I usually wait about six weeks after a restaurant opens before reviewing it, assuming there are wrinkles in the operation that need ironing out. Visiting during the six-week dress rehearsal period, I’ve seen everything from a kitchen door fall off its hinges during peak hours at a popular downtown eatery to bizarre ingredient substitutions made because of depleted food larders.

But when Bite opened, I held off for only two weeks, my exception due to the fact that the restaurant is run by culinary maestro Chris Walsh, who knows the restaurant industry like Paris Hilton knows the club scene. Consequently, my early visit was trouble free.

Walsh worked for 15 years as head chef at California Cuisine before operating Café W on Sixth Avenue. When that burned down, he floated over to Confidential in the Gaslamp, where as executive chef he continued unleashing his prowess for creating sumptuous small plates of food. Bite is a promising offshoot of his labors – and we’re thrilled to have him back in the gayborhood.

Located on the same heavily traversed block as Baja Betty’s, the restaurant splits as a fireplace bar-lounge on one side, with sparsely placed tables and booths on the other. Large whimsical circles are painted on the dominating wall in the dining room, and glass bowls filled with water and daisies are placed over lights embedded in some of the white acrylic tabletops. The mood is hip and casual, as evidenced by the young, endearing wait staff clad in hip-hugging jeans and red shirts.

Walsh’s small plates – some intricate, most of them cozy and intelligible – are portioned for sharing, although a few of the dishes we tried left me feeling greedy because of their addicting attributes. The Grilled Cheese Baguette, for example, offers two slender sandwiches of cremini mushrooms, warm Fontina cheese, fresh thyme and shallots captured by hot, crispy French bread. The flavors and textures melded exquisitely, and I could eat this every day.

Another standout from the menu’s “Field” category was Grilled Japanese Eggplant, sliced and fanned alongside roasted spring beets cut thin like carpaccio and served with a dollop of creamy Boursin cheese spiked with red pepper flakes. Layer the eggplant slices with the other ingredients and the magic of Walsh’s cooking bites into all of your pleasure zones. A third starter we tried, Caramelized Onion Tart, was also good, although the super-delicate puff pastry could have withstood a smidgen more onions and olive niçoise on top.

Moving ahead to the “Ocean” and “Farm” sections of the menu, we reveled in Poached Oysters arranged prettily in their half shells on a brick of salt. The meat inside sported a creamy, non-briny essence (because they’re likely the Pacific variety versus the Atlantic). And the addition of truffle-chive butter, though understated, further debunked the folklore that oysters taste best when eaten in months that have the letter “r” in them.

An order of Prince Edward Island mussels was also lip smacking and piled generously in a pond of white wine and garlic. With 24 in the count, it’s the biggest “small plate” I’ve ever encountered – and for only 10 bucks! As for the Parmesan Crusted Salmon with olive mashed potatoes, the crumb-like topping on the dense cut of fish was more salty than cheesy.

We proceeded to four more items, this time involving red meat and poultry. My companion insisted on Lamb Osso Bucco, which rivaled in tenderness the chewy Braised Beef Short Ribs cloaked in a French-provincial-style red wine reduction. The ribs would have hit their proper target if cooked only a little longer in the braise, we felt. On the side was an ample serving of comforting polenta graced by warm, melted mascarpone cheese.

The chunky lamb pieces were hands-down delectable – their fibers broken down effectively by extended cooking in a semi-sweet tomato sauce. The accompanying garlic risotto, however, crossed that fine line into pastiness.

Walsh’s smoky-tasting Duck Liver Pâté, encasing dried cherries and pistachios, sings to the gods and calls for a glass of jammy red wine from the short, but tangible wine list, which also features some elegant bubbly (reduced in price from 5-7 p.m., during weekday happy hour.) Dainty portions of mustard, chopped onions, capers and baby gherkins round out the plate.

Our final choice, Pancetta-Wrapped Breast of Chicken came doused in a savory jus of veal stock, mushrooms and chicken drippings. The bone-in, skin-on piece of poultry was moist and unpretentious and flanked by fresh wilted greens.

In total, there are about two dozen different “bites” to choose from, which doesn’t include five desserts and assorted sorbets, all made in-house. The Orange-Honey Glazed Crustless Cheesecake is like sucking honey from a hive and then washing it down with cream and citrus – quite sensational. And alas, a “farmers market” Strawberry Cobbler enveloped in a true biscuit crust rather than rigid oatmeal.

Bite brings more culinary diversity to Hillcrest with a focus on quality ingredients presented in a loungy atmosphere that welcomes you to stay awhile.