Flare’s cookie plate for two is a daily selection of warm cookies for a sweet finish to the meal.

Flare Restaurant sits in a tiny plaza along busy Tiogue Avenue in Coventry. Beyond the front door is a modern dÉcor with lots of exposed rock walls, and a two-sided fireplace that warms the dining room and lounge. An open kitchen invites diners to sit at a dinner bar top and take in the aromas of the grilled pizzas and meats. A lounge offers specialty cocktails and a comfortable room. Flat screen televisions call to other diners who prefer the openness of the front room dining area with a few large round tables and comfortable banquettes.

There is so very much to like here from the food to the ambiance to the sparkling wine menu with unexpected surprises.

Flare, which opened in July, is co-owned by Carlo Slaughter and Rick Pimental. It occupies the space formerly known as Domenic’s Pizza. Slaughter is the owner of d. Carlo Trattoria, a similarly stylish bistro in Smithfield with which he sought to prove you don’t have to visit Providence for a sophisticated dining experience. Now, he’s bringing the message to Coventry with Pimental, who’s new to the restaurant business.

At Flare, the menu goes well beyond Italian. Its bistro sensibilities offer a wide variety of temptations from grilled Hereford burgers ($10.95) and capellini in marinara ($9.95) to wood-grilled pork porterhouse ($16.95), duck breast and duck leg confit ($20.95) and black pepper pappardelle tossed with chicken and sausage ($16.95). Credit executive chef Aaron W. Thorpe, whose background includes Shula’s 347 Grille and XO Steakhouse, with creating the likable menu.

A special start

Right off the bat the surprises start with house-made flavored butter. It’s so little and simple but having a pumpkin spiced butter to put on warm bread is really quite a lovely way to start a meal. The flavorings change seasonally.

Crispy calamari came with a cherry pepper relish and a chipotle remoulade ($8.95). But the tender calamari were more than crispy, they were spicy, and that was before they were dipped into the chipotle sauce, which was amazingly not spicy. Thorpe said he dusts the calamari with a well-seasoned flour to add kick. The blend of oregano, parsley, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper elevates this dish above the usual bistro fare.

A second appetizer of littlenecks offered a nice-size portion ($10.95). The braised littlenecks were a lovely fall dish cuddled up with chorizo, white beans and escarole in a light, seasoned beer broth. The escarole added a lot of welcome texture while the chorizo imparted a lovely flavor. Thorpe adds chopped romaine hearts to the littleneck dish to remove any bitterness from the broth.

I tried the grilled Margherita pizza ($9.95), not because of hunger pains, but to see if Flare was the kind of place one could enjoy a pizza and drink and catch some college football on a Saturday afternoon. It passed the test with a perfect thin crust, nicely appointed sauce and dollops of fresh mozzarella.

Hearty pappardelle with chicken

But it would be difficult to simply have a pizza now that I have tasted the luscious pappardelle dish ($15.95). The black pepper pasta is sourced from a company in Vermont and is the perfect foil for many slices of perfectly seared and marinated chicken, mild sausage, lots of sautÉed peppers and crimini mushrooms all delicately seasoned in a Madeira sauce that was more savory than sweet. This is a hearty dish and perfect for a cold winter’s day.

So too is the giant wood-grilled 16-ounce pork porterhouse ($16.95), a thick, juicy chop cut from the whole bone in pork loin. It’s covered in what might be an overly sweet bourbon lacquer save for the pairing with a warm three-potato salad. Braised cabbage is also on the dish.

Giant Baked Shells ($13.95) offer a traditional Italian pasta dish but with a nice twist. The filling includes both farmers’ cheese and fresh ricotta but they drizzle the shells with a touch of pesto when they come out of the oven and that perks up the flavor many notches. They sit on a nice pool of marinara sauce.

At this point, we turned to the sparkling wine list, a signature of Flare, to complement our entrees. We passed on the Louis Roederer Cristal for $275 and the Perrier Jouet Le Fleur for $130 and went straight for Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz.

Sparkling Shiraz

Trying a sparkling Shiraz might be a leap of faith for some who imagine a Cold Duck-like drink. But it’s not a risk at all. Instead of using Chardonnay or Pinot Noir to make the sparkling wine, the Australians are experimenting with Shiraz. The result is a sparkling wine with all the chocolate and blackberry and black currant flavors of the land down under’s signature grape. The Aussie Black Chook ($30 for the bottle) was great with the grilled pizza and the pork chop and even seemed fine with the chocolate desserts of lava cake and chocolate hazelnut crème brûlÉe (both $6.95) for dessert. The deep, almost purple color is lovely and we all loved that we tried something new.

Also sparkling was the cookie plate for two ($9.95), Thorpe’s daily selection of warm cookies. Thumbprints, brownies, sugar cookies and a brittle were on our tray and finished off the night on a perfectly sweet note.

gciampa@projo.com