dining out

Matteo’s (617) 965-3100 51 Lincoln Street, Newton Highlands Open Tues–Sat, 5–10 p.m., and Sun, 5–9 p.m. AE, DC, Di, MC, Vi Beer and wine No valet parking Sidewalk-level access, bathrooms downstairs

I’VE GROWN TO value consistency. If a restaurant is named Aubergine, it ought to have eggplant on the menu. If it’s called Sidney’s Bistro, and Sidney doesn’t greet you, he’d better be in the kitchen. Matteo’s is owned by a Matteo, of sorts: Matthew Swartz and his chef, Peter Kuplast. Presumably they are “Matteo” and “Pietro” on visits to Italy, and perhaps they imagine themselves with those Italian names in their Newton restaurant. After a couple of excellent meals, I’m willing to play along. In fact, I may change my name to Roberto. This thing is contagious.

Matteo’s is a small, pretty dining room with an interesting color scheme that works abstract paintings in pastels against dark-blue walls (and one pastel-pink wall). A gray rug and acoustic ceiling keep down the sound, although Newton diners will talk. And of course, once the food comes, we’ve all switched to Italianized first names and are beginning with the hand gestures as well.

The first taste is an oily focaccia bread, served with a not-entirely-redundant dip of olives filled with roast cloves of garlic. The trick is to fish out the garlic and spread that on the bread, thus saving room for the meal. The most pleasing appetizers are a seafood platter mostly of marinated shellfish ($11) and the Italian antipasto ($8), a very impressive spread that shows what a trained chef can do while thinking about Italy. The meats are thin-shaved prosciutto, country salami, and cappicola (spiced ham). The vegetables are a quartered artichoke, an enormous roasted red pepper, a small salad of field greens, and assorted green and black olives. The only weak element on the platter was the cheese: a comparatively tasteless ricotta salata, cut into pretty spears, and what looked like provolone but turned out to be a mild white cheese almost devoid of character. Still, the proportions were classic and most of the flavors vivid and, well, appetizing.

There are also appetizers that look like appetizers. Wild-mushroom risotto ($9) had more mushroom flavor than I’ve noticed in quite some time. Small, whole fresh shiitakes were certainly one reason, and perhaps the “white truffle oil” worked its magic. I make risotto less crunchy than this, but Matteo’s version is edible and choice. Ricotta gnocchi ($9) were kinda rubbery my night — the trend has been toward lighter, softer gnocchi — but there was nothing wrong with the light sauce accented with garlic and more of that truffle oil, nor the beautifully green baby spinach leaves slipped among the gnocchi. Another avenue to take with the appetizer would be to split up one of the six pizzas.

Salads are very nicely done here, and I recommend them because entrées run to major protein. My favorite was a pan-roasted asparagus salad ($8), a good handful of green spears done to a perfect balance of crunch and spring flavor, contrasted with prosciutto, a little cheese, and a freshly dressed bed of mixed greens. Roasted Bosc pear salad ($7) worked essentially the same trick with a poached pear and a very well-flavored dab of gorgonzola. Arugula salad ($7) did as well with the provocative bitter greens, spears of tomato, and cooked onions. Matteo’s Caesar ($6.50) came close. The croutons are really good, thin slices of bread, very crisp, with good flavors of garlic and cheese — which is real parmesan. But the menu promised white anchovies, and the salad came with a lone brown anchovy on top, along with modernized dressing — perhaps left on a little too long.

Entrées are what used to be called “Northern Italian,” which means Tuscan roast meats, but also a variety of French or even New American treatments. Certainly one of my favorites was a special on seared halibut ($25) served with two steamed oysters and two clams. Neither the fish nor the treatment was especially Italian, but it was an outstanding piece of fish accompanied by a lemony-tasting sauté of mixed greens. Another special, on rack of lamb ($30), came as a shock of five baby chops, again carried by the pure flavor of the lamb itself (and perhaps a wisp of reduction sauce), with mashed-potato cake (no evident garlic) and another handful of that wonderful asparagus.

From the regular menu, “Roast Free Range Garlic Half Chicken” ($19) was itself rather simple (and again, not that garlicky), but the trimmings were very nice, especially the cheesy fried risotto patty, the cubes of root vegetables, and the shredded braised cabbage. Linguine ($14) was a winning test of the pasta system; I’ve seldom had pasta more toothsome or flavorful. The topping of spinach and shredded leeks was delicate and delicious, and it was only the “easy” part — the red sauce — that was overly sweet and sticky. I suspect too much tomato paste, which is not a dishonorable ingredient, but can’t be substituted for long cooking and a higher proportion of non-concentrate tomatoes in most Italian red sauces. In a marinara (as the menu describes this sauce), tomato paste has to be used very sparingly — if at all — because the sauce isn’t cooked that long.

The wine list is very strong on Italian reds, and a lot of fun if you know a little something about those wines. Our first two selections were sold out, but we did like our eventual 1997 Borgoforte “Super Tuscan” ($35). The idea of “Super Tuscan” is to substitute French red grapes for the traditional local blends in Chianti, though with a backbone of native sangiovese. This “Villa Pillo” was quite lively, I would say flavored most by cabernet franc but in a recognizable Chianti style: a light red with a lot of fruit and almost spritzy acidity (and thus workable with halibut and red-sauced linguini).

Desserts at Matteo’s are quite good, especially the crème brûlée ($6). The chocolate-hazelnut gelato ($7) is yet another argument for Italianizing one’s first name. Our server touted the blackberry macadamia-nut torte ($7) — it’s well put together, but the whole macadamia nuts are too much nut flavor for the proportion of berries, even with raspberries and blueberries scattered around the plate.

For a small restaurant visited on two weeknights, Matteo’s had a lot of service flaws. The hand-off in the captain-server system had the server asking each of us who had what at each course. The lamb came with a special steak knife, but the knife had a broken tip. The half-bottle of Barolo we wanted was “sold out” when we tried to order it, but one later turned up. By then we had switched to a 1998 Barbera d’Alba and had been offered the wrong bottle (the more expensive Barbera). The right one was likewise sold out. All these things happen, and if these difficulties haven’t already been fixed before the publication of this column, they are sure to be by the time any reader gets to Matteo’s.

Since opening about a year ago, Matteo’s has found a loyal crowd in this rather quiet section of Newton. The menu has enough kid-friendly options for family dining, and the place certainly satisfies on a big night out. It will be interesting to see how its popularity holds up after the long-awaited expansion of nearby Baker’s Best, a take-out with tables that I’ve enjoyed several times for lunch.

Robert Nadeau can be reached at robtnadeau@aol.com.