With each new golf course that opens in southern Rhode Island, there seems to be a pub or restaurant attached. Some are for members only, but others, such as the Fenner Hill Country Club, reach out to the general public. And since friends in Hope Valley said Fratelli’s was the talk of their neighborhood, we sized it up as a good place to check out.

And so we did, on a recent Saturday evening, joining two friends from nearby North Stonington, Connecticut. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in a room wrapped around by mullioned windows, with a southwesterly view — onto the golf course, one could presume, but also nice for sunsets. There’s an outdoor deck with the same overlook for warmer months. Inside, the dark woodwork and wainscoting, and a light-colored wallpaper, contributed their own warmth, as did the tiny white lights and hand-cut paper snowflakes in the ficus trees. Globed chandeliers and burgundy tablecloths completed the fancy-but-not-overdone tone of the dining room.

We settled in to study the menu, further soothed by the velvet tones of Georgette Labrèche on vocals and keyboard, with her stylish renditions of oldies, from Jerome Kern and the Gershwins to Andrew Lloyd Webber. She’s onboard every Friday and Saturday at Fratelli’s, so our timing was perfect.

The menu here is requisite Italian: homemade lasagna, shrimp scampi (or fra diavolo), veal or chicken marsala (or five other sauces), baked scrod in three variations (with spinach, breadcrumbs, or broccoli and aglio e olio). There’s also prime rib, filet mignon, grilled rib eye steaks with six different sauces, and pork with three. Bill’s eye was caught by the pork alla Fratelli ($17.95), but more about this later.

To wake up our wintry appetites, we ordered shrimp Giovanni ($7.95), fried calamari ($6.95), and on a whim, batter-fried stuffed olives ($6.95), the latest pub snack to hop onto upscale menus. We all loved the olives, large green Sicilian ones, oozing with cheese (how do they get it in there?). Talk about comfort food.

The calamari were also treated well, lightly floured and sautéed rings, tossed with roasted red peppers, in a butter, garlic and Romano sauce — very tasty. But the winner was the shrimp Giovanni, in a similar sauce to the calamari, though the ingredients this time were butter, white wine, and Parmesan. The six fat shrimp, cooked just right, came with roasted red peppers and a generous amount of Italian ham. The ham stole the show for the other three diners, who exclaimed about its wonderful smokiness.

Other entries in the starter contest turned out to be the soup or salad that comes with most entrees: a yummy cream of broccoli soup and a very generous salad with Romaine as its base. We could soon turn our attention to the main attractions at each side of the table. For me, a creamy pesto over fusilli, with which I requested broccoli ($15.95); scrod Venezia, served with spinach ($15.95), and Levesquio salad ($9.95), respectively for our friends Bruce and Pam; and for Bill, the aforementioned pork.

Pam’s salad consisted of hefty amounts of grilled chicken breast, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and slivered provolone, on a bed of Romaine with a balsamic vinaigrette. She loved it. Bruce’s scrod was also quite generous, and accompanied by roasted potatoes and baby carrots. My pesto pasta was good and the portion of broccoli was quite ample, but I have two suggestions: chop up the broccoli and steam it a bit longer, so it’s not so tough, and toast those pine nuts so their flavor jumps out at you in the pesto.

The grilled pork tenderloin looked terrific, in its wine glaze, but Bill tried two bites and found it to be cooked beyond his requested medium-rare, so he sent it back. Subsequently, he chose the veal marsala ($15.95), which was quite tender, topped with plenty of fresh mushrooms, and accompanied by roasted potatoes and baby carrots.

The desserts during our visit were rum cake and ice cream sundaes. Having indulged so freely at the beginning of the meal, we were all staring at doggie bags and just a bite of dessert. So we split the rum cake four-ways. Although very good, it took me a while to reach the side of the wedge that was moist with rum, and I would have liked more of that.

The service couldn’t have been better: prompt, friendly, helpful, and non-intrusive. Despite the stumbles on the pork and the broccoli, I found Fratelli’s at Fenner Hill a comfortable, welcoming space, with many delicious dishes. Now I just have to get back for one of those sunsets.

Food note: A five-course dinner featuring the favorites of Food Network star Sara Moulton will be offered Sunday, January 18 at the Providence Marriott. The Chefs Association of Rhode Island event will benefit the new culinary department of the Community College of Rhode Island. Tickets are $125. For info, call Ken at (401) 949-0279 or Ellen at (401) 454-4065.