EL PATIO ANDALUZ REFRESHING.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

It's as cool and fresh-looking as a tall glass of cold sangria.

A veritable culinary oasis on an otherwise dreary stretch of Topanga Canyon Boulevard in West Hills, El Patio Andaluz introduces its brand-new, striking white-and-red dining room as colorful as Spain, the country it represents gastronomically.

Here you can drop in on a hot summer day, slide into a creamy white-vinyl booth at a table topped in snow-white and bright-red linen, enjoy the air-conditioned coolness aided by several smart, white ceiling fans, and order a copita of chilled fino-style dry white manzanilla sherry for $1.50 while you check out the Spanish menu.

As you glance at the tapas list of ``small bites'' that are usually substantial enough to share with a dining companion, you'll notice the dazzling white-polka-dot-on-red cafe curtains and a lower arrangement of a bright red and white striped hanging fabric. Spanish guitar music wafts through the room continuously.

A basket of good, warmed crunchy rolls comes to the table and, if your tapas order has been taken, the mini-platters of nifty nibbles start rolling out.

Slices of manchego cheese ($4.95) and curls of prosciuttolike serrano ham ($6) are the simple and effective cold plates. And a significant suggestion: No tapas order should exclude the tortilla Espanola ($4) of pie-style wedges of the traditional cakelike potato and egg omelet served cold.

As for the warmer stuff, wonderful marinated and sauteed baby squid called ``chipirones'' ($6) are a real treat here and probably the best item on the tapas list.

Of the various sausage (chorizo) dishes, the most satisfying may well be those cooked in sherry and served in a skillet.

Gazpacho ($4.25), originated in Andaluz, lives up to its roots at this namesake cafe. The Andalusian chilled soup has perfect consistency and the remembered flavors of those more-subtle gazpachos experienced in Spain. At El Patio, it's served with a side plate of finely chopped tomato, onion and green pepper as separate condiment additions per individual preference, much like it's done in Spain.

Of course, Spain's national dish, paella, is the specialty of the house. Here it comes in the classic drier form in all its yellow saffroned glory in a proper paella pan. In the evening for dinner it'll cost you a moderate $12 tab.

Or you can order it at lunchtime, served on a dinner plate, basically a sampling, displaying perhaps a single mussel and a lonely clam plus several pieces of shrimp for $7.50, but still a fair-sized portion for a noon meal.

One of the most interesting dishes at El Patio Andaluz is the bacalao. Cod is still not a great seller here even as English fish and chips, though it enjoyed the limelight briefly as an entree trend about a year ago.

Bacalao in Spain usually means salted cod. Here, it is, thankfully, not really salty at all. However, the Canadian cod used doesn't appear to be as tender as the version enjoyed in Barcelona a few years ago.

However, its tomato saucing is quite pleasant and the fish arrives nicely presented in a skilletlike ceramic bowl topped with appropriate soft potato shoestrings.

There are a few beef dishes on the introductory menu, one chicken item and a red snapper recipe. Chef Jaime Verdugo likes to use sherry and/or brandy in his cooking, which is fine with me. According to manager-host and co-owner Luis Gomez, a number of menu improvements will be made in the next few weeks, including some price reductions.

Wines to date are all Spanish, few in number, not overly expensive and certainly worth a try.

Just like El Patio Andaluz itself.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: El Patio Andaluz.

Where: 7257 Topanga Canyon Blvd., West Hills.

When: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily except Sunday, for dinner from 6 to 11 p.m. nightly except Sunday.

Recommended items: Paella Valenciana, gazpacho, bacalao (cod), tortilla Espanola, chorizo al vino, chipirones (baby calamari), manchego cheese, serrano ham, Southern Spanish bread pudding.

How much: Appetizers (tapas) from $3.50 to $7 each, entrees from $12 to $18, desserts from $2.50 to $3.75. (Revised menu with lower prices starts Monday.) Beer and wine. All major credit cards except AE.

Wine list: Small list offers glasses of Spanish house wines (dry or sweet) from $1.50 to $3.50, about a dozen bottles of white, red or sparkling from $13 to $30 with pleasant Rioja reds as low as $16.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three Stars for food; Two and One Half Stars for service; Two and One Half Stars for wine.

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Photo

Photo: El Patio Andaluz co-owner Luis Gomez and chef Jaime Verdugo hold Paella Valenciana. The menu features a wide array of other Spanish specialties.

Phil McCarten/Daily News