GREAT CALZONE, BUT THE PASTA HASTA IMPROVE.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

Bacio Trattoria in Calabasas offers attractive design and decor, without a doubt.

Unfortunately, the food is more uneven.

Some of the kitchen's efforts make you want to sing its praises from the red tile rooftops of nearby palatial residences.

Other times, you wonder whether it's even worth returning.

The looks and smells are inviting. Through a full-view window at the rear of the cafe, chefs busily prepare the fare.

And with its dark, rich woods, mirrors, old photos, turn-of-the-century-style light fixtures and ceiling fans, plus deli cases displaying alluring trays of antipasti items, it stimulates the senses, causing them to quickly tingle with anticipation.

Things may start off well with a generously portioned house minestrone ($3.50) that comes in a deep white, oversize bowl. It's pleasantly thick with vegetables, a satisfying soup.

Ditto for a hearty Tuscan-style white bean soup ($3.75) with pancetta and a Parmesan cheese-topped crostini.

A basket of thick, tasty rectangles of the house focaccia also suggests there are good things to come.

And both a pine nut-topped torte of layered polenta with gorgonzola, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto ($6.95) and a dozen steamed black mussels ($6.95) in a spicy wine and tomato broth join the welcoming act.

But pastas range from ordinary to disappointing. And it's a pity that the house's featured beef dish, top sirloin Tommaso ($13.95), arrives with shriveled bits of meat, some fatty or gristly pieces among them, in a dish of otherwise relatively good smells and tastes.

Service is spotty, too. A soup that had been served tepid had to be returned for more heat one time. And a pasta that needed additional saucing was almost forgotten altogether, leaving one diner waiting for food when everyone else at the table had finished.

As for those pastas, fettuccine Bolognese ($7.95) is passable, but spaghetti aglio e olio ($6.95) loses its moisture, as does an angel hair with basil and tomato ($7.95) effort.

Also, chicken piccata ($10.50) could have been juicier.

Yet there is one real kitchen triumph. It's a big, puffy calzone ($8.95) stuffed with crunchy fennel, sausage and goat cheese. Delicious! And if you take home what's left, it toasts up again marvelously the next day.

So there's one thing for sure: Order this particular calzone and one of the soups, and that's all you'll need to be happy at Bacio Trattoria.

THE FACTS The restaurant: Bacio Trattoria.

Where: 23663 Calabasas Road, Calabasas.

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

Recommended items: Minestrone, steamed black mussels in spicy tomato broth, sausage and fennel calzone, Tuscan white bean soup, baked polenta gorgonzola torte.

Children's menu: Pizzas (cheese $2.95, pepperoni $3.25), spaghetti (marinara $2.95, with meatballs $3.50), soft drinks 75 cents.

How much: Starters and sandwiches from $3.50 to $9, pizzas from $7 to $16.50, pastas and entrees from $6 to $15, desserts from $2.50 to $4. Beer and wine. Major credit cards.

Wine list: Fairly reasonably priced, 20-label list with 12 bottles under $20. However, vintages listed aren't always available and cellar sometimes runs out of desirable wines. Recommended: Cornacchia Montelpuciano d'Abbruzzo 1994 ($15.95), Taurino Notarpanaro 1986 ($20.95). Corkage $5.

Reservations: Only taken for parties of six or more. Call [phone].

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