What happens when a nightclub owner buys a swank supper spot? Down come the oil paintings and up go the karaoke system and pool table. That's what former Pipeline Cafe and current Play Bar proprietor Chip Jewitt did with the space that was The Bistro, where steak Diane and bananas flambe were the old-school "fine dining" order of the day.

Now Aria Restaurant and Lounge, the venue's name, may lead you to expect Italian cuisine that sings (I did) but in fact, chef Nick Sayada, coming off a decade as personal chef to longtime Honolulu Symphony benefactor Carolyn Berry, keeps the continental/steakhouse theme with classics such as crab cakes, French onion soup, Caesar salad, grilled rib-eye and veal chop in the dining room. The good news is that the dishes, while not groundbreaking, are well-executed and cleanly presented.

Along with the staples are offerings such as a diver scallop ceviche ($16.95), the sweet shellfish sliced and topped with crunchy sunchoke bits and greens, and a superb zucchini souffle wrapped in business-card-thin slices of eggplant ($10.95). Arugula with caramelized pear slices, candied pecans and a couple minislabs of gorgonzola ($10.95) is a nice composed salad of sweet and savory. There are three affordable pasta options, including delightfully light spinach-and-ricotta gnocchi ($14.50) in a fresh tomato sauce. Grilled beef filet is a perfectly medium-rare fist of meat accented with a cabernet reduction and comfortingly accompanied by mashed potatoes and asparagus.

One dish to avoid is the grilled wild salmon fillet. Excited to see wild-caught salmon on the menu (beautifully orangey-pink); disappointed that it gets a "Joy of Cooking" treatment, coated with yellow curry sauce (called a "mild curry sabayon") and laid over a mound of yellow rice flecked with crinkled frozen peas. It was hard to believe the salmon came out of the same kitchen as the rest of the pleasing food.

Master sommelier Roberto Viernes, who has his hand in everything from overseeing wine at Waikiki restaurant Taormina to wine education at distributor Southern Wine & Spirits, has put together the wine list that covers the ground it needs for the food, ranging from CF Wines Euro Asian riesling ($23) to a Christophe Perrot-Minot 2006 burgundy ($288). Restaurant captain Douglas Prizel says the list will expand to include more Old World selections.

With a tragically amateur logo that looks like the theme title on my senior prom program (back in dark-age 1980), Aria is a strange brew: Slick men's club restaurant, all wood-and-leather booths and fit-for-a-tryst lighting, mixed with let's-go-for-a-younger-demographic lounge outfitted with "black leather reproduction Le Corbusier chairs," a karaoke screen and pool table (that can double as a dining table).

But maybe Jewitt's grasp of O'ahu's wants and needs will fill Aria. One smart move is retaining The Bistro's late-night supper menu. Sit in what may be the best grown-ups lounge in town — a faux fireplace lends a bit of an Aspen lodge feel, the veteran bartender (he's a Wave alumnus) turns out snappy negronis, and the food is good. Order Chip's Burger ($10.50), a half-pound of beef on a baguette gooey with caramelized onions, and Chef Nick's meatloaf, beefy, wrapped in bacon and served with mashed potatoes ($16.50). Want something lighter? The quasi-Scandinavian wild salmon tartare, a disc of silky chopped fish topped with crème fraiche and a dollop of American caviar ($12.95), is a refreshing choice.

Whether you're parked in the restaurant or lounge, you can order dessert, and the strawberry shortcake is a throwback to Bisquick childhoods (and I say that only in a nostalgically delicious way) but topped with chopped fresh strawberries instead of the plastic-bagfuls of sugar-sweetened frozen stuff from the supermarket. Also worth ordering is Sayada's personal twist on tiramisu.

The Bistro's limited-edition Steinway grand has been replaced with a player piano that emits Sinatra tunes, and supposedly the sound system is such that it won't compete with the karaoke. The songbook is decent: It includes David Bowie's "Life on Mars" and The Jam's "A Town Called Malice." Puts a smile on my face.

RESTAURANT NEWS

• Closed: Flamingo Kapiolani turned off its neon sign for good Sunday. We shall miss the vinyl booths and hamburger steak.

• Special menus: Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas in Restaurant Row celebrates its fourth anniversary today through Tuesday with a special "Island grown" tasting menu. You get Big Island abalone Casino with bacon-tomato ragout served on ogo namasu, Kona cold lobster tail cooked sous vide with squid ink pasta (it's addictive), crispy moi with black bean sauce, braised Maui Cattle short rib with mashed kabocha and sweet potato, and panna cotta with Kula strawberries for $36.50 per person. Then chef Hiroshi Fukui concocts nine new dishes for his next Contemporary Kaiseki dinner Nov. 10. Call 533-4476 to reserve. Alan Wong's next Farmers Series Dinner is set for Nov. 12 and features products from Hamakua Heritage Farms, Hana Herbs and Flowers, and Hamakua Springs Country Farms. $75; $105 with wine. Call 949-2526 to reserve.

• Recession dining: Feed your Korean food craving for a song at tiny, no-frills Bok Chang Dong Soon Do Bu (1518 Makaloa St., across from Walgreen's, 953-2299, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily). Owner Joyce Kim says she was the first person to serve the rich red stew, soon do bu, in Honolulu. The kitchen turns out food that's as close to MSG-free home cooking as you can get without having a Korean mom — choose from dishes such as dhegi bul go ki (shreds of pork belly marinated in a spicy sauce) and oh jing obok cuon (panfried cuttlefish with veggies). Menu prices are $6.95 to $14.95.

Lesa Griffith reviews restaurants once a month.