Since seafood restaurant Yankee Pier closed in 2014 after 14 years, 286 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur has been home to several Italian restaurants.

Zoti Ali Turap opened the third one there, The Rustic, just a month after Locanda Marin, which I reviewed in 2023, closed last July. Many of us miss Locanda Marin’s spectacular pinsas. While there are no pinsas at The Rustic, there are many other deliciously enticing dishes to choose from on their menu, which expands beyond Italian pasta and pizza and offers a larger Mediterranean selection.

Searching online for “Rustic” in Larkspur is confusing. Long-established Rustic Bakery, with two locations in Larkspur, dominates the search.

To help clarify which place is the restaurant and which is the bakery, The Rustic restaurant will soon be renamed Tavola Rustica.

Aside from new paint inside and outside, the restaurant hasn’t changed its appearance from the previous eatery except for a reception desk just outside the front door, where we were greeted and shown to our seats.

We walked through the enclosed patio and up a couple steps — there’s a ramp if preferred — into the long dining room with an open kitchen to the left and windows to the right. There are simple hardwood tables and comfortable chairs and good lighting throughout.

Menus arrived with a plate of warm house-made focaccia. Turap, the owner and manager, worked the front of house at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse for a few years and became quite familiar with the wine world. He has assembled an interesting list of wines, which we studied closely.

My companion and I selected the 2022 Zuani “Vigne” Collio Bianco from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy ($16 a glass, $60 a bottle). This Friulano blend of native and international grapes delivered with a balanced array of fruit, acidity and minerality. Wines from Friuli-Venezia Giulia are always on my find-and-drink list. They’re excellent food-friendly wines. These white wines can also age nicely for a few years. Another wine region I’m particularly fond of is France’s Loire Valley. We ordered a glass of the 2023 Les Athletes du Vin Pineau d’Aunis ($13 a glass, $48 a bottle), a Loire red grape which almost disappeared when Cabernet Franc became popular, replacing it in the vineyards. This well-structured Pineau d’Aunis is aged in concrete and nicely peppery — a natural wine that’s delicious and not at all funky.

I recommend studying the wine list before dining at this restaurant since it includes options that go beyond the quotidian chardonnays and cabarets and the familiar Italian varieties. I love visiting the world through its food and wine. Perhaps try a new wine that will add another dimension to your dining experience.

Wines by the glass are $11 to $20. Bottles of wine run mostly from $50 to $150, with a few floating above $200.

The restaurant was filling up quickly and the noise level was intensifying. Note: If you’re noise sensitive, ask to be seated on the heated and covered patio. It stays a bit quieter.

Then, the food started to arrive. The Moules Frites ($17) was tasty but standard fare. The shoestring fries were crisp, golden and properly salted, but the aioli lacked pungency. Why is it restaurants don’t put enough garlic in aioli? “Garlic” is part of its name. Go for it!

It was a hard choice for the pasta. We really wanted both the Pappardelle and Oxtail Ragu ($25) and the Campanelle Bolognese ($23), but we chose the Campanelle Bolognese. Those little pasta bugles with their ruffled edges capture sauces perfectly and add just the perfect amount of chew resistance. The Bolognese sauce alone was worth a second visit. My friend and I agreed the sauce was as good as any we’ve had anywhere, including Bologna, Italy.

The mains cover most bases: vegetarian, fish, chicken, lamb and beef. The Crispy Fried Chicken ($27), with rings of roasted delicata squash and grapes drizzled with Saba, stood out. The portion was generous with two hefty pieces of crusted chicken breast and multiple rings of the squash. On the side was a ranch aioli. The Saba, concentrated grape must, enhanced the already tasty squash. The bulky crust on the chicken detracted from the moist meat.

But, drum roll, please: The Lamb Shank ($32) was outstanding! The lamb shank was braised in white wine until it gently fell from the bone with only a touch of the fork. It was flanked by a creamy, rich potato puree and rainbow chard sautéed with tiny cubes of its stems and carrots. The vegetables were lightly cooked and maintained their individual flavors. A bit of gremolata was sprinkled over the lamb and the braising juices pooled under the shank. A glass of the Côtes-du-Rhône “Poignée de Raisins” ($20 a glass, $76 a bottle) would compliment this dish nicely, while a bottle of “Cuvée Corcelette” ($130) would convert the repast into a mini vacation.

The Limoncello Cake ($10) had the right amount of tang to finish our well-prepared meal.

Warm, welcoming, fairly priced Tavola Rustica is on its way to becoming well-entrenched in the Larkspur food scene.

Ann Walker is a freelance food writer. Email her with suggestions, comments and questions at ijfoodwalker@gmail.com.