Executive Chef Eugenio Martignago’s indulgent filet and Australian lobster tail - paired with asparagus and ratatouille - might warrant a few extra hours at the gym, but it’s worth it. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

It’s no secret that I’m in love with indie restaurants. I just am. I love the fact that someone had the gumption to put it all on the line and say, “This is my idea of a good restaurant — come eat here.” Then they wait and see how they fare in the marketplace. Some make it, some don’t, but it’s much more interesting in my opinion to eat at a “one and only” than at a chain restaurant. (Not that there’s anything wrong with them; hey, I eat at my share.)

One little indie that’s really grown on me in the last year is West Steak Seafood and Spirits in Carlsbad. First things first, though; you must get beyond the fact that this free-standing restaurant is located in a small plaza adjacent to a filling station and across a parking lot from a small hotel. You can get beyond it immediately with all the free parking — you won’t spend the extra five-spot on the valet like most restaurants of this genre — and once you step under the porte-cochère furnished with oversized comfy furniture set around a crackling fireplace, that gas-o-mat will be long forgotten.

The restaurant has a great look and vibe: huge wooden doors open to a small reception area and a see-through view of the entire dining room and exhibition kitchen. To the right, the bar stools are filled with 30- to 40-year-olds still clad in their work clothes and to the center and left is the dining room. The room is classy, yet casual. White tablecloths, leather booths, colorful glass lighting, all combined with high-beamed ceilings that lean the room a bit toward Craftsman-style, work brilliantly to give the room warmth.

Executive Chef Eugenio Martignago, who came from Nick’s Fish Market in Honolulu, offers a varied menu that at first glance looks like that of a steakhouse, but after a good read you see the menu is eclectic, more like a contemporary American bistro.

The chef does a great version of “Shrimp and Chicken Potstickers” ($9.95) and the “Sauteed Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes” ($15.95) are just that — big ol’ lumps of crab barely bound together, warmed through and served with a Kim-Chee style slaw. Perfect.

The French Onion Soup is worthy of the inevitable burnt tongue while a delicious shrimp bisque is worth every artery-clogging calorie.

Entrees start at $35 for “Pepper and Lemon Crusted King Salmon” and top out at $55 for the “Petite Filet and Lobster Tail.” OK, so maybe this sounds like a special occasion restaurant, but if that’s so, there are a lot of people celebrating nightly: most evenings West Steak and Seafood is “booked” between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (Hint: The bar opens at 3:30 and dinner starts at 4:30, so get in a bit early and get seated as a walk-in.)

My last time at West I splurged on the steak and lobster. The 9-ounce Maine lobster was fresh and sweet and the 6-ounce prime petite filet was perfectly cooked and had great flavor. It was a good eat.

Side dishes are hard to choose among: creamed corn, creamed spinach, blue cheese mashers and deep-fried onion rings are all great choices, but my 2-year-old, Paisley, swears by the macaroni and cheese, and I have to agree it is outrageously good.

Desserts are housemade and well done. I always order the same thing, the “Fig and Cherry Bread Pudding” ($7.50). It’s served warm with vanilla ice cream and finished with a buttery vanilla sauce.

If West sounds a bit over the top for your everyday dining, do visit on your next occasion. In the meantime I’ll keep you posted on “Bistro West,” their soon-to-open, more casual eatery in the same plaza.

— Terryl Gavre