San Vito, a small but growing local chain of southern Italian restaurants, is something of a puzzle. The restaurants--a third is due to open in Springfield--are owned by a family from Ciminna, Sicily. Executive chef Gian Piero Mazzi learned his craft in Florence and Paris, worked in the kitchen of Roberto Donna's Galileo, and served as executive chef at the upscale Morrison House in Alexandria. Despite the chef's pedigree, the restaurants have the trappings of conventional Italian eateries--faux-window-framed murals of sunny Italy and columns covered with plastic vines and grapes.

Service is something of a contradiction. Attentive personnel circulate among diners, making sure their every whim is satisfied. But on consecutive visits, servers hadn't the foggiest idea what "al dente" meant when a patron requested that his pasta be served in that fashion.

A meal starts well, with a basket of warm focaccia accompanied by a dipping sauce of parsley and garlic immersed in olive oil. Among the menu's highlights are the pizzas and calzones cooked in brick ovens. The dozen thin-crusted pizzas range from a simple margherita with Roma tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil--$7.95 for the individual size--to an elaborate pizza del mare with shrimp, scallops, and mozzarella for $11.50. A particularly good version is the prosciutto and mushroom. Calzones--stuffed pizza dough folded over, baked, and topped with a tomato sauce--are also winners.

Appetizers, while not exceptional, are generally good. The grilled calamari surpassed the fried calamari in taste and texture. The best bet is the assorted antipasto, which combines several of the best starters, including bruschetta, mozzarella caprese, fried mozzarella, grilled portobello mushrooms, a few pieces of Italian cold cuts, and salad--all for $7.95.

Pastas were not woefully overcooked, but they were not al dente. The best presentations featured straightforward tomato or meat sauces, such as the meat and vegetarian lasagnas. The very good tomato sauce raises the question why the restaurant does not do better with a couple of other tomato-based preparations, especially arrabbiata and pizzaiola. Both were light, bland, and lacking in zip despite the garlic, olives, and capers.

Seafood was so-so. Best was a special of grilled tuna. The fish was good quality, the portion substantial and cooked rare as ordered, the garnishes almost right. If it had been grilled at a higher temperature, the texture would have been correct. And if the kitchen had kept the garnishes to the roasted potatoes and grilled zucchini, all would have been well; there was no need for the mound of spaghetti. Shrimp fra diavolo with red and green bell peppers and mushrooms was marred by a dull tomato sauce. The veal, the restaurants' principal meat, was of good quality and cooked correctly, as was the chicken breast, but the sauces did not measure up: The piccata was over-thickened, and the pizzaiola lacked intensity.

At lunch, consider the sandwiches and grilled panini. These are nicely done, but the restaurant should rethink offering a room-temperature pasta salad with a side container of ranch dressing as an alternative to the usual accompaniment of fried potatoes.

Desserts are both house-made and store-bought--the former including a good tiramisu and a chocolate cake with a Sambucca-cream filling. The wine list is creatively presented with helpful descriptions. Listing vintages would make it even better.

San Vito

13340 Franklin Farm Rd., Herndon, 703-707-6400; 43150 Broadlands Center Plaza, Ashburn, 571-223-2245; sanvitorestaurant.com. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Atmosphere: Comfortable Italian. Good for kids.

Food: Uneven but good if you go for appetizers, pizza, and calzones.

Service: The waitstaff is friendly, eager to help, but mostly inexperienced.

Price: Main courses $7.95 to $14.25 at lunch, $8.25 to $15.75 at dinner. Dinner for two: about $60.

Value: Fair.

Wine list: Good and creative, listing three very different Barberas, for example.

Bottom line: Go for the assorted antipasto, lasagna, pizza, and calzones.