Ten years from now, the area where Pavarotti is located may be the trendiest neighborhood in Baltimore. Not now. Just west of Little Italy and just north of Fells Point proper, it's still down at the heels -- although there are signs that it's starting to be gentrified.

I fear such good fortune won't come soon enough for the area's newest Italian restaurant, as it didn't for its predecessor, Karabelas, a handsome Greek restaurant that never seemed to have any customers and closed after less than two years. On the other hand, restaurants like M. Gettier's and Spanish Meson flourished for years up the street under the same or worse circumstances, so maybe I'm wrong. Pavarotti's food is as good as most of the restaurants in Little Italy, and the dining room is just as pretty -- and you can get a parking place at the front door.

Don't be put off by the garish exterior. Inside is a cool, fresh-looking bar and dining room. The space was beautifully renovated by the former occupant, and most of the changes are still in place: the elegant bar, the skylight, the polished hardwood floor.

The color scheme is now black and white accented with flowery banquettes, and there is Italian opera memorabilia instead of Greek vases and classical busts; but it's still the same appealing space.

The good thing about being the only customers in a restaurant, as we were, is that you know you're appreciated. The waitress is attentive, and the food arrives at the table only moments after you order it. The downside is that the bread comes toasted (which is better, I suppose, than serving it stale).

Pavarotti's menu is straightforward Italian, with an unexpected section of grilled foods, including chicken in the basket with french fries. Stick with the homey Italian classics, and you'll have a decent meal here: a salad of white beans, tuna fish and red onion, perhaps, or red, green and yellow peppers stewed with a light tomato sauce. Neither is pretty, but they both are loaded with flavor.

Pavarotti's version of bruschetta, a large chunk of grilled bread swathed in garlicky olive oil, has more visual appeal: It spills over with a suave topping of chopped tomatoes, mushrooms and olives. Small cubes of ham add a jarring note, but I could live with them.

Dishes like the shrimp di Gamberetti fall in the I-should-have-known-better category. The shrimp are roughly the size of a fingernail and are lost in their pink sauce; the result is a sort of shrimp salad with too much colored mayonnaise. On the other hand, a monkfish fillet from the grill, which you would think might be in the same category, comes fresh and firm, with just a few herbs and a little lemon to accent the flavor of the fish. And it's handsomely presented with crusty-edged rounds of potatoes and properly cooked broccoli and asparagus spears.

Still, your safest bet is something like veal Marsala, with tender veal, a gentle wine sauce and fresh mushrooms. The pollo cacciatore would benefit from a mix of white and dark meat and not just the thigh, but the fresh-tasting marinara with onions and mushrooms is good enough to carry the dish.

Of course, you could always throw caution to the wind and order Pavarotti's lasagna, surely a family recipe and rich beyond the imagination. Not only are there tender homemade noodles, but the meat sauce, pasta and mozzarella layers also are oozing with a thick bechamel sauce. Pure Italian comfort food.

Desserts run to the expected: gelati, tartuffo and a light, chocolate-dusted tiramisu -- the only one made in house. No cannoli, though. (In fact, nothing that won't keep well, at least on this weeknight.)

If you want a change from Little Italy's restaurants to the west, and the Fells Point bistros to the south are a little too funky for you, Pavarotti is definitely worth a try. And remember -- Italian dinner for four with wine before tip: $143.22. A parking place at the door: priceless.

Pavarotti

Food: **

Service: ***

Atmosphere: ***

Where: 318 S. Broadway

Hours: Open for lunch Tuesday through Friday, dinner Tuesday through Sunday

Prices: Appetizers, $5-$8; main courses, $11-$25

Call: 410-276-7040

Outstanding: ****; Good: ***; Fair or uneven: **; Poor: *