Paige McGarity may never have run a restaurant before, but she clearly has a knack for designing one. Mojo Bistro's wooden pews and chairs are surprisingly comfortable. Funky chandeliers topped with mismatched lamp shades and plenty of tassels, beautiful tiled mirrors and a well-stocked coffee bar all contribute to the charm of the main dining room. The space conveys a wonderful sense of permanence, as if Mojo has been there forever and will be there forever.

When the restaurant opened in February, it served salads, soups and sandwiches. After a couple of months, Chef Dave McCartan suggested serving a few dinner specials. The response was positive, the menu began to grow and dinner became a permanent addition. Now, Mojo has a substantial dinner menu listing four separate courses with entrees topping out at $26.

Chef McCartan sticks primarily to traditional American food with Southern and Asian influences. The menu is a bit hit or miss, but the problems stem from a few basic kinds of mistakes that do not seem like impregnable obstacles.

Simpler dishes with clearer influences tended to be good. Sweet potato fries ($6) with a melted butter and brown sugar dipping sauce were fantastic. Mojo's Bruschetta ($6) was a somewhat loose interpretation of the term, but with good results. Lightly toasted baguette rounds were topped with a pale white spread of earthy goat cheese, a stark contrast to the stained-glass effect of reduced-balsamic triangles filled in with blocks of red (tomato) and green (basil) oils.

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Mojo Bistro

(The PG's rating system)
172 Lincoln Ave.
Bellevue
412-761-2828

• Hours: Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
• Basics: The fun, funky dining room is the perfect gathering place, but food is better executed on the menu than on the plate.
• Recommended dishes: Sweet potato fries, bruschetta, polenta stack, mojo house salad, Iceberg wedge, oven-roasted monkfish, mini mojo crab cakes, cheesecake.
• Prices: Appetizers $3-$11; entrees $17-$26; desserts $6; $4 split-plate charge.
• Summary: Wheelchair accessible (upstairs only); non-smoking; small parking lot in front, additional parking in back; credit cards accepted; reservations recommended on weekends; BYOB, corkage $5 for wine, $1 for beer.
• Noise level: low.

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The polenta stack ($5) of small rectangles of pan-fried polenta was served with a zesty tomato sauce, and made me think of mozzarella sticks. It is less substantial than some of the other appetizers, so order accordingly.

The appetizer tasting ($11) was disappointing. I tried the crab futomaki roll -- an extremely large sushi roll made from crab and mayonnaise wrapped in rice and nori -- on two different visits, once as part of the appetizer sampler, once as part of the "surf 'n' turf." Both times it tasted predominantly of the mayonnaise mixed with the crab and sticky, starchy rice without any real vinegar flavor (the essential component of sushi rice).

The vegetable egg roll was fine, though it could have been crispier. It was pleasantly warm, as were the delicious crab-stuffed portobello mushrooms, which turned out to be two mini crab cakes sandwiched between portobello caps, topped with shredded carrots and served with a bit of chipotle aioli, quite similar to the mini mojo crab cakes entree. The last selection consisted of a piece of smoked salmon rolled around some shredded carrots and red cabbage with a sweet Asian dressing. When three components of a dish are intricately constructed, such a simple piece cannot help but look like a failure of imagination, especially when it's given the rather pretentious name "smoked salmon cornucopia."

The salads were extremely straightforward. The Mojo house salad ($6) of field greens, candied nuts, blue cheese, and tomatoes was fresh and flavorful and could be added to an entree for only $3. But I was perplexed by the unnecessary inclusion of large chunks of pink and mealy plum tomato.

A deconstructed, delicious, but slightly messy salad of an Iceberg "wedge" ($6) with bacon, blue cheese and blue cheese dressing also had at least one dull tomato's worth of slices layered on the plate, again unnecessarily. Most odd of all was the Caprese salad ($6) of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, probably a stunner in August, but a strange choice in December. Calling a tomato a "locally harvested heirloom" does not trick anyone into thinking a bad tomato is a good one. The Caesar salad ($6) was fine, but the parmesan cheese "cup" was stale rather than crunchy, probably a consequence of being made too far in advance.

The best entrees we tried were the mini mojo crab cakes ($21) and the oven-roasted monkfish ($26). Though crab cakes are a dime a dozen in Pittsburgh, serving them on potatoes rosti (essentially potato pancakes made from precooked potatoes) with sauteed spinach and chipotle mayonnaise was original and more suited to winter than many similar dishes. The miniature size of the crab cakes also made this dish easy to eat and share. The shredded carrots were a bit unnecessary. Not every dish needs a colorful garnish.

The roasted monkfish was the dish that best showcased the talents of the chef. The monkfish had been roasted with thyme and lemon and was served atop a saffron and pea risotto with three butterflied shrimp. The shrimp were perfectly cooked -- moist, sweet and delicious. A shellfish beurre rouge (butter flavored with shellfish and emulsified with a red wine reduction) infused the risotto with a subtle taste of the sea; in some ways this dish reminded me of a sophisticated play on paella. The rice did not become quite as creamy as it should, but it had the lovely, loose texture important to proper risotto. It is beyond unfortunate that this fantastic dish contained a single short hair, which could not help but mar our dining experience a bit.

Several entrees suffered from components that were overcooked. Unfortunately, overcooking meats, sauces and starches can have a more serious impact on the dish as a whole than one mistake might seem to predict.

The shrimp and grits ($19) sounded fantastic, but when they arrived, the grits were so thick they tasted dry with a predominant flavor of black pepper that also was sprinkled all over the plate. The shrimp were disappointingly rubbery, either because they had been overcooked, or perhaps simply because they sat for too long before being served. This dish could have used a sauce, or simply a little more cooking liquid to keep it moist and flavorful. I would also have preferred that the shrimp be removed from the skewer and plated in the kitchen. Though skewers are an excellent tool for cooking shrimp, they can be a little difficult to remove at the table.

The Asian-style surf and turf ($25) included a crab maki that suffered from flaws I already described. The turf consisted of thin slices of cold filet mignon that were ordered medium-rare but served medium-well, and became quite tough as a result. The end piece, which in my opinion should have been discarded out of hand, was so tough as to be practically inedible. In stark contrast, the dish was finished with perfectly cooked rice noodles and a tart and refreshing Asian slaw.

An order of roasted pork tenderloin ($20), this time requested medium (pork is now considered safe to be ordered to temperature), was served well done and also was surreally tough. The pork had been cut in long thin strips, suggesting that it must have been cut with the grain, which would help explain the unpleasant texture. The pairing of hoisin barbecue sauce and vinegary German-style redskin potatoes was a totally unsuccessful combination of flavors.

Fusilli Diablo suffered from an over-reduced tomato sauce that bore little resemblance to the "spicy tomato basil cream sauce" mentioned on the menu. When tomato products are over-reduced, they take on the slightly tinny flavor present in tomato paste, which can be fairly difficult to tolerate on its own. There was also about twice as much sauce as pasta, an extremely strange balance. This dish should have been simple to execute, and I have a hard time believing that it was served as it was conceived.

Some of these problems may stem from an overworked staff. On a Friday night our party of four arrived early for a 6 p.m. reservation and were practically the first table in the restaurant, which never got quite full. Ten minutes after we ordered, our server said our appetizers would be out any minute. It was more than 35 minutes until we saw any food; even the bread arrived after our appetizers had been served (the bread, by the way, is a fairly plain Italian-style loaf served with spinach dip).

It's almost as if the restaurant has not caught up to its own popularity. The servers -- two on a Tuesday, three on a Friday -- always seemed to be working extremely hard, as did the kitchen staff, who were partially visible from the dining room, but even with a lot of effort they were unable to keep up with the orders. At one point, we watched a lone salad sit for about eight minutes, wilting in the warm kitchen under the weight of its dressing, before a server managed to deliver it.

A strong ending has redeemed many a lackluster meal and Mojo offers some wonderful desserts; many are cakes made by Kathy Raddick, a friend of the owners who bakes out of a commercial kitchen in her home. Pumpkin, white chocolate raspberry and peanut butter cup cheesecake ($6) were all delicious. A chocolate cake was good but a little too sweet for my taste, but I loved a carrot cake studded with moist raisins and shreds of carrot, with just a thin layer of sweet cream cheese frosting.

Only one kitchen-made dessert was offered on both of my visits -- the server called it espresso crème brulee, but either the term "crème brulee" was being used more loosely than I am used to, or possibly she meant espresso pot de crème, another custard-based dessert. I loved the playful presentation -- it was served in a demitasse cup topped with milk foam. Unfortunately, the custard had not properly set and was thin and lumpy. I also wonder whether they meant to charge $6 for such a small dessert.

My final evaluation of the restaurant must also consider the bill. At a restaurant without white tablecloths, where you pour your own wine, where silverware is sometimes cleared, sometimes not, and where you can peer into the kitchen more by accident than by design, these prices seem a bit high. It has the atmosphere and service of a cafe but the prices of a restaurant. Mojo needs to figure out what kind of eatery it is going to be.