QUALITY SETS TONE AT PRICEY PAGANI.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

Every waiter who isn't an actor waiting for a big part thinks about one day owning a restaurant.

Jorge Pagani was no exception.

He worked at some of the most fashionable dining spots in town - Scandia, L'Escoffier, Citrus - eventually becoming a maitre d'-manager of the prestigious Dining Room in the Regent Beverly-Wilshire Hotel and, for a short time, the equivalent at Coco Pazzo at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood.

The brevity of his last position was because his dream finally had been realized.

Pagani secured the financial backing and jumped at the opportunity to take over the shuttered Eclipse building on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood across from Morton's and down the road from Yujean Kang's.

Thus, in the heart of the hot Westside dining area, right on the corner of Melrose and Robertson, the restaurant named Pagani was born.

Pagani hired Frank Cramme, who had made a name for himself in Hong Kong as the cooking maestro for six years at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Cramme was already in town, having been lured here for the glitzy, well-hyped Beverly Hills Hotel reopening almost 3-1/2 years ago.

Pagani also decided to do some remodeling, primarily remaking the facility on a single level.

And he wanted to be able to serve lunch, which had not been allowed its predecessors on this site, as decreed for a variety of reasons by the city of West Hollywood.

It took a full year to accomplish all of this, but finally the restaurant was able to make its debut on Aug. 1.

It shows off a spanking new facade, a spiffy new bar and lounge area, and a variety of major and minor decor improvements that include a reconstructed patio.

Pagani brings to us an expensive, upscale restaurant with a modern American menu and impeccable service.

And just in case there's any doubt about it, you know how expensive this place is when you check your bill and find out it charges $3.50 per order of coffee, whether decaf or regular.

As for Cramme's finely crafted food, it has boiled down to few surprises.

And sometimes even those aren't available. After ordering an interesting dish of conchiglie pasta (large shells) with seared salsifis, Parma ham and a wild mushroom sauce ($17.50), the kitchen tells our waitress it can't make it because the necessary wild mushrooms are gone.

Also on the same evening, there's no osso bucco ($25) left. However, it's an understandable situation, since there was a packed, very busy dining room that night, obviously leaving the kitchen short as the evening progressed.

Yet a party of six thoroughly enjoyed six appetizers, six entrees and three desserts plus a stay at the bar while waiting for the table.

The bill of $394 before tip includes a corkage fee of $45 for three bottles of brought wine, which helped keep the total somewhat ``down,'' believe it or not. Of course, with tip, we're talking $145 per couple.

Beginnings here include a refreshing cold tomato soup ($7.50) of unusual flavor intensity enhanced with dollops of an eggplant mixture, and a nicely executed garden green salad ($8) with grapes and goat cheese.

Chef Cramme sprinkles truffle oil-infused dressing on his carefully cut and arranged beef tenderloin carpaccio ($13.50) that's garnished with herbed frisee leaves and seasoned with smoked sea salt.

At Pagani's prices you expect good-quality ingredients. And, for the most part, you get them. Thankfully, there's rarely a suggestion of stinginess in portioning.

Atlantic smoked salmon ($11.50), for example, is probably the best obtainable, served in a substantial amount, layered provocatively with roasted potato, creme fraiche and capers.

As for those ingredient bonuses, even the house Caesar ($8.50) offers polenta croutons rather than the everyday ones, along with the welcome tart touch of Spanish marinated anchovies.

But of the dozen or so starter possibilities, my nods of earnest appreciation go to a terrific trio: the excellent blue crab meat with papaya and purple basil salad ($13), a superb Thai-accented mussel soup with dried apricots and barley ($8.50) and a distinctive dish of caramelized sweetbreads in custardlike soft polenta ($12).

Cramme's entrees, though, may elicit yawns from the jaded.

Yes, there are the New York steak ($32), the rack of lamb ($31), the roasted chicken breast ($23), the grilled swordfish ($25), the necessary pasta (here it's spaghettini marinara with braised spinach, $16.50), the crusted sea bass ($24), a salmon item ($23) and the inescapable ahi tuna ($24).

But Cramme puts marinated asparagus and a bell pepper sauce with his tuna, pairs the potato-coated sea bass with pickled tomatoes and seared rapini, adds a purple splash of beet-shallot confit to his salmon, ladles a red wine sauce and parsnip puree under his swordfish, finds three types of onion to spruce up his steak and produces a cheesed chopped parsley and tomato mixture to give an edge to his lamb.

And if you finish with Pagani's airy ginger mousse or crepelike apple pancake ($8.50 each), you'll undoubtedly be just as happy with the endings here as with the beginnings and middles.

Even if you think you've spent too much.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Pagani.

Where: 8800 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.

When: Open for lunch from noon to 3 p.m. weekdays, for dinner from 6 to 10:30 p.m. nightly except Sunday, to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Late supper menu until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Behind the scenes: Owner-host is Jorge ``George'' Pagani. Chef is Frank Cramme.

Recommended items: Potato crusted sea bass, grilled swordfish with red wine sauce, ahi tuna with marinated asparagus and bell pepper sauce, New York steak with trilogy of onions, rack of lamb with tomato tabbouleh gratin, apple pancake, ginger mousse.

How much: Starters from $7.50 to $13.50, entrees from $16.50 to $32, desserts $8 and $8.50. Full bar. Major credit cards.

Wine list: Starting list is extensive, loaded with expensive bottlings. Lowest price is $25 per bottle, $20 per half-bottle, but there are not many choices under $30. Corkage: $15.

Reservations: Suggested. Call [phone].

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

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Jorge Pagani's traditional sour cream cheesecake is among the dessert specialties at Pagani's restaurant in West Hollywood.

(2) Blue crab meat with papaya and purple basil salad ($13) is among Pagani's dozen or so starter possibilities.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News