L’Epicureo has come a long way since the time I discovered it as a remarkable afterthought. Back in 1991, it was just a little room next to a meat market and gourmet shop, where foodies who happened by spread the word about an exciting addition to the local culinary scene.

The restaurant took over that entire space little more than a year later, and by the end of this year, it will move from lower Atwells Avenue, which has become Providence’s Restaurant Row (two more upscale restaurants have since opened immediately next door, as though basking in its glow), to the center of Downcity. L’Epicureo will be the anchor store, so to speak, for The Hotel Providence, scheduled to open on Mathewson Street in October.

This restaurant has been a major contributor to the Renaissance City’s rise as a hot town on the nation’s fine dining itinerary. Thanks to chef-proprietors Tom and Rozann Buckner, the place has gotten kudos from Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and John Mariani in Esquire. Next to the small bar, the autographed photos of celebrity visitors include those of Billy Joel and Dame Edna.

The sponge-textured burgundy walls with stamped gold spirals have always charmed me with their muted elegance. (But what’s with artificial flowers in the men’s room, contrasted with fresh white lilies, red roses, and pink orchids in the women’s? We sensitive New Age guys appreciate more than osso buco, you know.) A serving counter opening into the kitchen provides the sort of informality that has become a defining Providence style for even top-tier restaurants.

We’ve appreciated the kitchen’s past efforts with a range of things, from a vegetable platter (roasted to caramelized sweetness) to seafood dishes (a clams zuppa with minimally cooked littlenecks; salmon baked with equal restraint). They used to bake their own focaccia here, but the machine broke. Instead of replacing it, they had the sense to order bread from Olga’s across town and serve the cloud-like stuff alongside dishes of good olive oil.

Although Venda’s excellent ravioli is available just down the street and well-appreciated in many area restaurants, L’Epicureo makes its own. The lobster ravioli ($23) is Johnnie’s favorite dish here, and she couldn’t resist ordering it again. They come chockfull of Maine lobster and accompanied by an equal number (five) of wood-grilled scallops. The taste contrast of subdued and smoky does a little dance on the tongue, and the flavors come through nicely with a cognac cream sauce generous on the shallots.

I haven’t had a meat dish at L’Epicureo in recent years, but since Mariani singled out its steaks and chops for praise, this was the time to try their pan-seared beef tenderloin ($34). Served on braised Swiss chard, the large cut of thick filet mignon was encrusted with black peppercorns. This green is a good choice, since it has more punch than the spinach served with a couple of their fish and pork dishes. Equally enjoyed was the surrounding spread of potato gnocchi in the diminutive size of fingerling potatoes, mixed with mushrooms and caramelized garlic. A delicious brown sauce rendered the similarly cut pieces of the last two items nearly indistinguishable, providing garlic-lovers a pleasant surprise if they aren’t forewarned by reading the menu description closely.

Chef della cuchina Angel Cardona certainly is putting the Buckners’ recipes into practice skillfully. (Neath Pal, of the first-rate Providence restaurant Neath’s, worked here when we first time we reviewed L’Epicureo, in the early ’90s.) Care extends to the kitchen-made desserts as well. For those sated of appetite, but not of sweet tooth, there are minimally filling sorbettos as well as ice cream. There is also traditional tiramisu, a chocolate tart, an apple crostada, and a cheesecake of the day ($6.50 each). Although crème brûlée is popular elsewhere, even at many Italian restaurants, L’Epicureo offers a similarly custardy fruit gratin, as if to go the French one better. The banana and strawberry pieces populate it densely, and broiling it browns spots here and there for a nice taste bonus.

The offerings in this place have come far since its inception 45 years ago as a meat market — and yet not all that far. Quality has always been the name of the game. This was the case before Tom Buckner worked there as a butcher for Rozann’s father, Joseph DiGiglio, whose daughter had a more ambitious notion of continuing the family tradition. Catch L’Epicureo in its present incarnation, and in a few years, you, too, can wax nostalgic about the way it was.

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