A New Face, New Menu and Excellence

STRESA is a sophisticated, elegant Italian restaurant with a serene, assured air. This popular Manhasset spot was further enhanced this spring by a number of changes.

The exterior of the building was refurbished and the interior given a mini-makeover. This four-year-old beauty was hardly in need of a face lift, but the newly sponge-painted walls and marbelized wallpaper are pleasing and harmonious. As before, paintings of Stresa, the restaurant's namesake, adorn the walls. Those vistas of Lake Maggiore are no competition, though, for the gorgeous floral displays that dominate the room. The massive bouquets are similar to those in the lobby of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Stresa is a pretty place where diners are cosseted and pampered. The well-trained staff immediately brings warm rolls, breadsticks, butter, a relish tray and a trio of complimentary tidbits. The glass bowl filled with carrot and celery sticks, olives and peppers on a bed of ice is reminiscent of Sunday dinner at grandma's. But grandma probably never heard of bruschetta. The version served at Stresa is a best of breed. It is accompanied by a mini wedge of pizza and another treat that changes nightly. Our favorite was a round of toast topped with minced mushrooms.

Perhaps the most important change at Stresa is its new menu. Regulars who love the Charlotte salad will find it, but it is joined by a score of other items. The Charlotte, a mound of chopped greens and asparagus presented in a radicchio leaf with endive and asparagus spokes ringing the plate, is as good as ever. Among the newcomers, the salad of shrimp nestled among emerald green haricots vert, all piled on top of fanned lettuce leaves and garnished with strips of roasted peppers, is a delicious pick that is perfect for warm weather. We found it more appealing than the stuffed eggplant, another first timer, that featured thin layers of eggplant, spinach and cheese. It was tasty but difficult to cut.

Anyone who has given up ordering Caesar salad because a travesty coated with creamy dressing arrives should try Stresa's version. It is the real thing. Also noteworthy is the Stresa salad, a tricolor with eggplant, roasted peppers and fava beans.

Be alert for appetizer specials like the grilled baby calamari stuffed with a luscious calamari-shrimp mousse and the medallions of cold poached salmon molded around a bull's eye of asparagus and paired with a just-right horseradish mayonnaise.

Still, my favorite opener here is listed with the vegetables and rivals the soups as the lowest priced starter. The fried zucchini ($7.50) is a platter of crisp wisps that is perfect for four to share.

The most exciting pastas are the daily specials. Three successful offerings were ravioli filled with eggplant and smoked mozzarella atop a lush tomato sauce, angel hair tossed with chopped tomatoes, shrimp, arugula, garlic and olive oil and pinwheels of pasta sheets rolled around asparagus and other seasonal vegetables.

Not to be forgotten are Stresa's risottos. They are creamy but never soupy.

At many Island restaurants, the evening specials are virtually the same every night. At Stresa, they are rarely repeated and range from simple successes like sauteed soft-shell crabs and precisely cooked Dover sole to more elaborate dishes like the juicy deboned baby chicken. It was filled with wild rice, mushrooms and onions and perched on a bed of crisp angel hair noodles. Another chicken special to grab is the duet of grilled breasts adorned with sauteed wild mushrooms and garlic.

The menu's grilled tuna sprinkled with fresh herbs was also fine, as were specials of halibut in a light balsamic vinegar sauce laced with julienned onions and peppers, and swordfish over spinach encircled with homemade potato chips.

Receiving equally high marks were the pounded veal chop alla Emiliana on the menu, and a butterflied veal chop special topped with oyster mushrooms and pearl onions.

Two entrees recently added to the menu also came up aces, a quartet of lamb chops under sauteed fresh baby artichokes and bistecca alla King. The latter has nothing to do with that old standby, chicken alla king, but is named for Alan King, the comedian, a frequent patron. A juicy shell steak is sliced at tableside and presented with sauteed red peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic on top.

Desserts are a must at Stresa. They are made by the owners and are superb. Yummy souffles are offered weeknights and should be tried. The raspberry was excellent and the chocolate was even better.

Speaking of chocolate, the flourless chocolate cake is, hands-down, the best on the Island. And the satiny creme brulee drew cries of "best ever" at our table. Ricotta cheese cake, so often dry and leaden, is airy, moist and irresistible. The rich, creamy Napoleon and the fresh fruit tarts are also way above the norm.

Stresa is a prestigious restaurant with a down-to-earth wine list of 46 appropriately priced and picked selections. One of five bottles that cost $15 is a velvety, golden white Ruffino Orvieto Classico 1994. A 1992 Rosso di Sicilia Regaleali ($20), Sicily's best red, displays a vibrant ruby color and a deep lusty finish.

Stresa, which has the same ownership as Navona in Great Neck, now joins its older sister in receiving a rating of excellent.

Stresa Excellent

1524 Northern Boulevard, Route 25A, Manhasset, 365-6956.

Atmosphere: Refurbished Italian beauty.

Service: Professional.

Recommended dishes: All desserts, fried zucchini, Charlotte salad, Caesar salad, Stresa salad, shrimp and green bean salad, stuffed calamari, cold salmon appetizer, eggplant ravioli, angel hair with shrimp and tomatoes, pasta medallions, risotto, Dover sole, soft shell crabs, grilled tuna, halibut in balsamic vinegar, swordfish over spinach, stuffed baby chicken, chicken breasts with wild mushrooms, lamb chops, bistecca alla King, veal chop alla Emiliana, butterflied veal chop with oyster mushrooms.

Price range: Lunch, entrees $6.25 to $18.50. At dinner, appetizers $6.25 to $10.75; entrees $14.50 to $25.75.

Credit cards: All major cards.

Hours: Lunch, noon to 3 P.M. Dinner, 5:30 to 10 P.M. Sunday through Thursday, till 11 Friday and Saturday.

Reservations: A must.

Wheelchair accessibility: No steps at front entrance, one flight from parking lot in back.