CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK

Saddle Peak Lodge knows how to do game right — and in an enjoyable setting.

By Leslie Brenner, Times Staff Writer

Dining in this town isn't what it used to be.

Tables are offered with the proviso that you vacate in time for the next reservation 90 minutes later. Servers recite dozens of specials and maybe the chef's philosophy, then bore you with which dishes are their favorites. You might even get a lecture on the ingredients. (Yes, we know by now what burrata is.) It's too dark to read the menu or see your food. Servers interrupt the conversation to ask if everything is wonderful. The food either takes too long to arrive, or you're rushed through dinner. Busboys interrupt the conversation to ask if you've finished. (Don't touch that plate until everyone's done, bub!)

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Is there any refuge left? A spot where you can dine in a relaxed and unhurried — even civilized — manner?

There is, but it's not quite in town. You'll have to drive up the coast and then up into a canyon to find it.

You might get lost when you're almost there, winding up Piuma Road in Malibu Canyon. Even if you've been there before, the Saddle Peak Lodge has a way of hiding itself. Ah, there's the drive. You can almost feel the tension melting away as your shoes crunch across the gravel and you reach the huge, heavy wooden door of the onetime hunting lodge.

A warm greeting, your table's ready. There's a fire crackling in the cozy bar, and you make your way into the dining room.

It's not a place for a pomegranate martini; Scotch feels just right here. The round table's large and cushy, with a white tablecloth; the chairs are big and comfortable and roomy. It looks as if the d–cor hasn't changed in 20 years. The walls are lined with hunting trophies — brooding stag heads and grinning elks. Vegans, don't bother.

Best of all, it's quiet enough for conversation.

Just as you've made your way through the fat, mostly California wine list, the sommelier glides up, with an air of really wanting to help. The waiter is perfectly professional, there when you need him, not when you don't. He's helpful and warm, but careful not to insert himself into your dinner. The rest of the service is seamless.

There's a new chef — Steven Rojas, a former sous chef at Patina, and the food is pretty good. He keeps the menu a little reined in, as the crowd isn't exactly young and adventurous: starters such as butter-poached lobster in a nest of filo with asparagus and baby greens. Or an egg ravioli filled with goat cheese and mascarpone, in a flavorful oxtail broth. Or a classic big-leaf Caesar.

For main courses, game has always been the name of the game here, and it still is — much of it cooked over a wood grill. There's a New York cut buffalo steak with pommes dauphines and onion soubise, or mesquite-grilled breast of pintade (guinea hen) with braised leg and thigh. A seared saddle of venison comes with cauliflower cooked in brown butter and a little salad of edamame and grapes. Perfectly medium rare quebracho-grilled petit filet is served with marrow-enriched potato pur–e.

The winner of the evening by far is the roasted elk tenderloin with bacon-wrapped salsify and a wild mushroom sauce.

The only main course choice for a non-carnivore is a Scottish salmon fillet with English pea pur–e and a fricassee of peas and mussels; there's roast sturgeon, too, but it comes with delicious Burgundy-braised oxtail that's sure to alienate fish purists.

Is everything perfect? No, a duck vol-au-vent (vol-au-vent is a signature here, having been on the menu forever) with duck rillettes and wild mushrooms is way too rich, over the top. And crazy expensive at $27 for an appetizer. The joint is pretty expensive in general; the petit filet will set you back 40 bucks; a well-selected cheese plate is $19.

But it feels worth it, especially for a special occasion. Think of it as a getaway — to that little civilized world in the wild.

brenner@latimes.com

Saddle Peak Lodge

Where: 419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas

When: Brunch, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; dinner, 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays

Price: Dinner appetizers, $12 to $28; entrees, $32 to $42; sides, $6 to $8; desserts, $7 to $19. Full bar; valet parking, $3.50.

Info: (818) 222-3888, www.saddlepeaklodge.com