Mussels Catalan, featuring a heaping portion of shellfish with plum tomatoes served atop linguine, is among the dinner entrees at The West Deck in Newport.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

NEWPORT The Newport International Film Festival is in full swing through Sunday and there’s no better place to see and be seen, just like a movie star, than The West Deck restaurant overlooking Newport Harbor.

You might not know it to look at The West Deck from the outside, but this unpretentious-looking little restaurant at the end of Waite’s Wharf has for many years been one of the hottest spots on the harborfront. It’s even more popular than it had been more than a decade ago when James Mitchell opened it, said manager Candy Giovan in a phone call following our visit. Even on the chilly evening we dined there recently, a group of youngish guys and gals was clustered around the expansive outdoor bar … and a couple of them were still there nearly three hours later when we left the dining room. Why not? There’s music Mondays through Fridays on the deck and nightly specials — conch fritters, a cup of clam chowder and a Coors Light for $10.95 on Tuesdays, for instance.

Inside there are actually two dining rooms in the relatively small space. The first has the airy feel of a greenhouse, with its floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on a patio garden that makes it all very restful. At the front, French doors open out in summer onto the harborside deck that gives the restaurant its name. The walls are white. Overhead are white fans. This dining room was once the house’s porch. The former exterior brick front is now indoors, its window panes removed.

That brick wall separates the greenhouse dining room, where we chose to sit with its candlelit tables that added a warm glow past sunset, from the bustle of the less formal-looking “inside” dining room. There the tables surround a bar that wraps around an open kitchen where you can see pots bubbling away on a huge stove and chef Robert Biela and his staff transforming ingredients into your finished meal. The night we were there, a big-screen TV over the bar was tuned to a Red Sox game, although the sound was off.

There’s an extensive wine list, both by the bottle and the glass. While I contentedly sipped a generous pour of the Chateau St. Michelle “Eroica” Riesling from the Columbia River Valley in Oregon ($9), my dining companion had a fruity Planter’s Punch ($7) as we sampled slices of deliciously crusty warm French bread.

Appetizers range from the expected — shrimp cocktail ($15), oysters on the half shell ($10.50) — to the more adventurous — baked oysters au gratin with fennel and leeks ($13), ahi tuna tartare with black truffle vinaigrette and basil oil ($12.50) — to the unexpected — pasta carbonara with ham, peas and Parmesan cream ($10). I’d rank the jumbo lump crab cake with pineapple black bean salsa and West Indian tartar sauce ($13.50) on the adventurous side. Yet it was one of several appetizers that were on the menu nearly 11 years ago, the last time we reviewed The West Deck. Surely it must be a crowd pleaser to have lasted for so long and, of course, we had to try it.

It may seem a steep price for one crab cake, but it really was jumbo, enough for two to share, and we agreed that it was about the best crab cake we’d ever had. It was nearly all big pieces of the crab meat, very little filler, if any at all. Moist and bursting with a true flavor of the sea, it had a crispy top, and a sprinkling of the black bean and pineapple salsa added a sweet touch.

The West Deck does its own spin on calamari, which most restaurants serve fried. Here they’re sautéed in a brown butter sauce with currents, for just a hint of fruity sweetness, and crunchy almonds. The squid rounds sat atop hummus, with slices of pita bread arranged like a rosette underneath it all on a small baking dish. The calamari was tender and moist. The pita bread slices were a welcome touch because we quickly discovered that by piling the other ingredients on top, we could turn them into slices of calamari pizza.

We also decided to split a bowl of the Bermuda fish chowder ($8.50), which our efficient and knowledgeable waitress, Ali, divided into two equal portions without our even asking. There was a good portion of cubed firm fish in the chowder, which Ali said was tuna this night. The chowder comes with a tiny pitcher of Gosling’s rum and a small bottle of sherry pepper sauce on the side. Giovan said that the tomato-based chowder also includes the rum and hot sherry pepper sauce in its ingredients, which accounts for its spiciness, along with clam broth and sliced scallions. I added a touch more rum to cut the spiciness. Ali had warned us to use “just a dab” of the pepper sauce, if at all, although when I did it didn’t seem to add much more fire than was already there.

Some of the more intriguing main courses include a roasted half duck with a roasted garlic demi-glace ($29), pan-roasted salmon topped with lump crabmeat, salmon caviar and beurre blanc ($29), sesame mahi-mahi with coconut curry and banana chutney ($27), mushroom ravioli with spinach, fennel, asparagus and white truffle oil ($23), grilled filet mignon with Stilton cheese and port wine sauce ($34) and an entrée serving of the pasta carbonara with peas and ham, this time topped with a small filet ($26).

The sesame mahi-mahi sounded tempting, as did the salmon, but my yen for mussels won out in the Mussels Catalan ($22). This is a heaping — and I mean heaping — bowlful of the shellfish, so make sure you really, really love mussels as much as I before ordering. There were dozens of the black-shelled creatures, each succulent and with their seashore flavor intact. Chunks of red plum tomatoes peeked out between them for a splash of color. Hidden beneath was marvelously al dente black olive linguine, the pasta of the night, which tasted homemade but which Ali said was actually custom-made by Prima Pasta in Bristol. It was in a rich sauce concocted from olive oil, garlic, butter and wine. Heavenly. In the mix were slices of small red Spanish olives and julienne carrots and zucchini.

The mixed grill of meats ($28) at first glance seemed a small portion of a petite filet mignon, a lamb chop, a bone-in chicken thigh and andouille sausage. But it proved to be a lot of food in the eating. The plate included French beans, red mashed potatoes and pureed sweet potatoes. The meats were cooked perfectly to just below medium as ordered, and there was a rich brown sauce as a flavor boost. The chicken was meaty and moist and the smoked sausage added a hearty, spicy twist.

The restaurant menu has a section of side dishes — including sautéed asparagus, sautéed spinach and West Deck Portuguese macaroni and cheese, which Ali said contained chorizo — for $5.50 for a small portion; $7.50 for a large. But its placement on the menu was misleading, for Ali said all entrees come with a starch and vegetable side on their own, unlike some restaurants, which do charge extra for side dishes. That macaroni and cheese sounded interesting, but we decided we had ordered enough already and wanted to save room for the house-made desserts.

There are only four on the dessert menu, including a flourless chocolate cake and a cheesecake, which this night was with strawberries. My friend’s Grand Marnier crème brulee ($9) was perhaps a little denser than some, but with a wonderfully crispy sugary crust.

My apple tarte Tatin ($8.50) was not exactly what I’d expected to see, but a happy surprise. Rather than the usual tart, it was a warm wedge that was flat as a pancake, with a handful of currants for sweetness, all topped by a big scoop of wonderfully rich vanilla bean ice cream. It swam in a puddle of cream and raspberry sauce.

A fitting end to a fine meal.BILL OF FARE

Dinner for two at The West Deck might look something like this:

Chateau St. Michelle Riesling…$9.00

Planter’s Punch…$7.00

Sautéed calamari…$9.00

Mixed grill…$28.00

Mussels Catalan…$22.00

Apple tart…$8.50

Total food and drink…$83.50

Tax…$6.68

Tip…$17.00

Total bill…$107.18

The West Deck, 1 Waite’s Wharf, Newport. (401) 847-3610, www.westdeck.com. Dressy casual. Handicapped accessible. Child seats. Reservations. AE, MC, V, DIS. Parking in paid lot opposite. Lunch on the deck from noon every day; dinner 5:30 to 10 p.m. Mon. to Thurs., to 11 p.m. Fri. to Sun. Appetizers $6 to $27; entrees $15 to $39. wines are $6 to $12 by the glass; $28 to $198 for a bottle.

More, please! This restaurant’s menu, and recent reviews and menus: projo.com/food

mjanuson@projo.com