Despite its beach-town location and a plain name that plays into California’s generic surf-and-turf scene, the Pacific Coast Grill is actually a place brimming with culinary zeal and whimsical décor.

Tucked into a strip mall that looks sleeker than most, patrons are greeted by a bar lounge at one end that is rightly disassociated from the main dining room. There’s just enough distance to prevent intrusion between these two worlds that clumsily collide so often at other restaurant-bar joints. The overall atmosphere, even on the Monday evening we visited, was surprisingly jovial and clattery.

Seated in a dining booth – an artsy horse head jutting over us and carrying the skull of some type of prairie animal under its reigns, perhaps a cow – we were soon informed by our waiter that it was “lobster taco night.” Normally $19.50, this assemble-yourself platter stocked with big, curly chunks of Baja lobster is deeply discounted on Mondays for only $9.95, and worth every cent. The sea meat is steeped in a piquant, non-salty tomato sauce pointed up with jalapenos, oregano and onions, and then finished off with chablis. Black beans and roasted corn salsa wink from the sidelines.

The offerings here are zestfully casual, and thus we submitted first to a few outstanding appetizers, all busily flavored. Pleasing punches of applewood-smoked chicken, turkey bacon and maple from soy glaze define the Asian BBQ Spring Rolls, split lengthwise to show off their hearty fillings. Steamed dumplings compacted with minced shrimp and set in a port wine sauce exuded a smooth, buttery essence, which my companion found particularly addicting. For those, we followed our waiter’s suggestion to mop up the leftover sauce with our herbed table bread. And the joy was indeed prolonged.

An order of Hawaiian BBQ Tenderloin Skewers was also in the lineup; their presentation mimicking a top-quality plate lunch with an appealing twist of sake-infused sticky rice.

My companion sprung for “classic” Caesar salad, which technically isn’t classic since the egg yolks used in the dressing are pasteurized. But that’s Caesar salad for you these days, and this one was quite good nonetheless because the dressing was only barely emulsified, which I prefer. More lively was the Mixed Organic Greens with its stimulating sun-dried cranberry vinaigrette.

As I made little taco roll-ups from the lobster special, which happens to be one of the original menu items from when the restaurant opened 10 years ago, we also shared a dreamy Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon. Bingo on the medium-rare request. And kudos to Chef Hanis Cavin for creating a balanced grain-mustard demi sauce that didn’t overpower the succulent beef with too much pucker.

Of the wine list, my wine-broker companion summed it up well: “The wines are good by the glass but better by the bottle, especially if you’ve got the bucks to throw around,” referring to several impressive selections that include a 2002 Sine Qua Non Hollerin’ M from Oregon ($225) and a 1994 Dalla Valle from Napa ($195). Our only caveat was that some of the reds we tried were a tad too warm, and didn’t find respect when poured into their short, fat stemware.

Eccentric art touches break the rules much better. They feature a series of partially colorized black-and-white photos of a ’50s-era swimsuit girl, all framed in pieces of driftwood; brilliant mosaics of colored tiles embedded in an otherwise cold, dark floor; and a giant seahorse made of shells, beads and – if you look closely – high heels! An attractive smoking patio with hanging tea lights completes the scheme in this fun and somewhat noisy restaurant that has barely ever marketed itself, yet enjoys strong word-of-mouth business.

Among the additional menu specialties are Turkey Breast Meatloaf with sun-dried tomato pesto, Grilled Free Range Chicken with basil pine nut olive oil, Asian Braised Short Ribs with roasted root vegetables and Spicy Pork Tenderloin.

In capping off our meal, we couldn’t turn down the dessert Billy Demands Chocolate, if only for its quirky name. What we got was silky chocolate mousse layered over graham cracker crust and topped with Heath Bar crumbles.

By all accounts, if you’re bumbling around Solana Beach, the Pacific Coast Grill should be added to your itinerary.