Restaurants with pleasant surroundings, a water view, good food, and moderate prices are as rare as 100-meter racing yachts around Newport Harbor these days. That’s what makes loca a place to keep in mind when you’re working up an appetite, playing tourist in the town.

It’s not on pedestrian-packed Thames Street or America’s Cup Avenue, which keeps prices down. But it is conveniently located just off those thoroughfares, down Long Wharf, a short stroll from Washington Square. Boats bob in the marina across the street, although a building blocks a more dramatic harbor view.

Nevertheless, loca is an appealing summer spot, with a patio for al fresco dining and inside street-side tables open to sea breezes through floor-to-ceiling entryways. You might find yourself choosing a view of your indoor surroundings, though. A sea motif is subtly maintained, with pieces of glass imbedded in white stucco near the ceiling, rising from clear through aquamarine to cobalt blue. Against a wall, the back of a long shelf seat undulates like a wave. The slate blue and turquoise slat-back chairs could use a repainting, to cover their wear, but the colors help the ambience.

Tequilas are a big deal here, with more than three dozen from which to choose, and elaborate descriptions of the various kinds detailed on the menu. Specialty margaritas are also offered, of course, with bonus liqueurs from melon to blue curaçao.

We sat downstairs, since the upstairs had just a few tables as an afterthought next to the bar, and the space seemed gloomy compared to below. (This was the birthplace of 2nd Story Theatre nearly 25 years ago, when the restaurant here was Harry’s Harborside.) A basket of tortilla chips was promptly placed before us. They weren’t the three-color assortment that came later to other tables, but I was too busy enjoying the yummy, chunky kitchen-made salsa to mind.

I love corn chowder, and it was on the regular menu, but the soup of the day intrigued me enough to order it instead. The green bell pepper soup ($4/$5) was a full-flavored purée sprinkled with toasted pine nuts — delicious.

The menu touted fresh shrimp in the shrimp ceviche cocktail ($9), but an inquiry to the kitchen got an honest reply — they’d been frozen. Our waitress noted that the shrimp adobo ($8), described as spicy, was fiery, so Johnnie gave up on shellfish and ordered a loca quesadilla ($9) for a starter. It came with sour cream and that salsa I liked instead of the pico de gallo on the menu, and was prepared unusually. Goat cheese, spinach, and pieces of tomato were baked between two flour tortillas. It was tasty, but overpriced.

About a dozen entrées, apart from the Mexican dishes, are available. The beef tips ($16) marinated in teriyaki sauce and sherry tempted me, as the Baja bouillabaisse ($24) did for my dining partner. For those with slighter appetites, there are a few salads, plus burgers and sandwiches, from BBQ pork to a grilled chicken billed as " guilt-free. " (Skinless? Free range? Forgot to ask.)

I ended up choosing the chicken mole ($14), from among the entrées. It was a half chicken, baked and slathered with a spicy bitter-chocolate sauce mellowed with banana. The meat was moist and the sauce tasty and not overly hot. It came with black beans and yellow rice. In case my taste buds were bored, four hot sauces were on the table, including a chipotle from Mexico and something called Scorned Woman from West Virginia, a state that I wasn’t aware prided itself on irate girlfriends.

Johnnie was up for Mexican, too, even before two sizzling platters of fajitas pulled our attention across the room. She chose from the many items in the Tex-Mex column, which ranged from tacos to chimichangas. Her two cheese and caramelized onion enchiladas ($8) were small, but interestingly seasoned. (I had a bite that escaped the roasted tomato sauce, but couldn’t identify the vanilla-like aftertaste. Maybe it was vanilla.) The same rice and beans as mine came on the platter, plus an additional pile of shredded, vinegared lettuce.

We were too full for dessert, which was just as well. The choices, such as Key lime pie, carrot cake, cheesecake, and flan, all $6 or less, were not made in-house. The kitchen was also out of the mango ice that the menu called a complementary meal-capper. But our attentive waitress took a few bucks off the bill when we expressed, perhaps too pathetically, our disappointment. Maybe the next time I’ll order a mango margarita.

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