THE VARIETY AT OASIS IS NO MIRAGE.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

HUNGRY OR NOT, at Oasis, an exotic-looking new restaurant and bar with an Arabian Nights decor, you can have fun nibbling tapaslike servings of skillfully crafted, attractive food while sipping wine, sangria, a cool brew or your favorite refreshing cocktail.

One night recently four of us, not too hungry, with two being relatively light eaters anyway, spent a leisurely three dinnertime hours enjoying the Oasis fare while sipping a good red wine.

The amazing thing is that at the end of the evening our food bill came to only $53 plus tax. Our waiter entertained us throughout our stay with hilarious stories about his dog, and he generously waived the corkage fee on the bottle of wine.

The $53 bought us a flavorful salad ($8) containing pearl barley, parsley, mint and grapes; a second salad of baby beets, tomato, piquillo peppers and arugula leaves ($7); a Spanish-style charcuterie platter ($12) heaped with cured pork, beef and tuna; a nifty mixture of sweet little clams and ham ($7) in a chile-spiced broth; juicy and tender Moorish pork kebabs ($11) with a fragrant quince sauce; and the traditional sweet ending of Spain, churros and chocolate ($8).

But on the second visit it was a different story.

Four hungry people, all ready to down plenty of food, dug into 11 plates, small, medium and regular in size. Again sharing everything.

This time the food tab was more than twice as much, totaling $128.

Two of them were repeats, the pork kebabs and the clam and ham combo, and they were just as good the second time around.

But we started splurging, trying one after the other: silky foie gras ($12) with port-soaked poached pears, fluffy calamari ($9) with a Spanish take on remoulade saucing; crunchy, goat cheese-stuffed piquillo peppers ($8); a lively curried chicken creation ($14) with a banana and date accompaniment; grilled tandoori-style beef ($15) with mango chutney; tasty lamb cutlets ($16) with a pistachio and walnut mint sauce; a small but exquisite filet mignon ($18) with horseradish-boosted creme fraiche; meaty little baby backs ($10) with a honey barbecue sauce; and a lilting rum and Kahlua-flavored flan ($8) to finish.

Needless to say, we were stuffed.

And probably wouldn't have eaten as much if we had been entertained between courses by our server.

But the rationale here is that $32 per person isn't all that much to pay for a good dinner out these days. And especially when you can enjoy the variety of tastes, textures and flavors provided by so many dishes.

The menu is a changing one, so don't expect to always see exactly the same items on it.

Oasis generally draws a late, hip crowd, allowing early patrons to receive added attention before the dining areas fill up.

Whether their appetites are big or small.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com

OASIS

Food: three and one half stars - Wine: three stars - Service: three and one half stars

Where: 611 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

Hours: Open for dinner, snacks and cocktails from 6 p.m. to midnight daily except Sunday.

Recommended items: Clams and ham, Spanish charcuterie, stuffed piquillo peppers, pork kebabs, foie gras, filet mignon, lamb cutlets, rum Kahlua flan, churros and chocolate.

How much: Small plates from $7 to $14, main plates from $14 to $18, desserts $8 each. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar.

Wine list: Diners can pick from a list of 33 carefully chosen bottles ($24 to $275) or some of the same wines by the glass ($7 and $8 each) or carafe ($20 and $22 each). Also two Lustau sherries by the glass ($6 each). Corkage: $20.

Reservations: Suggested. [phone].

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Photo:

The sauteed mussels with herb pesto represents just one of many options for diners at Oasis in Los Angeles, where good things come in small servings.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer