ATARI FOUNDER ROLLS OUT NEW GAMES FOR ADULTS AT HIS BISTRO UWINK NIGHTSPOT MIXES FOOD, FUN.

Byline: JULIA M. SCOTT Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS -- Nolan Bushnell, inventor of Atari video games and Chuck E. Cheese's, is known for his futuristic imagination.

But his latest creation goes back in time.

Bushnell's restaurant and bar uWink, opening today at the Westfield Promenade, focuses on two primal needs: food and fun.

``From the earliest caveman, food has been part of it,'' said Bushnell, 63, as uWink employees whizzed around him. ``Before computers, entertainment was chanting, drumming, sports and storytelling.''

Now, the experience is delivered via cutting-edge technology.

Customers order food and drink on touch-screen computers built into their tables. Diners who want extra cheese on their pizza or a sandwich sans mustard can modify their order via the computer, which also makes cocktail recommendations based on a personality quiz.

While waiting for meals, customers can play games on the table computers. The games are not free, but diners earn credits as their tab rises. If folks just want to play games, rates vary between $3 and $8 an hour.

Bushnell poured $10 million into creating 72 games for uWink, and he knows just how much he needs to get out of each person who walks in the door to make the nightspot viable.

Bushnell's concept has interested many in the restaurant business, said analyst Randall Hiatt of the consulting firm Fessel International in Costa Mesa.

``He's a very innovative guy, and he's sort of pushing the edge,'' Hiatt said. ``If you look at the items individually, they've all been tried. It's the combination that's new.''

Bushnell bristles at the suggestion that uWink is an adult version of Chuck E. Cheese's or similar to the restaurant chain Dave & Buster's, which has arcade games.

``This is a social experience, not a game experience,'' Bushnell said.

If the traditional sports bar appeals to men, uWink aims to attract women.

The on-screen entertainment eschews the violence of electronic gaming for diversions that reward pop-culture hounds.

``Zillionaire'' resembles the game show ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'' In ``Survey,'' diners are polled for their favorite television show or movie during the past week. ``Comedy'' offers a brief reel of up-and-coming jokesters, and ``The Dish'' shares bits of celebrity gossip.

Projectors shine slow-moving shots of dewey petals and intricate geometric patterns around the restaurant, which seats 160 and has a ministage for trivia nights.

The menu includes lightly fried tuna sushi rolls with avocado and green onion for $6.95, tangy shrimp pizza with a sourdough crust for $11.95, and three pulled-pork miniburgers for $8.25.

For the less adventurous, uWink serves a Cobb salad for $10.50, mac and cheese for $9.25 and a turkey club for $9.75.

Runners, not waiters, bring out the food.

Bushnell chose the Woodland Hills location because two successful restaurants are there and because the AMC 16 movie theater draws thousands. In coming months he hopes to open two to three more locations.

julia.scott(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

IF YOU GO

uWink

Westfield Promenade

6100 Topanga Canyon

Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight

Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)