In a city where oceanfront restaurants tend to be prissy or overstated, who would’ve thought you could dine with your shirttails hanging out while gazing at a ringside view of the Pacific – and in La Jolla of all places?

Brockton Villa Restaurant is the perfect place for lapping up the seaside atmosphere of yesteryear over breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s also a viable option when hosting out-of-town visitors who come here expecting to eat in such postcard settings, but can’t always afford them.

The restaurant occupies one of the area’s first beach cottages, built in 1894 on a then-barren hillside overlooking La Jolla Cove by a doctor who bought the site for a mere $165. The structure retains the quintessential architectural trappings of early California bungalows – redwood tongue-and-groove siding, cedar shingles and a wrap-around veranda that allows the ocean air to kiss the French toast you’re eating. An eye-catching brick fireplace inlaid with oversized abalone shells is a cozy element on cold winter nights, although you’ll never see these shells used in modern décor because of abalone’s over fishing.

The interior is also adorned with museum-like display cases housing old brochures and photographs of La Jolla’s early years, as well as coffee mugs and menus from when Panikin Coffee & Tea once operated here. The villa is now run by Megan Lee Heine of the Pannikin family and her husband.

My companion and I moseyed in during a low-key evening for dinner, starting with some excellent appetizers that were truer to their menu descriptions than a couple of courses we tried afterwards. The Ahi Tuna Tartare was beautifully presented in a mold with earthy, creamy edamame puree at the base, a layer of shaved jicama in the middle and cubed, melt-in-your-mouth raw ahi at the crown. Invisible bits of raw jalapeno throughout provided a complimentary snap to the dish.

Less inspired but healthfully satisfying were the Thai Chicken Spring Rolls using sticky wonton casings to capture a garden of julienne-cut veggies and dense breast meat. They came with nondescript ginger-jalapeno dipping sauce, which we pushed aside without any fuss since the rolls stood fine on their own. A third appetizer, Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, delivered a bright explosion of flavors indicative of chilled seafood dishes served in Mexico’s tropical regions. The shrimp hung from a wineglass filled to the top with a refreshing dice of mango, onion, cucumber, cilantro and lime that’s worth shoveling down after consuming the crustaceans.

Behold multiple representations of the globe as you advance through the menu. One of our middle courses was a likeable chopped salad fortified with hearts of palm, which took on Greek overtones from feta cheese and Kalamata olives. The sherry vinaigrette struck an excellent balance of sweet and acidic. The other dish, Seafood Stew, was a kitchen sink, Mediterranean-style recipe of chunky shrimp, salmon and maybe some white fish interspersed with lots of root veggies. My companion found it too fishy, but I embraced its oceanic gist after the second slurp.

The list of entrées skirts from North Africa, with Moroccan Pork Tenderloin, to France, with Flat Iron Steak Au Poivre and pommes frites, and to Italy with Gorgonzola-Butternut Squash Gnocchi. If you’re hankering for something from the Land Down Under, look no further than the Australian Lamb Rack in mustard-chive crust.

I took the straight and narrow road by choosing Truffle-Parmesan Filet Mignon – a superb hunk of ultra-tender meat that I assumed would sport a fungi-cheese crust or a sprinkling of those components. Neither was the case. Rather, it was just a fine beefy steak cooked beyond my request for “medium” and served with mashed potatoes that were, sadly, cold to the core.

My companion, on the other hand, effused over her filet of Scottish Salmon mounted on shrimp fried rice and crisp, stir-fried vegetables. A streak of soy-citrus reduction on the plate imparted zip to the overall Asian scheme.

Triple chocolate cake, listed plainly on the dessert menu, is a misnomer because it’s really white chocolate, which can incite frowns to unsuspecting cocoa lovers. The warm, baked pear with cinnamon gelato tasted far superior.

The restaurant offers an accommodating beverage list of coffees, assorted teas, Italian sodas, mulled spiced cider and wines. Breakfast is also a popular time here, with the eggy, soufflé-style Coast Toast reigning among the top sellers. The thick French bread slices are grilled and then baked in vanilla and orange flavoring. Ask for the recipe and the staff prints it out in a jiff on cash-register paper. Lunch features salads, pastas and sandwiches that include a “High-Rise” Rueben made with Gruyere cheese and a Patty Melt made with Kobe beef (available also on the supper menu). But it’s the daytime view of La Jolla Cove when seated on the patio that really puts you in a California frame of mind.