DINING OUT : BREWPUB EXCELS WITH FOOD, BUT BEERS NEED A LITTLE WORK.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

At most brewery restaurants, you'd expect to be wary about the food because the emphasis is on a certain foamy beverage.

But the spacious new GlenCastle in Glendale sets the pace with surprisingly good food. Conversely, we hope the house-brewed efforts will improve along the way.

The policy of offering several excellent guest tap beers (glass $3.25, pint $4) such as Paulaner Hefe-Weizen and Whitbread Ale is a wise one, for it will allow the brewery to achieve its potential gradually.

Of the house brews tried (glass $2.50, pint $3) the best was a wheat beer, which had clean, distinct flavoring and a resounding fresh quality.

Others, a brown ale, a pub ale and a cream-style brew, offered unusual bouquets and tastes, touches of muskiness and hints of unwelcome veggie and herbal accents.

As for what comes out of the kitchen, forget everyday pubfare, this is, for the most part, really tasty, skillfully cooked stuff.

And no wonder. The man behind the stove, Graham Wilcox, boasts impressive credits from both Postrio and Spago.

The Wilcox touch works best on a Tuscan-style, baked tomato soup ($3.95) topped with pastry and served in a crock-style bowl.

Not only is the serving enough for a lunch meal in itself, but the herbal flavors and thick, steaming liquid impart immense satisfaction.

On a more complex plane, a cioppino ($10.95) priced moderately, but chock full of clams, scallops, mussels, squid and chunks of white bass in an herbal tomato broth has the unusual quality of a fair portion of rice in each bowl, giving the dish more heft and substance.

Two more soups, a very creamy clam chowder ($3.75) boosted with corn and potato, and a smooth black bean and salsa soup ($2.95) that came up a mite tepid, denote the kitchen's seriousness.

Of the several salad options, the most impressive may well be the Italian rice salad ($7.95) with moist, grilled strips of chicken breast.

This tasty salad mixture (also available in half-size for $4.25) contains artichoke hearts, capers, plum tomatoes and basil tossed with warm rice in a lemon-balsamic vinegar dressing and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

To those who drink beer with sushi at sushi bars, it makes perfect sense to pair these brews with a marinated ahi tuna sashimi plate ($7.25).

Wilcox soaks his raw tuna in a ginger and soy marinade and serves the slices attractively circled around a dollop of rice with a greens garnish.

He also makes a fine filet of grilled Chilean seabass ($12.95) in a creamy pepper and cilantro sauce, which at lunch includes a Caesar salad (both dishes $8.95).

However, a build-your-own hamburger ($6.95 plus $1.25 for a trio of toppings) was overcooked and dry one evening. And the bacon on it was salty.

As for his chicken in pastry ($8.95), it's heart-poundingly rich, a mega-creamy, cheesy concoction. Doubtful you would follow it with the house cheesecake ($3.95), a pretty good effort served soft and warm, that goes well with the peach honey wheat beer from Rhino Chasers, one of GlenCastle's guest beers.

THE FACTS Photo The restaurant: GlenCastle Brewery & Restaurant.

Where: 214 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

When: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, for dinner from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 4:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, for late appetizers one hour later.

Recommended items: Polynesian poki sashimi, New England clam chowder, pastry-topped baked Tuscan tomato soup, Italian rice salad with grilled chicken breast, California cioppino, grilled seabass with cream pepper cilantro sauce, New York cheesecake, house wheat beer.

How much: Starters from $3 to $8, pastas and pizzas from $7.25 to $9.50, entrees and burgers from $7 to $14, desserts $3.95 and $4.25. Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Beer list: Usually four house brews and half a dozen guest drafts (from $2.50 to $4). Also eight wines by the glass ($3 to $4.75) or bottle ($12 to $20).

Reservations: Helpful, especially on weekends. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three stars for food; three stars for service; two stars for beer.