A providential patina

If you know anything about dining in L.A., you’ll no doubt recognize the Melrose Avenue address. Yes, that’s where Patina used to be, before Joachim Splichal moved downtown into the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Now starring in the sleek contemporary space is Providence, the highly anticipated seafood restaurant from Michael Cimarusti. He’s the chef who turned Water Grill from a moribund seafood house into a required reservation for anybody who loves fish. Cimarusti and partner Donato Poto, former manager of Bastide, haven’t made any drastic changes to the interior, just small touches to take off the chill, such as covering some of the wood with fabric and installing new lighting fixtures.

But already the atmosphere is different -- not quite as buttoned-up as the previous restaurant. It’s relaxed and, well, fun. Providence has been a long time coming, and Cimarusti and his crew are psyched.

There’s something playful about Cimarusti’s menu too, especially with the first courses. I loved a dish of supple squid with julienned pig’s ear, piquillo pepper, some frilly greens and a scattering of rich, toasty Marcona almonds from Spain. It’s original and delicious. There’s a buttery risotto of chervil and blue crabmeat lit up with lemon and, for homesick New Englanders, a killer Manila clam chowda’. Fluke, a flatfish hardly ever seen on menus in these parts, makes an appearance with the inspired combination of grapefruit and pistachios. Way to go.

With seafood, of course, the menu has to change almost every day, depending on what’s available. But in his years at Water Grill, Cimarusti has developed impeccable sources from around the country for wild and line-caught fish. One day’s menu might propose Copper River salmon cooked two ways, one slow-roasted, the other a confit, and both served on lovely sweet-and-sour turnips. He might serve striped bass with razor clams and the last of the English peas from the farmers market, or lobster in a carrot-scented broth.

He also always has a couple of items for anybody who wants something other than seafood. It could be foie gras. It could be a Kobe-style beef hanger steak with nettles and wild mushrooms.

The wine list is a shocker. Prices are astoundingly fair, and you don’t have to go over the wine list with a fine-toothed comb to find lots of interesting and affordable bottles. Plus the bar is pouring 30 wines by the glass.

Now is the time to snag a reservation. The word is out, and on the night I went I spotted a chef or two checking out the competition.

The more the merrier, I say.

*

Providence

Where: 5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles

When: Dinner 6 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Appetizers, $15 to 24; main courses, $32 to $38; lobster, market price; desserts, $11 to $12; nightly prix-fixe menus, $90 to $100.

Info: (323) 460-4170,

fax (323) 460-4491,

www.providenceLA.com.