Sabor of Spain delivers elegant, spare decor and one of Marin's most unusual menus.

The restaurant is the outgrowth of Sabor of Spain, a classy gourmet store specializing in Spanish food products, wines, pottery and cookware, that opened late in 2003.

Though it's only been open two months, the dining room of Sabor, on the corner of C and Fourth Streets in downtown San Rafael, is already packed on weekend nights for dinner, and building a clientele at lunch time. The regulars are coming back for the creative small plates and growing menu of large dishes.

True Spanish, its not. Classic Spanish tapas are simpler than the often elaborate concoctions on Sabor's menu. But overall, I'm impressed with the place. I've eaten there four or five times since it opened, just for my own pleasure.

What keeps me coming back? The ingredients of the dishes, many of them rich in garlic and full-flavored with buttery Spanish olive oil and aromatic paprikas. The inventiveness is a lure. Some preparations have enough offbeat layers of ingredients to make them fun, as well as interesting, to eat. I love the range of small plates, and the fact that these are augmented with daily specials such as perfectly fresh Hog Island oysters given Spanish zest with a sherry vinegar and shallot mignonette.

I also find it sexy. Sabor is more elegant than the typical San Rafael restaurant. The decor is spare. Clean. Stark, flan-gold walls are jazzed with lighting fixtures that are paintings, backlit so they glow. The wood floors have been glazed to the color of vintage sherry. A long bar, of tawny whorled stone, is sleek and appealing, as it faces a wall filled with wine bottles reflecting over 80 different Spanish vintages, including sherries and sparkling wines.

Sure, I have a wish list: padding on the bar stools and chairs, for one. They're wood, and while well-molded, are hard to relax on for long periods of time. Yeah, it's a quirk of mine. Most people seem perfectly comfortable. If you do want or need padding, make a reservation for a seat at one of the tables with benches in a small L-shaped alcove at the rear of the restaurant, farthest from the dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows. And I could wish there was more sound-proofing, as well. When Sabor is packed, the scene is exciting, but the noise level can build to the staccato attack of a castanet orchestra.

Still, this is a hot joint. A communal table pulls singles as well as parties. The bar is a great place to drink a glass of cloudy ruby Sangria a'bob with fruits. Chase this with, perhaps, Surtidas (small $8.50, large $16). This is a plate of wafer-thin sliced Spanish cheeses such as Manchego, teamed with spicy and mild slices of chorizo, jamon serrano that's all pink plushness underscored by smoke and salt, and salami so rosy with paprika it looks like pepperoni on steroids but tastes sweet and porky. Tender-centered, firm-crusted white bread, dunked in fruity, buttery Spanish olive oil, is all you need to complete this Spanish snack.

Of the small plates, one of the most traditional is the Tortilla Patata ($6.50). A wedge of beaten eggs, turned into a frittata by adhering to layers of cooked, almost chewy potatoes, is topped with caramelized shallots and presented with a choice of garlicky mayonnaise or red pepper dipping sauces It's earthy, great to share - as are all the dishes here.

Albondigas ($7) offers more than a traditional Spanish tapas of meatballs, normally served in a simple tomato-ey sauce. Sabor's albondigas are of grass-fed Angus beef, lightly spiked with seasoning, embedded in a tomato-wine sauce so thick it could almost launch a spoon, with thin slices of summer squash, red onion, a potato-leek puree, and a ribbon of green basil oil for flavor and more texture. In fact it's a tiny, complete entree, that complements one of the wine menu's flights of astringent Spanish reds.

There are salads. Ahumado ($11) is one of the best, a sensuous mating of smoked salmon and sturgeon with a couple of grilled prawns over mixed greens in a roasted garlic dressing. It's as deftly upscale as it is unexpected. By contrast, a whole romaine leaf Cesar Manchego ($7) under a dune of grated Manchego cheese, sounded great. However, it delivered so much anchovy in its eggy dressing, I felt as if I'd been punched in the mouth by fish and salt.

For sheer fun, try the Tour de Espana ($7). It's billed as "Traveling North to South: Tuna, Bacalao Flan, Mint-Almond, and Sweet Orange Pepper Sauce." What this translates into, visually and edibly, is a tower of foods. If the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi cooked, I could imagine him dishing up something like this. A tea-cup sized flan of mildly salty bacalao custard was topped by a raggedy spoonful of ahi tuna tartare. Under the flan was a 1/2-inch-thick pad of ground almonds and fresh mint. A ribbon of bright orange-red sauce, redolent of roasted red pepper, pulled the whole thing together, with the geometric dash of a lightning bolt. Festive.

More pads of food show up in Hongos Con Trufa ($10.50), one of the most ambitious tapas on the menu. This is a concoction of saut}ed wild mushrooms, black truffles and shallots, wrapped in philo dough like beggar's purses, then presented on dense, almost dry black rice cakes. The combo is then glossed with truffle oil.

If I have a problem with this menu, it's that the descriptions don't clearly explain what you get. For instance, with the last two dishes I mentioned above, it's impossible to get a sense of what will be served until the food arrives. There was diner disconnect between what I ordered and what I tasted. Until I saw it at another table, I had no idea that Tour de Espana was a tower of foods, nor does the mushroom dish indicate that the mushrooms are served in crisp dough purses. Clearer descriptions of this unusual fare would sell the offerings more effectively. The servers, while trying hard to be attentive and helpful, are still in the training stages, and don't always take the time to explain everything you order - or more importantly, sell what's on the menu.

This issue isn't a problem with every dish. In plenty of offerings, you get what you read about. Gambas Vinoteca ($9.50) are indeed large prawns served with seasonal tomatoes, leeks, and garlic in a white wine sauce. It's a delicious, simple preparation, with moist, plump shrimp complimented by the lightly stewed vegetables, that pays homage to the classic Spanish shrimp with garlic.

Of the main dishes, called Raciones on the menu, Marisco Del Mar ($21) is unusual, and particularly light. Diver scallops, prawns, and two huge clams, are steamed in white wine and garlic. The prawns and scallops are skewered, lightly grilled so they have texture, not just moistness, and served with strands of chive, ribbons of chopped chard, and a lemon foam that made me wonder if someone in the kitchen takes Ferran Adria, the iconoclastic Spanish wunderchef of El Bulli, as a role model.

Codorniz de Miel ($19.50) is rich and almost harvest-like in its combination of two little honey-roasted quail, juicy and plump, stuffed with a salty/sweet chorizo-cornemal filling and served with potato gratin, chard, shallots, and a Manzanilla sherry wine reduction.

Yes, there's paella ($18), served for one. Currently it's available on Wednesdays at dinner, and Tuesdays through Thursdays as a luncheon entree. A paella party is also coming up this Sunday night, July 31.

I wonder if Sabor's paella ($18) is still evolving. It already has appealing qualities. The rice was a deep gold, and had the smoky distinction that plenty of saffron gives, which I appreciated. And there was plenty of protein: Chunks of chicken, chorizo, shrimp, tiny manila clams, a greenlipped mussel, poked through the rice so that each bite might have a different flavor. I missed the ribbons of red pepper and green peas, which I've had in many paellas both here and in Spain. They add not just color, but texture and flavor. Sabor's version is simpler, cleaner, but almost too spare in its gold and brown mixture of rice, seafood and meat. A downside on a recent visit, was the fact that the rice had not quite absorbed all the water, so there was a brothy slosh on the bottom of the traditional flat pan that just didn't belong there, and made the whole dish too wet.

There are just a few desserts ($6). These include crema catalana, a Spanish version of Creme Brulee, and an excellent, classic flan that was a true pudding in its creamy denseness, with a sweet egg undertone and plenty of housemade caramel sauce. It didn't benefit from the mint leaf garnish, a dessert clich} by now.

Overall, this is a lovely place to dine. I can already sense more of a community building here than other restaurants in Marin. In addition to special dinners, like their forthcoming paella feast, Sabor holds weekly wine tastings in their shop, taking people on viniferous tours of Spain. These have developed a strong following. Lunches at Sabor are also a good deal. A daily-changing two-course lunch menu for $15.50 includes a choice of gazpacho, hot soup or salad, followed by a main course that reflects a different region of Spain every day. Sangria, ordered with this menu, is $3 for a generous glass.

At only two months old, I think Sabor is well on its way to becoming one of the most exciting restaurants in Central Marin. I'm so glad they're here.

Sabor of Spain

Address: 1303 Fourth Street, San Rafael

Phone: 457-4088

Cuisine: Creative Spanish

Service: Enthusiastic, tries hard, in-training

Recommended dishes: Platter of assorted meats and cheeses; Ahumano salad of smoked salmon and sturgeon, prawns, mixed greens and roasted garlic dressing; Shrimp with seasonal tomatoes, leeks, garlic and white wine; Albondigas (meat balls) with summer squash, red onion, potato-leek puree; Honey-roasted quail with chorizo-cornmeal filling; Marisco del Mar

Liquor Selection: Excellent Spanish wine list by bottle or glass, red, white and sparkling wine flights, sangria

Heart-healthy and vegetarian selections: Yes

Parking: Nearby metered street or lot parking

Wheelchair access: Yes

Summary: Sabor of Spain is one of Marin's most creative restaurants. It's adjacent to, and an outgrowth of, the county's only Spanish gourmet store, and is a combination wine bar, tapas bar, and full-service Spanish restaurant. While the cuisine is more creative than traditional, most dishes still deliver the distinctive flavors of the Iberian Peninsula. The spare, elegant decor is classy; the room gets noisy when full.