Lalla Oceanside Grill builds upon a family tradition.

On my first visit to recently opened Lalla Oceanside Grill on Cannery Row I was so impressed with how well its design and decor captures the beauty of the Bay I decided to poke my head into the other nearby bayside restaurants to see how Lalla’s view rates. It’s at the top.

For an early lunch, a colleague and I were pleased to get a table with an unimpeded view over McAbee Beach. A partly cloudy sky over the calm sea served as a beautiful backdrop for kayaks, sailboats and seabirds.

A gleaming mirror-backed orange bar, modern high-backed, semicircular wrap-around booths, fresh flowers on every table, funky contemporary chandeliers and other chic lighting appointments give the place an elegant yet festive ambiance.

I ordered the Cuban mojo ($14.99), with slow roasted chipotle pork and ham, melted Swiss cheese, pickles and citrus “mojo” sauce. Thanks to the multidimensional tastes and textures of all those ingredients and firm French roll, it did not disappoint. All nine sandwich offerings come with a choice of side: hand cut fries, firecracker fries, onion rings, clam chowder, house salad or fruit (add $1 for a Caesar or Greek salad). My hearty clam chowder rounded out the meal.

My colleague was not blown over by the P.G. burger slider ($7.99). Her main beef was the bun did not hold up well to all the slippery condiments – mayo, mustard, catsup, relish and chopped onions. Three more slider options (all $7.99) are on the menu: the bacon Kobe, the Mexican burger and the ground chicken and guacamole. Double the order for $4 more. Note: These “sliders” aren’t much smaller than normal sized burgers.

My next visit was with my wife on a wet and windy Sunday, an hour before sunset, lucky once again to be seated at one of the seven tables with a direct bayside view. This time the sea was raucous with whitecaps spewing foam.

I started with a delicious old fashioned ($11) made with Knob Creek rye. Festive drinks are a big deal at Lalla Oceanside, like its sister spots Ellie’s in Salinas, Lallapalooza in downtown Monterey and Lalla Grill at Del Monte Center. There are seven specialty cocktails, all $10, with catchy names like the Point of No Return, Smoke and Mirrors and a margarita called Angel’s Share – which doubles as the name of the new lounge below. Then there are 10 Lalla classic cocktails like the popular la piña mojito ($9), with house-infused pineapple rum, or the Grateful Dead ($10), Lalla’s psychedelic take on Long Island iced tea. Eleven craft beers on tap ($7 per 16 ounce) include a full range of local and semi-local IPAs, stouts, porters, lagers as well as a Belgian Allagash White. A four-page wine list ensures ample pairing possibilities. Bottles range from the Spanish Torres Tempranillo ($25) to the 2012 Stags Leap Cask 23 ($350). By the glass, whites and reds range from $8 to $16.

Anyone who has dined at any of the other Ottone Restaurant Group’s locations knows there’s a huge selection of salads, soups, appetizers, sandwiches, flatbreads, pastas, seafood specialties, chicken dishes and steak combos. Lalla Oceanside does not break tradition, with 90-plus menu items all told.

My wife’s a noodle nerd, so she went straight to the selection of 10 different pasta dishes made in-house daily and served with grilled country wheat bread. After eyeing the angel hair pasta with clams and mussels ($21.99) and the bacon wrapped shrimp and spinach noodles ($19.99), she decided on the fettuccine with shrimp and halibut ($25.99) – three plump shrimp and four nice sized pieces of halibut, perfectly sauteed and served in a mascarpone white sauce, with bits of pancetta, red onion and chopped spinach. She loved it. And she’s a tough customer.

I ended 100 percent satisfied with my choice: Italian brick chicken ($21.99) – a free-range half chicken, deboned and grilled to order. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside.

Oh, and our choice of appetizer was light yet explosively flavorful. It was the ahi ceviche ($14.99) with avocado, wasabi salsa and wontons served on a Himalayan salt brick. I saw it being served at a neighboring table and it made me say, “I want dat.” I’ll go for it again.

After all that, we still had a bit of room for dessert. There are six sweet treats to choose from (all $8.99); our very cheerful, attentive and well-trained server Spencer spoke highly of the custard bread pudding. We took his suggestion and had no regrets. Not a trace left behind.

As dusk approached we drank, nibbled and watched the sky and sea change colors. Then we ducked downstairs for the classy, more intimate Angel’s Share, reminiscent of a prohibition era speakeasy. That’s where Lalla Oceanside has a stash of really good stuff, including a boatload of barrel-aged bottle cocktails. On our way out we popped down to try a dark and stormy ($14), a port barrel aged concoction of Goslings Black Seal Rum, St. Elizabeth Dram, orange velvet falernum shrub served in a copper cup with premium ginger beer.

Two hours flew by. That’s what happens when you’re having a good time.

LALLA OCEANSIDE GRILL 654 Cannery Row, Monterey •11am-10pm Sun-Wed; 11am-11pm Thu-Sat • www.lallamonterey.com. 324-0891.