Until last week, the 13-year-old Trattoria Acqua on La Jolla’s Prospect Street remained uncharted territory in my kitchen wanderings. To many restaurant goers I know, the name rings familiar given the media accolades it has received for its hefty repertoire of Mediterranean fare. But to the average pedestrian and motorist lumbering down this showy path, the restaurant barely stands out amid such front liners as Azul and George’s at the Cove.

Perched on the lower plane of the wood-clad Coast Walk Building, a street-level blue-and-white striped awning marks the spot where customers trail down a few flights of stairs to Trattoria’s divided dining areas. Views of La Jolla Cove come into sharp focus from a semi-enclosed patio, while the interior spaces keep you snugly surrounded by fake plants and kitchy bric-a-brac that is remarkably less offensive than it is homey.

Owners Michael and Victoria McGeath defer to Chef Damaso Lee of Mexico City for executing a plethora of southern European dishes that gravitate mostly to Italy. The chef recently returned from that country, where he was exposed to new preparations of game, seafood and other red meat due to appear on the menu early next year.

“We’ve always had an affinity for Italian food. We went to Italy for our honeymoon and Michael used to manage the Spaghetti Factory downtown,” says McGeath.

Yet inspiration hails from France as well in a noteworthy Maine lobster bisque crowned with hot puff pastry. My companion, visiting from out of town, found this Parisian-style presentation deliciously novel while unaware of the wildly popular, pastry-capped bisque made of mussels at Dobson’s Downtown. Here, the soup is bulkier from additional cream, although it becomes perfectly thinned down once the waiter pokes a hole in the “hat” and pours in a jigger of sherry. A divine starter course by all accounts.

In what we found to be a nicely decked out version of Caprese, the chef adds to the tomato-basil-mozzarella scheme grilled eggplant, caramelized onions and a strip of apple-smoked bacon. Even better, the cheese he uses is burrata, a coveted curd of super-soft mozzarella encasing young ricotta.

Coarse sea salt brightening up the aforementioned salad surfaced too aggressively in a Roman-style fried artichoke, served whole with citrus aioli dipping sauce on the side. Though cooked so that the leaves and heart became soft and meaty, the sodium annoyingly overwhelmed the choke’s delicate flavor.

Another appetizer, Aragosta Fritti, consisted of slipper lobster meat trapped within a coating of tempura batter that we felt swallowed up too much oil in the frying process. A quick romp through a nest of paper towels would’ve made a difference. The dish’s saving grace was a bedding of avocado-strawberry salad that punctuated the essence of the seafood rather nicely.

Pastas are made in-house, except for penne, which the chef uses in a three-meat ragu common to the Piedmont region of Italy. Happy campers we were when forking through the fusion of ground beef, veal and pork spiked with white wine and ribbons of basil. The dish matched in heartiness many of the finer bolognese sauces I’ve consumed in Europe – a splendidly fitting meal for winter.

Oh-so-lemony was a scampi of black tiger shrimp freckled with thin slices of well-done garlic cooked to that precarious point where it adds sweet pungency to a dish. Alongside was a starchy lobster risotto cake – a puck of matter with crusty edges that looked like a plain baked potato. We found it bland compared to the outstanding jumbo shrimp.

Our other entrée was a whopping 16-ounce veal shank prepared osso buco style. The meat endures four hours of braising in red wine and root vegetables, effectively sucking in those flavors while rendering the veal fork tender. I especially loved the addition of giant capers and olives in this version, along with pliant homemade linguine and the customary well of prized marrow lurking in the bone.

Trattoria’s supper menu features a breadth of choices ranging from fish, meat, poultry, game and pasta, which for lunchtime have been punched down to affordable salads and sandwiches to give consumers a break from escalating gas prices and a slumping housing market, the owners note. The wine and champagne list offers some financial respite too, with several virtuous Italian labels hovering at $10 a glass.

Desserts conform to Mediterranean tastes – profiterloles, classic cannoli, tiramisu and a soothing honey gelato made with full-fat milk and garnished with tiny red petals from honey flowers.

Our server was informed and swift, which combined with a cozy atmosphere defiant of La Jolla’s overly formal mindset, made for a trusty dining experience worth repeating.