MORE WAYS TO ENJOY ITALIAN; CHOICES ABOUND ON BIG MENU AT NEW BENVENUTI IN ENCINO.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

It's common in Italy to find, on entering a restaurant, a large table displaying a mouthwatering assortment of antipasti.

It isn't common here.

The new Benvenuti, replacing the Gypsy Grill in Encino, makes its Italianate statement of sorts by displaying about a dozen appetizer platters on a large table, not at the entrance but in the middle of its main dining area.

And they look pretty good.

There are colorful mixed vegetable creations, one an ensemble with cubed pieces of potato and mayo, another bright-toned assortment balsamic dressed, a tossing of garbanzos, chopped tomato, beans, beets, carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower.

There are thin slices of broiled eggplant and zucchini; minced beef or chicken-stuffed half-zucchinis; sliver-sliced pieces of marinated veal tongue; roasted peppers in anchovy sauce; salpicons of a watery-soft liver paste called the ``house pate''; and some other cold meat and seafood arrangements.

But they end up, for the most part, looking infinitely better undisturbed than when they reach the table as little daubs and dollops, many crowded onto a single plate.

But, as most of us know, there's something inherently satisfying in starting a meal with a lot of little nibbles and munches, even if they lose their initial handsomeness or lack optimum texture, and even if some of them - like herring in sherry one night - possess a rather peculiar taste.

So Benvenuti is smart to allow a varied selection at a set price - four for $6.75 - and if you want to add others, $1.75 each.

And it's even smarter - as done in the restaurant's opening days - to proffer plates of antipasti as complimentary starters to curious, new patrons.

What those patrons discovered is an attractive facility painted with a mottled, marbelized off-white finish. Chairs have padded pillow attachments for comfort, and there are banquettes around the main dining room.

Acoustically, the interior allows a comfortably normal conversation pitch, certainly a plus these days.

And there are enough menu listings to defray boredom by repeat customers. In fact, by being as expansive as it is, Benvenuti's kitchen automatically sets itself apart from the plethora of neighboring Italian restaurants.

For example among the usual selection of seafood S's - salmon, sea bass, scampi, scallops and swordfish - there's the rare new one, sturgeon.

Called storione del Oregon ($14.95), this turns out to be a delicious preparation of pistachio-crusted, baked sturgeon served with a silky caviar sauce.

Add the $1 serving of nicely made minestrone (or $1 salad) available with entrees here, and a dessert choice like the respectable house-baked chocolate-raspberry cake ($3.95), and your three courses round off at $20 for a satisfying dinner meal.

If you're in a homey, meaty, food mood, don't be scared to order a dish titled stinco.

An alternative to this restaurant's six steak options of different cuts and sizes with a choice of sauces - a veal chop two ways, beef medallions, beef stew, rack of lamb and the always-popular osso buco - the stinco specialty of the house is fully titled stinco Santo de Agnello ($14.95), which translates into a rich, robust, barolo wine-laced lamb shank paired with mashed potatoes.

Liver fanciers, however, may not be awed by Benvenuti's rendition of fegato Veneziana ($16.85), especially if they compare it to the town's longtime best version, that of Peppone in Brentwood.

And paella lovers, possibly surprised to see this Spanish classic on an Italian menu, will discover a soft rice-based melange ($19.95) very little like its Valenciana name but a basically good-tasting bowl of chicken, clams, squid, mussels, shrimp and sausage in a ceramic ``pan'' of soupy, saffron-flavored rice.

What the chef-partner Giovani Ben Bolla does very well here is gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts ($13.75). Whether the rest of his pastas compare favorably or not, certainly these puffy potato flour pillows floating in the richly pungent gorgonzola cheese sauce set off with a touch of crunch from the walnuts, provide instant gratification.

He also scores with a generously portioned appetizer serving of mussels (8.95), a fine stracciatella soup ($3.75), a rarely found light, frothy recipe of pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean soup with vegetables, $3.75) and a refreshing baby spinach salad with carrots, beets, tomatoes, string beans, goat cheese and an herb dressing ($9 full-size, $4.50 half-size).

You'll find a pleasant, serviceable red wine or two for $22 a bottle (Antinori's chianti classico riserva or dolcetto from Conterno Fantino) and attentive service by deep-voiced veteran waiter Giuseppe Berti.

Benvenuti, which means ``welcome'' in Italian, with its low corkage fee of $3 a bottle and ``dollar soup or salad with entree'' policy, should draw a fair share of Ventura Boulevard's continuing parade of pasta eaters along with the backbone of the dining-out public, that burgeoning bevy of red meat and seafood searchers.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Benvenuti Ristorante.

Where: 16911 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

When: Open for dinner from 5 p.m. to ``as needed,'' which is midnight or earlier most weeknights, later on weekends.

Recommended items: Soups, mussels, baby spinach salad, gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts, pistachio-crusted baked sturgeon with caviar sauce, braised lamb shank cooked with barolo wine, house-baked raspberry chocolate cake.

How much: Starters from $1 to $12, pastas and entrees from $8.50 to $23, desserts from $3.95 to $4.50. Full bar. AE, MC, V, Discover.

Wine list: Four-page list (81 labels) has good range in price and type of mostly Italians and Californians but no vintage dates given except for one Italian spumante. Fourteen wines by the glass are priced from $3.50 to $5.50. Corkage: $3.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three stars for food; Three stars for service; Two and one half stars for wine.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Partners Giovani Ben Bolla, left, and Jack Mann offer over 100 dishes on the Benvenuti menu.

(2) An attractively arranged seafood salad is among the offerings at Benvenuti.

David R. Crane/Daily News