It was one of those Monday night searches for a restaurant that was open (when so many are not), not too crowded and noisy, and not too new to be fairly reviewed. This quest took a while and landed us in southern East Greenwich, trying to find the entrance to Conversations (at the back of the Post Road strip mall in which it’s located).

Persevere in finding it, because this place is a blast from the past, specifically the Warwick Musical Theatre, a.k.a. "the Tent." Rose Ferrino, who owned a place called the Golden Lantern next to the Tent for 20 years before owning Conversations for 14, sold the latter just a year ago. But she left behind her autographed photos of stars who played at the Tent, the baby grand given to her by Liberace, and the round vinyl-upholstered chairs on gold rollers, in shades of pink and turquoise, that are vintage ’50s.

The wrap-up party of a Monday-night poker-playing bunch was taking place during our visit, but it quickly moved from the bar into the room with Liberace’s piano. We were left in the L-shaped dining area to study the menu (and the photographs, but more on those later). The menu had the heavy Italian overtones of so many restaurants in Rhode Island. Even the appetizers ran to tortellini, fettuccini, angel hair, snail salad, and mussels zuppa.

We chose the broccoli rabe, just coming into season ($6.95), and the zangarella salad ($8.95) as starters. The latter was a huge portion, with eight seared sea scallops, grilled portabello caps, and roasted red pepper strips on baby greens, with thick slices of fresh mozzarella and sliced tomatoes (suggestion: Romas are much more flavorful off-season). With the garlic-infused olive oil on slices of a crusty, chewy bread, and the rabe nicely spiced with garlic and red pepper flakes, we were almost too full to tackle our main dishes.

Never fear: we wanted to report on one of two "house specialties," the roasted duck ($15.95) — tortellini in a creamy pesto sauce with artichoke hearts and prosciutto is the other — and I headed for the broiled sole almondine ($14.95). Bill’s duck was in a port wine and orange sauce, and he was quite pleased. Tasty mashed potatoes and steamed veggies accompanied it.

To test the pasta, I got ziti for my side dish, and the marinara sauce was delicious. The sole itself had a decent sauce of crushed almonds and breadcrumbs liberally doused with butter, but the fish needed to be fresher. Dinners come with soup or salad, as well as the aforementioned sides, so we both chose soup, the chicken vegetable for me and the French onion for Bill. The onion soup was just as he likes it, "very beefy, with a taste of sherry, but not too sweet," and with plenty of melted cheese on top.

There are many dessert choices at Conversations: chocolate tart, cheesecake, lemon torte, pecan pie, and apple gallette, but the house-made options are grape nut pudding, apple crisp, and an ice cream parfait, with Kahlua laced through it ($8.95). We shared the parfait and a slice of lemon torte ($5.95), and they were both quite good.

My favorite thing about Conversations is the photo collection. On a busier night, I wouldn’t have been able to poke my face into all the corners where they hung, but it was fun to peruse them: Steve and Edie, Eddy Arnold, Wayne Newton, Andy Williams, Debbie Reynolds, Burt Reynolds, Bill Cosby, Don Rickles and many more. Images of US Representative James R. Langevin and Anna Maria Alberghetti (a most unlikely pairing, don’t you think?) hung next to our table.

New co-owner Kenneth Guercia, with his wife, Barbara, told us that his new chef, Alex Hottenberg, cooked for six years at Newport’s Salvation Café, and he has big plans for some menu changes in June. Guercia himself was the bar manager at Richard’s Pub for 28 years, so the mixed drinks are authoritative. Conversations has a piano bar on Friday and Saturday nights and a wide-ranging lunch menu, with weekly specials, and several pasta and seafood carryovers from the main menu.

With great jazz playing in the background and effective acoustic tiling, Conversations is a good choice for, well, conversation. Inspired by the photo gallery, you can reminisce about your favorite singers from way back when (whenever that was). You can ruminate on Italian-American dishes to try cooking at home. You can let the old-fashioned décor — vines, garlands, wreaths, flowers, and tiny white lights on all the arched doorways, and windows — inspire you to take Mom out to dinner this Sunday. Or you could just turn the relaxed feeling at Conversations into romantic gestures on the long ride home.