Napa River has a new home

In the summer dusk, Westport Village has the warm, neighborly glow of an old-fashioned town square. It's an architectural illusion, I suppose -- Westport Village is a brand new retail complex but it's a well-wrought illusion just the same. And there's nothing unreal about the friendly buzz of the crowds that stroll around the place on a summer evening.

A month or so ago, Napa River Grill relocated to Westport Village after nine years at Dupont Circle -- and the change is palpable. In its old digs, Napa River seemed as out of place as a sprig of parsley popping up through a sidewalk crack. Now the restaurant feels like a place that has finally found its natural context.

Outdoors, the spirit of Northern California is invoked through graceful trellises draped with grapevines, a mix of seating that offers shelter from rain or sun, or invites groups to gather at communal tables warmed by glowing fire pits. Indoors, the dining and banquet rooms offer plenty of space and coil around the bar, creating a series of niches that roar with cheery chatter -- the place has drawn big crowds from the moment it opened.

The menu is filled with references to California and Pacific Rim fusion influences: Bodega Bay Crab (Alaskan king crab cakes with roasted corn chipotle coulis, $28.95); honey-miso glazed sea bass served with green tea rice ($25.95). But there are plenty of local riffs as well, like the complimentary cornbread that comes to the table still sizzling in the skillet, and the goat cheese fondue made with herbed Capriole Farms cheese ($9.95).

Fast-paced efficiency was the norm on recent visits -- thanks to a pervasive team ethos and a staff that seems completely at home with the menu and wine list. And though the occasional up-selling was a bit off-putting -- would you like to add a dollop of wild mushroom demi-glace ($3.95) atop your 7-ounce filet ($27.95)? -- a few minutes later the same server passionately recommended a wine with a bottle price $10 less than the one we inquired about -- and for good measure brought us a taste.

And in the wake of a fairly serious misstep, an order of baked squash ratatouille ($15.95) served lukewarm, management rescued the situation with urgency and good will, delivering an apology, a fresh (not re-heated) entrée and, later, a superb endnote to our meal.

On the second try, that ratatouille was stunning; a beautiful yellow wedge of spaghetti squash was topped with thick slices of grilled tomato; the flesh of the squash broke apart in crisp, toothsome tendrils that felt like a cross between al dente pasta and paper-thin daikon radish, and the roasted vegetable sauce had a full, rustic flavor.

A sirloin steak ($22.95) wasn't quite so fine; though cooked perfectly, it benefited not a bit from the flavorless sauce.

There was no shortage of flavor in other dishes, though. A lunchtime Hot Brown ($8.50) -- a generous portion of moist turkey sandwiched between crisp sourdough toast points and a vibrant, velvety blanket of mornay -- smelled like an exquisitely rich campfire, thanks to a generous dose of well-smoked bacon. Well-seasoned pork and green chilies added spicy bite to a burrito ($9.45) big enough for two. Ancho-dusted calamari ($6.95) were as tender as calamari can be -- a succulent tangle of limbs and rings, sauced with banana ketchup and a fine tomato-basil sauce. A huge wedge of iceberg lettuce sluiced with creamy, chunky Maytag blue cheese dressing ($5.95) was a perfect model of a steakhouse salad.

And though we would have been content with a bowl of refreshing house-made watermelon sorbet, we were ecstatic indeed when management brought us a specially baked pair of chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven -- exactly the right touch to compensate us for our earlier inconvenience.

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