If you don’t get a thumbs-up from somebody ahead of time, dropping in on a by-the-way restaurant is always risky. You know how it goes: slick sign outside — maybe saying "Ye Old Taverne" in Old English script — trick food inside; maybe proposing grilled portobello, but serving desiccated hockey puck.

Four Corners Grille has an opportune location, at Tiverton Four Corners, and it’s near such Sunday afternoon drive destinations as Sakonnet Vineyards and the Virginia Lynch Gallery. They could probably survive on tourists they’d never see again, so this place doesn’t need to be as good as it is. The restaurant likely has more than its share of locals in for an inexpensive dinner.

"Estab. 1996," the place is unpretentious. There are tables to the left as you enter, booths in both directions. On a baked goods counter are a couple of big, old-fashioned coffee mills. Cloth-topped jars of preserves, such as green tomato relish and pickled pepper rings, made locally, as is some of the art on the walls, are offered for sale. We sat at a booth, to better peruse our dessert opportunities.

You might call the food pub-plus. Diners can start with calamari, crab cakes, steamers, or mussels. But the appetizer list is mainly bar snacks — jalapeño poppers, buffalo tenders and wings, "hotzarella" cheese sticks, and so on. Imagination is in evidence with their "Macaroni & Cheese Bites" ($4.95), consisting of American cheese-coated elbows battered and fried, for catching up on your cholesterol minimum daily requirement. You can also get two of the major regional soup food groups, New England clam chowder and lobster bisque, as well as a soup of the day.

While we waited for our entrées, we sipped wine — a third of the 15 offerings are from Sakonnet, down the road — instead of beer (more than a dozen bottled choices bottled) — as we munched through a stack of thick onion rings ($4.95). They were just greasy enough to be flavorful, even without the accompanying honey-mustard dip.

Diner items such as grilled liver and onions and shepherd’s pie (both $9.95) are on the menu, which nudged me toward the meatloaf ($8.95). Not only tasty, it was ingenious for such a standard dish. Thick shreds of carrot gave it crunch, Guinness Stout gave it character, and a Worcestershire and tomato sauce provided additional unusual flavor. I’d requested plenty of sauce, so extra arrived in a gravy boat, providing lots for my mashed potatoes. Potato sides at Four Corners are fried, mashed, regular, or sweet potato pancakes. No, no peas and carrots were on the plate. Instead, a more interesting side — zucchini with tomatoes and onions — was offered. What could have been quite ordinary turned out to be special.

This was also the case with Johnnie’s fried scallops ($13.95). The little muscles were tender and flavorful, and the thick-cut fries were lightly beer-battered for extra taste. The coleslaw was juicy, just the way she likes it. A friend with us had a nicely prepared grilled scrod ($10.95), plus a couple of crab cakes offered for only $4 more. (A bargain — as an appetizer, three are $9.95.) The crab cakes are kitchen-made and quite delicious, closer to the chunky Maryland style than to the New England mashed variety.

There’s clearly a non-Yankee ethnic influence in the kitchen. In addition to shrimp Alfredo and primavera, there’s a Portuguese variation of shrimp Mozambique, with the traditional spicy sauce ($14.95 each). There’s even a "Lisbon burger" ($6.95) among the sandwiches, topped with chorizo. I wonder if the breakfasts — served only on weekends — include sweetbread French toast.

The desserts are not made here, and the choices are mostly diner staples: lemon meringue, Boston cream pie, carrot cake. The first was cheap — $2.95 — and right-on tangy, the crust not at all soggy. Off the beaten dessert track is Fruits of the Forest Pie, containing not only strawberries and rhubarb but also apples and raspberries. My dining companions went for the Peek-a-Boo Brownie ($4.95), spurting with hot fudge, and, thank goodness, melding with vanilla ice cream.

Johnnie said she loved the place. Its "coziness" and its "trying things that are more ambitious" charmed her. I appreciated the imagination behind some of the menu inclusions. Next time, shrimp Mozambique it is.

Bill Rodriguez can be reached at billrod@reporters.net.