The Gossiping Gourmet:

Zimzala is relatively new in town and not a place you would stumble across on your own, as it is on the second floor of a new boutique hotel, the Shorebreak, just off Pacific Coast Highway. However, it is definitely worth discovering. Jennifer Cox is new on board as executive chef, and she is refining the menu to reflect coastal tastes. She brings a light touch and a lot of flavor to her California-Mediterranean cuisine.

“Zimzala” in surf lingo means a free-spirited person who finds peace with sand between their toes. In keeping with this theme, the décor is casual yet hip, with a mid-century modern vibe kicked up a notch. Large art photographs of surfers adorn the walls.

The spacious room is divided into three areas: a very attractive bar with rich wood walls, ceiling and floors; a dining room with an open kitchen; and a comfortable lounge area with a stone fireplace. There is also outdoor seating on a deck that surrounds the restaurant.

Andy, our engaging, funny and very professional waiter, brought us a palate-titillating tidbit in the form of a lovely, delicate, cold butter-poached scallop to begin our meal.

House coriander-cured salmon was served on very thin crackers, garnished with slivers of fennel and leaves of arugula. The salty savory salmon, the sweet licorice-like fennel and the peppery arugula made an inventive combination that was subtle yet delectable.

We thought we had tasted every version of fried calamari on the planet, but we were pleasantly surprised with Zimzala’s sweet and spicy take on this restaurant standard. Very thin rings were fried in a gossamer batter, which were unusually tender and had a crunchy finish.

The distinctive sweetness was provided by grapes, which were interspersed among the rings. Now that was something new that worked really well.

The heat came from the excellent dipping sauce, a kind of spicy aioli — another example of Cox’s perfectly calibrated cuisine.

We refreshed our palates with a citrus salad combining lolla rossa (red leaf lettuce) with peeled segments of grapefruit, blood orange and mineola tangerine in a very light honey-orange vinaigrette. Creaminess came from avocado and crunch from toasted pistachios.

We went Moroccan with our entrée of chicken tajine. This is a favorite dish of ours that hardly ever appears on menus outside of the rare Moroccan restaurants. This lemony, slow-braised chicken is flavored with a wealth of spices including cinnamon and cumin, with saltiness provided by preserved lemon zest and olives.

Often, this dish can be overwhelmed by seasonings and grease, making it too heavy, but Cox’s infallible hand controls all the elements to make a mosaic, both nuanced and vibrant. The falling-off-the-bone chicken rested on a bed of couscous that was flavored with the delicious complex sauce.

If you have never tried a tajine before, this is the version that will make you a fan.

Fritto of Brussels sprouts with capers and garlic is a fun way to eat your veggies. Deep-frying makes just about anything taste good, although it may diminish most of the health benefits of these little crucifers.

We loved the perfect little apple crisp with oatmeal ice cream. The apples had a nice balance between sweet and sour, and were topped with a very buttery, thin crumble that was crunchy all the way through. The ice cream was vanilla with a bit of oatmeal stirred in.

More unusual was the chocolate ganache, served with toasted sourdough bread that had been brushed with olive oil and sea salt. Ganache is usually cake frosting/filling, but this Spanish-influenced dessert uses the dense, very sweet, creamy, dark chocolate mixture as a spread like peanut butter — intriguing, but definitely an acquired taste.

Zimzala

Where: Shorebreak Hotel, 500 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach

When:

Breakfast 7 to 11 a.m. daily

Lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday

Brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Dinner 6 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Bar and lounge open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily; happy hour 3 to 7 p.m. daily

Prices:

Appetizers $9 to $15

Entrées $17 to $29

Desserts $8

Happy hour drinks $2 to $4, snacks $3 to $9

Wine:

Bottles $29 to $800;

By the glass $8 to $17

Corkage fee $15

Information: (714) 960-5050 or www.restaurantzimzala.com

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years and can be reached at [email protected].