CAPRICCIO SAYS 'ITALIAN' SO WELL.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

Giuseppe Bellisario has gone back to his roots. And wisely so.

The onetime Scandia maitre d' who, along with several top Italian restaurateurs around Los Angeles, graduated to U.S. shores from dining-room food service on Italian liners, operated several well-known Italian cafes and ristorantes locally. Chief among them was Giuseppe on Beverly Boulevard (now called Atlantic) and Caffe Giuseppe in Northridge, since closed.

He is now the co-owner of Capriccio, subtitled Italian Trattoria, in Encino. This is the same place where Bellisario and his family had worked hard, struggling with a seafood restaurant they named Wave.

It's back to square one for the veteran restaurateur. He now knows how fierce the competition can be, how humbling the day-to-day operation of a restaurant is on Ventura Boulevard's restaurant row.

With competent Tuscan chef Gabriele Tani in the kitchen, Bellisario watches his revitalized restaurant draw attention with its new, down-to- earth personality characterized by bright, old-fashioned, red-check tablecloths.

It doesn't take long for diners to realize that their bucks will go a lot further here than before.

In fact, the immediate suggestion of moderate-to-low pricing comes to the fore merely by a quick scanning of the wine list. A very pleasant bottle of Italian red from Antinori, a fruity, amenable '97 Santa Cristina blend of sangiovese and merlot, costs only $17. And in tiny print it says that the corkage fee is a mere $3. I counted at least 25 wines on the list ticketed under $20 - a restaurant rarity indeed.

Pick one of those inexpensive wines by the glass or bottle and order a garlicky serving of mussels and clams in a lilting tomato broth ($6.50 or $7.95). It's an absolute delight with Capriccio's good crunchy bread. And that's after you've had your share of the same bread generously smeared with the complimentary olive pesto dip brought to every table.

If you're in a beefy starting mood, the carpaccio ($8.50) here comes with correct thinness but offers more substance than most versions, with the addition of arugula and mushrooms.

There's also an excellent salad that's big enough to share before a main course at dinner time, or enjoy as a refreshing luncheon entree. It's labeled insalata flamminga on the menu, and at $5.95 at lunchtime it's a filling melange of radicchio and endive leaves torn small and mixed with pungent gorgonzola and crunchy walnuts, perfect with its leafy bitterness offset by the sweetish balsamic dressing.

Pastas at Capriccio are handled with respect and skill by chef Tani.

His gnocchi ($7) are puffy, feathery pillows of potato dough, buoyant in a lively tomato sauce.

His penne possess al dente firmness, cooked in the traditional manner - to the tooth - without being brittle. They do well in a pinkish light cream sauce with the Maine lobster ($18), plucked live out of the tank that can be seen in the dining room.

There's wonderfully moist tenderness to the generous chicken breast in piquant lemon sauce ($8.95), and the pounded Milanese chicken breast ($8.95) retains a lightness despite its necessary breading.

Most of the time, nicely cooked spinach and savory roasted potatoes accompany entrees. These accompaniments with a properly wrought piece of swordfish ($13.95) one night not only were well received at that time but traveled well enough as leftovers to be enjoyed a day later.

A New York steak ($14) came up as ordered but was somewhat overwhelmed by the rich, creamy mushroom sauce ladled over it. Though it's comforting to see such generous portioning, it would have made sense to request the sauce on the side with this dish.

Generally, Capriccio brings forth some pretty good Italian food, especially considering its prices.

The friendly gestures at this trattoria-type restaurant may include a digestif of Sambuca or Amaretto with a meal, along with a guy filling the room with Italian melodies - perhaps with a slightly loud echo chamber - but reminiscent of some of those charming trattorias in the lakeside resorts of Northern Italy.

Now if only Ventura Boulevard was a lake instead of a thoroughfare ...

Well, we can dream, can't we?

THE FACTS

--The restaurant: Capriccio Italian Trattoria.

--Where: 16925 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

--When: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, for dinner only from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday and from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

--Behind the scenes: Giuseppe Bellisario and Giuliano Gallo are co-owners. Gabriele Tani is chef.

--Recommended items: Mussels and clams sauteed with garlic and tomato sauce, radicchio and endive salad with walnuts and gorgonzola cheese, beef carpaccio with mushrooms and arugula, pasta with lobster, gnocchi with tomato-basil sauce, chicken breast in lemon sauce, New York steak with mushroom cream sauce, Milan-style pounded and breaded chicken breast, swordfish with spinach and roasted potatoes.

--How much: Starters from $3.50 to $10, pastas and entrees from $7 to $18, desserts from $3.50 to $5. Full bar. All major credit cards.

--Wine list: The smallish selection, an addendum to the menu, brings familiar labels - many of them under $20 - to the table, appropriately priced to the food. Consequently, patrons are not likely to leave the restaurant with a bill jacked up by high wine prices. Corkage: $3.

--Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

--Our rating: 3 stars for food; 3 1/2 stars for service; 3 stars for wine.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Co-owners Giuliano Gallo (pictured) and Giuseppe Bellisario match their reasonable prices with great food at Capriccio Italian Trattoria.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

(Box: THE FACTS (see text)