THE GOSSIPING GOURMET: You can call it ‘coastal cuisine’

Looking for a new restaurant in Laguna? What about Savoury’s? No, no, you protest, that’s not new. Actually, it is — they just haven’t changed the name yet, but it will soon be called K’ya, which means “diamonds in the sky.”

Eight months ago, La Casa Del Camino hotel purchased the restaurant located off its lobby that was previously owned by Savoury’s catering company.

The new chef, Craig Connole, comes to Laguna from Hawaii via Las Vegas with a completely redesigned menu that might be called Coastal Cuisine — a blend of Hawaiian, Mediterranean and California cookery. For example, consider the appetizer menu with such offerings as Maui style beef ribs, Mediterranean pizza and an artisan cheese plate.

The room itself may look familiar since it has not been changed, reminiscent of a colonial villa with its Spanish arches, heavy ruby red velvet drapes and yellow ochre walls.

In our opinion, the best seats in the house are next to the wall of windows under the arches. There is an eat-in bar at one end of the main dining room and a roof top lounge with a lovely ocean view where appetizers and salads are available. This outdoor venue seems to be quite the happening place, especially during the summer.

Nibbling on ciabatta bread with pesto butter, we found ourselves faced with a tough choice. All the appetizers sounded quite appealing, and if you have the same trouble deciding, there is a sampler platter that would probably make a meal by itself.

The two appetizers that we ordered and the ones we saw on neighboring tables were quite generous in size. They were also really delicious. Someone in your party just has to order the calamari. It was one of the best versions of this very ubiquitous menu item that we have ever encountered.

First and foremost, with fried calamari, it’s the quality of the crust, and this one’s a winner. It’s done in the battered style, slightly heavier but with incomparable crunch and no greasiness. These calamari were glazed with a sweet and spicy Thai sauce, rather than served with a dip.

They were uniquely presented in a large bowl accompanied by sprouts, shredded carrots, cilantro, green onions and peanuts. Our server then asked if we wanted it all tossed together, which we certainly did. The combination of flavors and textures was irresistible. Even though we shared one order, it was too much to eat, although we made a serious dent in it. We kept saying, “This is my last piece,” but it never was.

Our second selection was the Mediterranean Pizza. The thin crust was infused with pesto and piled high with a cornucopia of Mediterranean ingredients: feta, olives, capers, red onions, roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.

Every bite provided complex bursts of flavor carried to the mouth on a memorable crust, unlike any we have tasted. It was dense and chewy and at the same time thin and crispy: another star for us from The Clean Plate Club.

You might also be tempted by the grilled spicy garlic and herb shrimp with papaya salad and Chardonnay lemongrass butter; the grilled, petite lamb chops with hoisin coconut glaze; or the grilled lobster and Portobello mushroom with caramelized onions in pesto cream sauce.

There are several salads all of which include cheese, fruit and nuts. There is one soup of the day. On this particular evening, it was a tomato and roasted pepper puree that smelled divine as it passed us by.

Among the Coastal Cuisine themed entrées were the Island hibachi salmon with spicy coconut sauce; the Italian spicy penne and sausage in a tomato cream sauce; and the California rib eye steak with gorgonzola cheese gratin, grilled shrimp and caramelized onions (a contemporary surf ‘n turf).

Our entrée, which we shared because we were already so full from the abundant appetizers, was the grilled mahi-mahi with a macadamia nut crust in a lemon, honey butter cream sauce.

Although the sauce was excellent and we really appreciated the use of the more flavorful brown rather than white rice, we were disappointed with the fish. It was surprising that a chef from Hawaii would be satisfied with fish of such ordinary quality.

The piece was cut thin and served slightly overcooked; it tasted as though it might have been frozen. Meat eaters can dine on tournedos in port wine sauce, a pork prime rib with Calvados glaze or a Kobe beef burger. Poultry choices are represented by a duck leg confit in black truffle sauce or by the grilled chicken and shrimp in red Thai curry sauce.

The warm berry cobbler wasn’t really a cobbler at all but a lovely little mini-pie. It made a pretty presentation with a Chinese soupspoon full of vanilla macadamia nut ice cream and a scattering of fresh berries on the side. The little pie was made of delicate soft dough, enclosing a generous mixture of blackberries and blueberries, then topped with a sprinkling of brown sugar crumble.

They also serve the seemingly mandatory molten chocolate cake, in this case with cappuccino crunch ice cream and chocolate sauce. The berries re-appear with the marscapone cheesecake and a selection of ice creams and sorbets, as well as crème brulée, round out the dessert menu.

We are looking forward to reporting to you on the rooftop lounge menu in the near future. We may be a bit over the hill for the happening coastal singles scene but never too old for the beautiful coastal scenery and the tasty coastal cuisine.

Elle Harrow and Terry Markowitz owned a la Carte for 20 years and can be reached at [email protected].