RESTAURANT REVIEW : Mexican Eatery a Great Catch for Seafood : Guadalajara in Thousand Oaks boasts an impressive menu of delicacies from the deep.

During my many travels to Mexico, I have always loved the wonderfully fresh-tasting seafood found on the Gulf and Pacific coasts of our Latin neighbor. Respecting the natural flavors of fish, crustaceans and mollusks, good Mexican cooks often keep their preparations simple, which permits the just-caught flavor of the sea to permeate the dish.

Unfortunately, I find that many Mexican seafood restaurants in Southern California adhere to a “more is best” philosophy, throwing in too many warring ingredients to satisfy North American taste buds.

And then, in a strip mall in Thousand Oaks, I discovered the restaurant Guadalajara. Given that the city in Mexico is landlocked, Guadalajara seems an unlikely moniker for a seafood house. But this 5-month-old restaurant is named after the hometown of owners Andrea and Enrique Ruelas, and it boasts the most deliciously authentic Mexican seafood I’ve tasted north of the border. The Ruelases make quite a team: Enrique is the chef and sometime bartender, while the gracious Andrea cooks and serves the cuisine with a flourish.

There’s a large bar near the entrance to a commodious dining room filled with leather booths and well-spaced tables. A cathedral ceiling is lit by enormous Colonial-style chandeliers, which are a shade too bright, and the walls are adorned with folk art. Mexican beer complements this food best, and of the half-dozen brands offered, I prefer a smooth, dark brew such as Negra Modelo. Service is so friendly and caring that you’ll feel guilty for not finishing everything on your plate.

For appetizers, I enjoyed a tostada topped with a tongue-tingling ceviche ($2.25) composed of citrus-marinated snapper and shrimp. Chef Ruelas also makes a quesadilla luxuriously filled with chipotle chilies and giant mushrooms ($4.95) garnished with a spicy guacamole and sour cream.

Best of all were the cocteles of shrimp ($7.95 small, $9.95 large), abalone ($8.95 small, $10.95 large), or a combination of shrimp, abalone and octopus ($8.95 small, $10.95 large). These are no ordinary seafood cocktails because they are generously served in gigantic seashell bowls (with the large one being truly “El Grandissimo”), filled with a fresh tomato sauce, minced cucumber and onion that tastes like gazpacho gone to heaven.

Another way to begin your meal is to try one of the aromatic soups called caldos. A single order can easily serve two to three people, or it can provide an ample meal for one. I liked the Costa Brava ($9.95) filled with shrimp, octopus and fat chunks of red snapper in a fiery chili-laden broth. I customized the soup by adding more onion, cilantro and fresh lime juice. Also excellent was the soup siete mares ($10.95), which allegedly covers the Seven Seas with crab legs, oysters, abalone, shrimp, octopus and red snapper in a lemony broth.

Among the seafood platters sampled, I’d happily eat any of the following: the simple, extra-fresh broiled shrimp ($11.95), which only require the seasoning of a squeeze of lime; a fillet of snapper in a roasted garlic sauce ($10.95); and a large, lightly fried chile relleno ($11.95) with a tasty stuffing of cheese, crab and shrimp. The shrimp a la Diabla ($11.95) suffered from a sauce that had little flavor other than heat. Though the juicy shrimp enchiladas ($11.95), covered in a flavorful sauce of red chilies, were delicious, I found the crab enchiladas ($11.95) to be too dry.

You don’t have to be a lover of delicacies from the deep to enjoy a fine meal here. The chef does a creditable job with chicken and beef. The chicken in garlic sauce ($8.95) was fine, as were the rice pilaf with chicken and vegetables ($8.95) and the charbroiled chicken ($8.95). Unrepentant carnivores will be content with nicely marinated carnitas ($8.95), flavorful but chewy carne asada ($12.95) and a terrific pork-filled chile verde ($8.25).

If you crave some drama with your meal, order the shrimp fajitas ($11.95), which arrived in a sizzling pan of onions and peppers; I added homemade pico de gallo salsa and wrapped the shrimp mixture in a hot tortilla. Even more spectacular were the parilladas de marisco ($19.95 for two, $35.95 for four), which were delivered on a raised grill covered with a mountain of charbroiled shrimp, octopus, crab legs, squid and halibut, along with fried sweet plantains and rounds of roasted potatoes. Accompanying all of this was an enormous platter of rice and refried beans, best when topped with the restaurant’s homemade, chili-flecked salsa.

For dessert, the flan ($1.75) is so bland as to be virtually tasteless. Instead, go for the fried ice cream ($2.75), in which a scoop of vanilla remains frozen under a mantle of deep-fried crunchy cereal; trust me, amigos, it tastes better than it sounds. And a sincere muchisimas gracias to Andrea and Enrique Ruelas for serving such unusually delightful cuisine in Ventura County.

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Details

* WHAT: Guadalajara Mexican Seafood.

* WHERE: 2891 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. (Skyline Plaza), Thousand Oaks.

* WHEN: Lunch and dinner, Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, breakfast, lunch and dinner from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, breakfast, lunch and dinner from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

* HOW MUCH: Meal for two, food only $15 to $40.

* FYI: All major credit cards; full bar, beer and wine. For reservations or takeout: 497-0070.