A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET NEW MOORPARK RESTAURANT A TERRACED TREAT AT DAY'S END.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

A couple of ex-waiters and a chef have joined together in a noble, independent effort in the deep 'burbs of Moorpark, resulting in a neat, casual and comfortable shopping center restaurant called Sunset Terrace.

The corner site has full-length glass windows and an outside terrace - hence the name - that presumably shows off Southern California sunsets on a clear day.

I can't confirm this because two visits were made at nonsunset times.

But the restaurant is cool and airy inside, sporting a green and buff theme, the green in carpeting and booth and seat upholstery, the buff from the array of wooden-backed chairs.

The contemporary American kitchen shows strong Italian influences with good house-baked focaccia, plenty of pastas, a minestrone soup and a chicken piccata entree.

But interestingly, there are also Asian touches (potstickers, eggrolls) and some Cajun and chile inspirations here and there in the fare.

The most discernible problem with the food appears to be a tendency to try too hard, resulting in recipes that could use some simplification, particularly pastas that might be more effective with less-pronounced saucing.

Smoked chicken ravioli ($10.25), for example, arrives so enveloped in a creamy green pesto sauce, it's almost impossible to detect any smoky flavor in the chicken stuffing in each circular raviolo.

But admittedly, the tastes are good, the ravioli possess the right texture, and that's important.

A similar occurrence with chicken piccata ($11.75) in a well-creamed white wine, lemon, caper and parsley sauce points out that this dish might elicit more pleasure with a thinner sauce of a tad more subtlety.

In other words, a lighter hand in some instances could be the way to go.

One of the popular specials is the Creole pasta ($11.75) of linguini with blackened chicken, crawfish, onions, bell peppers and mushrooms in a Creole cream sauce. Lots of flavor in this yellow-toned dish and, despite the description, not quite as overwhelming sauce-wise as the ravioli and piccata offerings.

In the starter category, half a dozen pan-fried chicken potstickers ($7.25) in a candy-sweet and spicy chile sauce provide a worthy beginning, while two salads ($2.75 with entree) and a couple of soups are passable. But both soups leave question marks.

The seafood chowder ($5.50) promised in the menu as having fresh shrimp, scallops, salmon and clams in a creamy tomato broth has excellent taste, lots of salmon, but no discernible scallops, shrimp or clams showed up in the serving at our table one day.

When advised of this, our waiter assured us that our missing seafood items were indeed in the kitchen's pot of soup.

It must have needed a stirring. Guess we were just unlucky.

As for the minestrone ($4.50), it's merely a passable effort that could use fewer mushy pasta shells.

No complaints, though, about the house mixed green and Caesar salad renditions and the properly cooked halibut ($17.60) entree in a caper- sprinkled tomato and crawfish sauce. Ditto for the fair-priced, grilled New York steak ($16.75), spiked with chile-flavored butter, correctly cooked to order.

I've had better racks of lamb, but the baked Sunset Terrace version ($17.25) and its mint-infused reduction manages to pass muster.

By adding gratifying portions of chive mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables to these main courses, there's surely enough satisfaction to warrant return visits by locals.

As for endings, it's worthwhile waiting a few extra minutes for the warmed chocolate tart ($5.25) that spills out in a melty chocolate flow and has a scoop of vanilla ice cream and artistic daubs of strawberry sauce to enhance dessert pleasure.

There's also a tasty hot apple puff pastry creation ($5.25) for those who believe there's more to life than chocolate.

Which could also mean an entire meal on the terrace at sunset on a nice day at this ambitious new restaurant in Moorpark.

SUNSET TERRACE

Food: Two stars. Wine: Two stars. Service: Three stars.

Where: 4227 Tierra Rejada Road, Moorpark.

Hours: Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, for dinner 5:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Recommended items: House salad, chicken potstickers, Creole pasta, halibut, New York steak, hot apple puff, warm chocolate tart.

How much: Beer and wine. AE, MC, V.

Wine list: The two-page list of 36 wines runs from $15 (four labels) per bottle to $140 (Dom Perignon) with eight priced under $20; 16 wines by the glass range from $4 to $8 each. No vintage dates. Corkage: $5. Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

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Photo:

(1 -- 2) A bow-tie pasta dish, top, is one of many Italian-accented dishes at the cool and casual Sunset Terrace in Moorpark. Also on the menu is rack of lamb with a mint-infused reduction, chive mashed potatoes and steamed veggies.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News