A NEW LINQ TO SOME FINE CUISINE.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

Mario Oliver, a club and restaurant entrepreneur who, some years ago, made the gossip columns as the boyfriend du jour of Princess Stephanie of Monaco, has come up with another L.A. restaurant hit called Linq.

Oliver first drew crowds of young dancers downtown to a club called Vertigo. He later attracted a hip, slightly more mature and semi-sophisticated clientele of diners to a restaurant named Tryst. Now he moves up to the 30- and 40-something set as his customer base for Linq.

Oliver certainly knows how to grab attention. Forget normal signage here. Instead of the name, a metallic male statue juts out from below his restaurant's roofline and above its doorway holding a large flashlight that beams down onto the sidewalk, dramatically silhouetting the name ``Linq'' at the very feet of incoming patrons.

Other than the parking valet's stand and a small inscription on the left wall by the doorway, that's it as far as a sign goes.

Once inside, newcomers discover an engaging, multi-textured environment of black marble brickwork, domed skylight, waterfall, columns, arches, mirrors, rare woods, even a steel mesh curtain.

Oliver combines his clever, flowing, Dodd Mitchell-designed interior with the appealing contemporary cooking of Andre Guerrero.

Familiar to San Fernando Valley restaurant-goers, Chef Guerrero may be remembered from Glendale's Cafe Le Monde, Alice's in Malibu, Brio in Tarzana, Duet in Glendale (which he owned) and other well-known local culinary venues.

His trademark soy-glazed Chilean sea bass ($19.75) is once again a featured menu item.

He has this dish down pat. Guerrero uses sweet rice wine (mirin) to balance the saltiness of the soy, adds a hint of spicy heat with wasabi-flavored mashed potatoes and boosts the overall recipe with a piquant Thai-influenced sauce made with lemongrass and cilantro.

And he arranges it all very handsomely on the plate.

His best meat dish is probably the straightforward filet mignon ($28), delivered thick and juicy with thin pommes frites, garlic spinach and a porcini-cabernet sauce.

Starters worth noting are Guerrero's full-flavored roasted vegetable soup ($6.50) and crab cakes with corn relish ($9.75). He double-treats ahi tuna fans with a sashimi and tartare combo appetizer ($9.75) and does a good job with scallops ($9.75) that he sears in a wok, spikes with yuzu and chiles, and serves up with oyster mushrooms and seaweed.

His seafood risotto ($17.50) passes muster, and Moroccan chicken ($15.50) is a menu standout, but whole fried catfish ($17.50) came up rather overdone one time.

Pastry chef Jan Purdy scores with a glitzy chestnut-studded version of baked Alaska ($8.50) and a more traditional apple galette tart ($6.50).

Service overall appears knowledgeable and attentive.

Mario Oliver's newest venture should be around for some time. Which means we won't have to worry about any missing Linq.

LINQ

Where: 8338 W. Third St., Los Angeles.

When: Open for dinner only from 6 to 1:30 p.m. nightly.

Behind the scenes: Chef is Andre Guerrero. Pastry chef is Jan Purdy. Owner is Mario Oliver.

Recommended items: Roasted vegetable soup, seared scallops, ahi tuna sashimi and tartare, crab cakes, spinach or beet salads, Chilean sea bass, Moroccan chicken, filet mignon, chestnut baked Alaska, apple galette.

How much: Starters from $6.50 to $9.75, entrees from $13.50 to $28, desserts $6.50 and $8.50. Full bar. Major credit cards.

Wine list: Impressive, properly vintage-dated list of more than 250 wines offers only five under $30 (lowest is Mondavi's Woodbridge white zin for $21). Emphasis on top-growth Bordeaux (magnum of '66 Lafite-Rothschild is $2,385). No bargains. Corkage $15.

Reservations: Needed. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three and one half stars for food; three and one half stars for service; three stars for wine.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Wok-seared scallops with seaweed, oyster mushrooms, lime and chiles are a standout at Mario Oliver's Linq.

(2) Linq Pastry chef Jan Purdy's desserts include a raspberry almond Frangipane tart.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News