HAMPTON'S IS WORTH THE WAIT.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

My first attempt to dine at the Hampton's restaurant in the lavish new Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village was a complete failure.

The hotel's haute cuisine dining room claimed to be without a spare table during the dinner hours for the next two weeks.

But eventually, friends who live in the area secured a reservation for four, on a Friday night no less.

And guess what? The spacious dining room was only half full midway through the evening.

Evidently the curiosity factor had started to wear off.

Yet, on an ensuing Saturday night, it was either 6 or 9 p.m. We took the earlier option.

Obviously, dinner at Hampton's couldn't be termed an everyday eating experience unless you have pretty deep pockets.

To the hotel's credit, prices aren't ridiculously high compared to those at other local upscale dineries. Its main courses peak at $38.

Hampton's dining room, one floor down from the hotel's main entrance, features elegant columns, a curved and coffered ceiling, and a breathtaking view of imported rock landscaping and waterfalls.

Tables sit with generous space between them. Even when the room is full, diners don't have to shout at each other to be heard easily.

The only bothersome aspect of this otherwise comfortable, beautifully furnished room is the clash of the red chair upholstery design with that of the patterned carpet. Busy, busy.

Skillful touch in evidence

As for the food, chef Sandro Gamba should be lauded for an atypical hotel menu. Sure, he cooks a steak and potatoes plate, also a lobster dish, but neither one resembles regular hotel fare.

Instead, his beef ``100'' entree ($36) brings together tender Neiman Ranch filet mignon with rich, juicy, braised short ribs and creamy potatoes fondant. (To get your steak rare, insist on very rare or it might be delivered medium rare.)

Lobster here isn't the usual Maine or Australian. Instead, Gamba's state-of-the-art kitchen poaches Santa Barbara spiny lobster meat ($34) very effectively, plating it handsomely with a crunchy sweet corn ragout and tarragon bisque.

Like the beef, he prepares his Shelton Farms chicken dish ($25) two ways: a duo of classically braised skin-on, dark meat with oblongs of pan-seared, tender, moist white meat.

His other main-course meat offerings are a perfectly roasted Colorado lamb medallions platter ($34) and a robust venison entree ($34) with the flavorful meat nestled in a cabernet sauvignon reduction.

The lamb arrives accompanied by nifty maple-syrup-flavored baby carrots sporting flecks of chorizo sausage and a savory rendition of sweet potato cake.

A way with fish

Though not as triumphant as his meat plates, his fish recipes are by no means ordinary.

Roasted black bass or black cod ($28) with batter-coated anchovies, an olive tapenade and red pepper compote tends to make the fish somewhat subordinate to its accompaniments.

Steamed turbot ($34) with out-of-shell mussels in a mild curry sauce and crunchy Asian crones (nutlike baby artichokes) fares a little better.

But it's a soup -- beet and chestnut ($10) tinged with apple cider and cinnamon -- that's the hit of the evening at the first visit. And Dungeness crab meat wrapped in a cucumber tube ($12) with a grapefruit vinaigrette is an ultimate appetizer joy the next time.

Maine scallops with spinach lasagna ($15) barely passes muster as a beginning, and a mushroom medley hors d'oeuvre ($11) is merely a fair starter.

However chef Gamba's distinctive amuse-bouche (scallop, cauliflower foam and vegetable souffle), wonderful tuna tartare ($16), intriguing market salad ($10), tasty veal cheek ($12) and rare cannellini bean soup with chanterelles ($9) leave much better impressions.

One can hardly fault the kitchen's aesthetically plated citric meringue and chocolate galette ($8 each) endings.

Hampton's should have no trouble becoming a special-occasion favorite in its area. Its food and service certainly warrant such.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

[e-mail]

HAMPTON'S

Food: Three and one half stars - Service: Four stars - Wine: Three and one half stars

Where: 2 Dole Drive, Westlake Village.

Phone: [phone].

Meals/hours: Open for breakfast from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. weekdays and from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, for dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m. nightly except Sunday. No lunch service in this dining room.

Food type: Contemporary Californian.

Cost: Starters from $9 to $16, entrees from $22 to $38, desserts $8 each.

Credit cards: All major.

Patio dining: Yes, during spring and summer.

Parking/valet: Yes ($5), and self-parking.

Full bar: Yes.

Wine/corkage: Loads of options from deep, well-rounded list. No noticeable bargains. Corkage: $30.

Music/entertainment: No.

Takeout/delivery: No on both.

Reservations: Definitely recommended.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Dungeness crab meat wrapped in a cucumber tube with a grapefruit vinaigrette provides an auspicious beginning to dinner at Hampton's.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News