The Gossiping Gourmet:

Mesa snuck into Costa Mesa at the Camp a few years back with no sign and no phone number, operating as an exclusive venue for the cognoscenti to drink and dine. Once the owners realized that keeping your existence a secret might not be the best formula for staying in business, they went public.

Now there’s a sign out front, a map on the website and a published telephone number. The original chef is gone, but he has left behind the small-plate concept. Taking over is the entire staff from the now-defunct restaurant Aire, Mesa’s former neighbor in the Camp. Michael Doutt, in his first executive chef position, is turning out some inventive and wonderful new dishes to keep both the lounge set and serious diners happy.

Entering this big, unadorned box off the parking lot, you can’t imagine what you’ll find inside. As you walk down the passageway to the entrance, you’ll discover yourself transported into a beautifully designed modern space filled with natural elements like slatted wood panels and a mini-jungle behind the reception desk.

The dining room is a large high-ceilinged room with a retractable roof in the center. One entire wall is an actual hedge of natural greenery. The space is divided into several areas. A dramatic eat-in bar runs the length of the room.

On one side, under the towering ceiling, is a lounge area with low stools and tables, and above them on two walls are screens showing movies without sound that function as décor and art. Two dining areas are on either side of the room with some leather booths and low banquettes. A natural wood motif predominates. Two fireplaces add to the ambience.

As handsome as the room is and as happening as the scene may be, the real attraction here is the food. The menu is divided into appetizers, mains, ground-to-order burgers, sausages, pizzas and sides.

The fabulous cast-iron skillet mussels were on the appetizer menu, but could easily have been an entrée. We shared them and fought over every one because we both agreed they were the best mussels either of us had ever eaten. These large bivalves were unusually plump, juicy and sweet, but that was only half the story.

It was the preparation that made them extraordinary. They were roasted in sea salt, pepper and butter in a cast-iron skillet, and they had a unique slightly smoky taste as if they had been finished in the pizza oven. In any case, they left us punch drunk with pleasure as we soaked up the remaining juices with pieces of their very good sourdough French baguette.

These jaded food writers couldn’t imagine anything better after this, but we were mistaken.

Pizza mavens are divided into thin crust, thick crust and deep-dish camps. This evening we joined the first.

Mesa’s style is the thin-crust type, in fact the thinnest: it was actually translucent in places. We both had a moment of disconnect when we picked it up because it was so light and it didn’t bend. It was crispy, with an airy texture, and yet it had all the flavor of good dough, not cracker bread. The topping was mascarpone mixed with mozzarella, covered with crispy porcini mushrooms and seasoned with garlic, fleur de sel and truffle oil. Porcini mushrooms glossed with truffle oil made this pizza a little bit of heaven.

From the main menu, we selected prawns in paper. The portion was more like a large appetizer with five shrimp and about a cup of pasta. The shrimp was baked en papillote, which was broken open at the table and added to the bowl of papardelle and sauce. The wide pasta noodles were perfectly al dente, while the chili, garlic butter and white wine sauce was light and flavorful with just a bit of bite. The shrimp were just ordinary and a bit over-salted.

To accompany them, we ordered the tempura-style green beans from the appetizer menu rather than the side dish of healthier steamed ones; after all, there’s not much to say about plain green beans. The tempura batter was thin and light in the best Japanese manner, and the beans arrived piping hot and extra crunchy. The only disappointment was the dipping sauces. The soy was too strong for the delicate tempura, and the sweet hot one was a little too thin and acidic.

One of the desserts is called the “after-school special,” which is a peanut butter bread pudding with a malted milkshake. In keeping with the “kiddie” theme are the sugar doughnuts served with whipped cream, crème fraiche and fruit jam. We went for the chocolate pudding cake with a salted, chocolate crumb crust. Although exceedingly rich, it was not overly sweet, but the quality of the chocolate left something to be desired.

If you’re not here to “make the scene,” we would recommend you come on a weeknight or early in the evening on weekends. It would be a great place for pre-theater dining.

Mesa

What: Mesa

Where: 725 Baker St., Costa Mesa

When: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Regular menu from 6 to 11 p.m.; late-night menu until 1 a.m.

Prices: Appetizers $6 to $14, entrées $10 to $23, desserts $8 to $10

Wine: Bottles $28 to $130; by the glass $8 to $11; corkage fee $20

Contact: (714) 557-6700

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years and can be reached at themarkos755@yahoo.com.