Singing for Supper : At the Ritz-Carlton’s Club Grill, sophistication includes fine food and light entertainment.

DANA POINT — The supper club is that venue where upscale dining is combined with light entertainment, usually singing or soft jazz. The concept no longer enjoys the widespread popularity it once did, but restaurants such as Club Grill in Dana Point are keeping it alive in style.

Club Grill is the more casual of the two lobby-level dining rooms at the Ritz-Carlton. Jackets are optional for gentlemen, not required as they are in the hotel’s more formal restaurant, the Dining Room. And chef Jim Strausbaugh’s menu isn’t nouvelle French but rather solidly American: Caesar salad, prime rib, even a twist on banana cream pie.

Still, Club Grill isn’t the type of place where one arrives in a Hawaiian shirt and beach sandals. The only meal the restaurant serves is dinner, when versatile, silky-voiced Shirley Saunders works her way through songs by Kern, Gershwin and Ellington. As Saunders sings, a well-heeled crowd slowly filters in. These are people who relish the idea of dressing for dinner, my dear, so be advised.

It must be this room. The theme is that of a 1930s jockey club, a clubby, intimate space enriched by earth tones and mahogany wainscoting. Oil paintings depicting horses on the gallop hang above most tables, which are set with sterling silver and tiny brass lanterns. Request a table well away from the entrance; four or five tables positioned close to the front lectern are subject to glare from a harsh fluorescent light used to read the reservations list.

Club Grill’s service is solicitous without the slightest hint of obsequiousness. At every meal I’ve experienced here, staff members have been Johnny-on-the-spot when summoned, discreetly out of sight other times. That is one reliable plus of dining in first-class hotels. The downside is you can expect to pay for it. They don’t call it the Ritz for nothing.

Appetizers are ritzy enough. I especially like the imaginative jumbo shrimp cocktail, ocean fresh prawns arranged on a plate like flower petals, with a tangy dipping sauce and shredded salad vegetables in the center. Delicate, finely chopped ahi tartare comes with grilled flat bread and sevruga caviar, garnished with a dollop of wasabi, pungent Japanese horseradish. Also good is the beefy French onion soup, served in a white amphora-shaped tureen with a magnificently cheesy Gruyere crouton on top.

Table-side Caesar for two is prepared from a wooden cart. The components are not premeasured, so the character of the dressing is subject to variance. On one visit, I asked for extra anchovies. What I got was a salad dominated by a heft of Dijon mustard; I could barely taste the croutons and crisp greens.

Baby spinach salad is unusual: The leaves are finely chopped, and a Cabernet vinaigrette stands in for the standard sweet-sour dressing. It’s also a salad for lovers of pancetta, the rustic Italian-style bacon. A typical salad has a good 3 ounces of bacon, finely chopped into the greens.

A similar richness typifies many of the entrees. Chilean sea bass, itself a reasonably light offering, is done with a pistachio nut crust that renders it filling. By contrast, the Atlantic salmon steak is disarmingly simple in preparation, a beautifully grilled chunk of salmon garnished with a few snow-pea pods and a citrus-flavored couscous.

Slow-roasted prime rib is excellent, a 12-ounce piece served with a baked potato. There are steaks too, including filet mignon and a pepper-seared, dry-aged Angus New York. The New York is flavorful enough, so steak lovers should ask for the three-peppercorn sauce on the side. Filet mignon pushes the envelope further. This meltingly tender steak is paired with creamy dauphinoise potatoes, portobella mushrooms and an indulgent sauce based on caramelized shallot.

Veal osso buco is nicely braised meat with a huge piece of marrow in the center bone. Double Colorado lamb chops are thick and juicy, and the smoky pieces of grilled eggplant on top are delightful.

If you are in a mood to splurge, ask for the combination of petite filet mignon with a 1 1/2-pound live Maine lobster. The lobster is prepared intelligently; the chef simply splits, grills and splashes it with herb butter.

Another plus offered by first-class hotel dining is the presence of an in-house dessert and pastry chef. Save room for an array of impressive desserts, all sumptuous, high-calorie and guilt-inducing.

Heading the list is brioche mascarpone tart, an eggy, warm bread that could pass for French toast, with the soft Italian cheese and a warm huckleberry sauce in the center. Queen of Sheba is what they call their warm chocolate souffle cake. It’s made with less than one spoonful of flour, airy on the surface, with a runny, fudgy center.

A simpler choice is the delicious orange creme bru^lee, almost entirely egg yolks, sugar and orange zest, with a crackling, burnt sugar top. But banana caramel cream pie with Jamaica rum sauce is way over the top, at least 2 inches of whipped cream, caramelized bananas and a buttery crust. It’s wonderful, a throwback to days when spa cuisine was unheard of and supper clubs reigned supreme.

The Club Grill is very expensive: appetizers, soups and salads, $8-$15; entrees, $31-$45; desserts, $8.

BE THERE

Club Grill at the Ritz-Carlton, 33533 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Point. (714) 240-5008. 6-10:00 p.m. Thursday-Monday. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. All major cards.