A Review of Giovanni's Bistro, in Berkeley Heights With fewer than 40 seats filling a storefront in a quiet patch of Berkeley Heights across the street from an abandoned movie theater, Giovanni's Bistro, Bar and Catering is short on dazzle at first blush. Its pleasures creep up on you instead, starting with the warmth of the staff; the small, reasonably priced wine list; the fresh bread; the clean, crisp décor; and finally the polished cooking of Michael Metzner, the executive chef. Mr. Metzner, who has worked at several notable New Jersey restaurants, including Restaurant Nicholas in Middletown, was chosen from among 50 chefs interviewed by Giovanni's owners, Nadine and Bob Tokash, lifelong Berkeley Heights residents who opened the restaurant in late March. The catering business is just getting off the ground. "He was the entire package" is the way Mr. Tokash put it in a telephone conversation following a couple of recent visits. Now Mr. Metzner can be glimpsed with his kitchen team through a glass window at the rear of the restaurant, turning out what the place calls "new American cuisine with Mediterranean and Italian influences." But skip that overcooked description and proceed directly to the menu, which tells you exactly (and succinctly) what you need to know about each dish while highlighting the local origins of many ingredients. It is cooking that emphasizes both freshness and variety, and the focus rarely strays from carefully articulated flavors and handsome, unfussy plating. Among the starters are top-notch sliced Jersey tomatoes from Dan Graiff Farms with smoked blue cheese, pine nuts, sherry vinegar, olive oil and arugula; as well as superbly seared scallops with a fragrant side of corn, shiitake mushrooms and pancetta in a chimichurri sauce. There is also a terrific dish of grilled squash with eggplant purée and a smoky piri piri sauce, teamed with a kind of mini-panino filled with pesto and house-made mozzarella. Speaking of that mozzarella, it appears as an appetizer on its own (a special for the moment but soon to be a keeper), with grilled hot peppers, pine nuts and a balsamic reduction. The three homemade pastas include ricotta agnolotti with a surprisingly robust topping of bacon, peas and pea tendrils, olive oil and crunchy cipollini onions. The gnocchi with sautéed mushrooms and cipollini onions, on the other hand, were a bit too heavy and sweet, despite the engaging sage-butter sauce. Our entrees were consistently well conceived and well executed, from a 16-ounce strip steak with fingerling potatoes and port shallot purée to a thick grilled pork chop with roasted apples and brussels sprouts. For the pork chop, a bewitching potion of bacon stock, sherry gastrique and chive oil was poured on at the table almost like a vinaigrette. Another standout was an exceedingly fresh piece of halibut, simmered in Japanese dashi stock with roasted shiitakes, Thai basil, fish sauce and vinegar. The Scottish salmon was cooked not a second too long and was well attended by green beans, watercress, kale and a split pea broth. Perhaps best of all was the lamb osso bucco, a tender confit of lamb shank that was splendidly paired with hummus and an acidic blast of lemon yogurt. One can go either decadent or healthy with the desserts. On the virtuous side, a dish of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries arrived with a bracing jolt of basil yogurt; on the richer side, there is a very good salted caramel brownie paired with walnuts and walnut milk, and even better, rum-chocolate-covered peanut butter mousse with an almond crème anglaise and blueberry purée. A few wrinkles remain to be ironed out. There were longish waits between courses during both our visits, and the teamwork among the servers was not seamless. The amuse-bouche one evening - grilled brussels sprouts with a dollop of balsamic vinegar - felt oddly out of season, while on our second visit a simple cube of watermelon with a touch of basil olive oil was more in keeping with the heat outside. But the food-savvy crowds humming around us certainly did not seem to mind, nor did we terribly. In the end, the pleasures of Giovanni's pretty much crept up on us and worked their magic. Giovanni's Bistro, Bar and Catering 449 Springfield Avenue Berkeley Heights (908) 464-6644 giovannisbistro.com THE SPACE A small dining room with 32 amply spaced seats; there are also two tables in the bar area at the front that seat four, and three stools at the bar. Outdoor seating for 24 is planned for the fall. Wheelchair-accessible. THE CROWD Polished and generally older. The staff is both amiable and well trained. A well-conceived wine list has 65 bottles, grouped by price, with plenty of lower-cost options, $25 to $340, and eight wines by the glass, $7 to $12. Customers may bring their own wine, with a corkage fee of $20 for the first bottle and $10 for each subsequent bottle. THE BILL Dinner: Appetizers, $8 to $15; pastas, $12 for a half order, $18 for a full order; entrees, $22 to $36; desserts, $5 to $7. WHAT WE LIKED New Jersey tomatoes, seared scallops, grilled vegetables, house-made mozzarella, agnolotti, Scottish salmon, grilled pork chop, New York strip steak, lamb osso bucco, halibut, seasonal berries, salted caramel brownie, peanut-butter mousse. IF YOU GO Lunch: Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner: Monday through Saturday, 5 to 9:30 p.m.; closed Sunday. Reservations recommended. Street parking is available, as is a lot next door.