little there was had a delicate citrus flavor, but we were sorry there wasn’t more of it.

There is a selection of three salads. Elle thought the warm beet salad tarte tatin, baby arugula, goat cheese and port-pecans sounded scrumptious but Terry has a serious problem with beets. The caesar salad is grilled, a nice variation that happily seems to be appearing on more and more menus and is served here with spicy thyme flatbread. The Kobe filet carpaccio salad is kicked up with foie gras horseradish.

This is a place for serious meat, so much so that Tabu has been called a steak house, but the preparations are much more sophisticated. For instance, the beautiful Angus bone-in rib-eye is served with chanterelle and forbidden rice risotto with creamy mushroom sauce. The grilled double Colorado lamb chops stacked against tropical couscous with blueberry sauce or the maple-cured pork chop with celery root puree and spiced chutney in apple brandy sauce put this restaurant in a class above your ordinary steakhouse. On a cold evening, you can warm up with the hearty braised osso buco.

If, however, you are a meat eater’s date but don’t touch the stuff yourself, fear not: chef Jeff Platt has not forgotten you. In fact, if you are a vegetarian, there is the enchanting house-made Japanese pumpkin and portobello ravioli. The two varieties of ravioli are each distinctively delicious in their perfect pasta pouches. They have a wonderful texture that is found only in house-made pasta. Their flavors played off each other without the distraction of sauce, which could easily have masked the ambrosial, autumnal tastes.

Chicken fanciers can dine on Pinot Noir and coriander marinated half chicken with coq au vin vegetables. There are two fish dishes, one of which is a diet-watcher’s delight -- the seared rare yellowfin tuna with jasmine rice speckled with shrimp, calamari and pineapple and a dashi-ponzu sauce. The other is Elle’s favorite Hawaiian fish, opaka-paka, braised in a picholine olive, mushroom and tomato sauce garnished with caper berries.

The fish had a lovely brown crust and was tender and moist inside. Although the sauce was intensely flavorful and very tasty, it overpowered the subtle fish, as did the caper berry garnish, which is best left as decoration. We would have liked to soak up the sauce with some bread, but there was none. We learned too late that bread, though not routinely served, is available upon request.

Knowing that the season for fresh stone fruit is ending, we couldn’t pass up the baked peach and plum cobbler with oatmeal crumble topping and dolce de leche ice cream.

Kudos to Platt for solving the problem of soggy cobbler crust! He bakes the topping separately and crumbles it over the cooked fruit. It was an absolutely marvelous, buttery-crunchy rendition combined with lightly sweetened chunks of fruit and accompanied by a dollop of ice cream.

Ice cream features prominently in several desserts, including a root beer float, a Trio of Dr. Bob’s ice creams and a warm apple tart with caramel sauce and a scoop on the side. There is also a chocolate crème brulée and a mascarpone cheesecake.

Good taste and good tastes make Tabu Grill one of Laguna’s dining pleasures.MARK DUSTIN / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)The seared rare Pacific yellowfin tuna with shrimp, calamari and pineapple rice and dashi-ponzu sauce is one of the menu favorites at Tabu Grill. The restaurant is open for dinner seven days a week. 20051118imh5ognc(LA)20051118imh5ntnc(LA)20051118iq2rgaknMARK DUSTIN / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)The seared rare Pacific yellowfin tuna with shrimp, calamari and pineapple rice and dashi-ponzu sauce is one of the menu favorites at Tabu Grill. The restaurant is open for dinner seven days a week.