RESTAURANT REVIEW:

It is my desire to want to like Harpoon Harry’s. It is the closest restaurant to my dwelling, and I have many great memories of writing short stories there while sipping vodka and 7 Ups, with a cigar in my hand.

The clam chowder there was to die for, and many nights I would order a cup of it. The rich, New England style version is so creamy and flavorful that I could usually be satisfied with that and the sourdough bread for dinner.

When I would eat in the dining room, however, the service was so intolerably slow that I had a hard time recommending it to anyone.

My neighbors have been going there for years and raved about it. I said, “What about the service? It’s atrocious.”

They assured me it has improved greatly, and I agreed to go with them to dinner on a random weeknight.

The nautical-themed restaurant is across the street from Captain Jack’s, and both places have been Sunset Beach institutions for years.

Each has different strengths going for it. You want crab legs, go to Captain Jack’s. You want clam chowder, and a bigger menu, go to Harpoon Harry’s.

The range of entrees is wider at Harpoon Harry’s. There are more chef specialties alone than the entire menu at Captain Jack’s.

There is more inventiveness here as well. The stuffed pork chops are a classic example of the facility’s imagination. They are double-gone, thick-cut pieces of meat with a stuffing that is herb-based.

Another good dish is the crab-stuffed fresh salmon. The filet is bulging with crab and baked, and the combination of the two was so good I could have eaten two more.

The variety of fish and how it is prepared is evident here as well. In addition to any specials the restaurant has, there are nine pieces of fresh fish available. They prepare the fish three ways: grilled, blackened or oven herb crusted. I would recommend the grilling for the more delicate pieces, such as mahi mahi or salmon. The thicker fishes — swordfish or halibut — I would get blackened. The oven herb crusted works for most of the nine choices, but especially well with the Chilean sea bass or Ono.

On this evening, we were seated in the dining room next to a healthy-sized aquarium, the swimming tropical fish darting about. Though the restaurant is on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway, there are no views of the water. Instead it has the feel of eating in a yacht’s galley. The lighting is soft and the room is quiet, making for a relaxed experience.

We scanned the 19-item appetizer menu, which has some pretty hearty samplers. I don’t know if I would qualify a rack of barbecue ribs as an appetizer, but they are worth trying because the hickory sauce used is especially good.

I have tried the crab cakes and liked them, and the prawn cocktail is good, but with five large prawns it could easily be a meal.

I hadn’t tried the lobster bisque, as I usually pine away for the clam chowder, but I spurned the chowder and chose the bisque. It is very good, creamy, the way it should be and there are ample bits of lobster.

My choice for an entrée was the lobster and prawn fettuccine. It is a 6-ounce lobster with two large prawns and al dente-cooked broccoli with fettuccine in a garlic butter sauce. It was an incredibly tasty dish and well worth the $25.95 I paid for it.

That is one of three pasta dishes offered. The other two are a linguine and clams with either red or white sauce and a seafood linguine that has shrimp, scallops and clams.

While my food was predictably enjoyable, the service was surprisingly better. Our waitress had been there for years and was very personable. It didn’t hurt that she has waited on my neighbors before, but I noticed she treated all the tables in her area the same way.

That reassured me, and my opinion of the service has changed. It appears to have become as reliable as the cuisine.

ADDRESS: 16821 Pacific Coast Hwy., Sunset Beach

PHONE: (562) 592-5216

CUISINE: seafood

SPECIALTY DISH: Any one of the four surf and turf dinners

ALCOHOL SERVED: full bar

DRESS: casual

FAMILY FRIENDLY: yes

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa

RATING: *** out of 4

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants for the Independent.