Discovering a restaurant through its quahog chili sets a friendly tone. Well, I first came across the Jamestown Oyster Bar & Grill a few years ago on a search for only-in-Rhode-Island taste sensations, and it was time for a return visit.

A long bar dominates the narrow room. Successful bar-centric restaurants — especially ones like this, with plenty of upscale competition down the street — usually have an amiable dimension all their own. When a bar-bo”te relies on locals to survive, more friendly conversation is bound to fill the atmosphere than at any linen-tablecloth place on the block.

Pine boards cover one wall’s bottom half, after which countless fish pictures, posters, and maritime images take over, including a close-up photo of a sailboat heeling strenuously enough to work up an appetite for observing landlubbers like myself. A multi-colored chalkboard lists specials, a few wines, and desserts.

As the place’s name suggests, there is a raw bar, with oysters on the half shell for $2.25 each, and littleneck clams for a $1.10. Featured is a clam chowder made with broth ($3.95/$4.95) — the only kind worth ordering, it could be argued, for anybody into flavor. They also have the more popular, milky New England kind, whose purchasers are punished by being charged another buck. That quahog chili is sometimes a special.

Although soft-shell crabs are available as both appetizer and main course ($8.50 and $22.95), crab cakes aren’t. Instead, pan-seared lobster cakes ($7.95) are served under Newburg sauce. Another appetizer item that isn’t available everywhere but should be, if fresh and prepared correctly, is fried smelts ($7.50), made with the sardine’s older brother.

If you want to start with a salad, in addition to such commonly offered choices as a Caesar, or a Granny Smith apple and Gorgonzola combo, there is something they call a wedge salad ($6.95). Although long supplanted by mesclun and baby spinach, iceberg lettuce’s one under appreciated virtue is its juicy crunch. What a good idea: plunk down a thick wedge that we can cut into thick chunks, and then crumble bleu cheese and bacon on top with Thousand Island dressing. Our breadbasket contained tasty, freshly sliced Italian and sesame-topped bread, with whipped butter, rather than foil packets.

We began with an artichoke heart and feta pizza ($10.95), one of five on the menu, including one that, in an interesting concept, tops marinara sauce with sun-dried tomatoes. We wished that the ’chokes had been more evenly distributed, but the slices are thin-crusted and tasty, with mozzarella added to the fat-free feta so the topping browns up nicely. Not so enjoyable was the calamari ($7.50), which was fresh, but greasy. Don’t worry — the portion is very small.

The menu is nearly all seafood, so the decision of which category to order from is done for you. Well, there is the choice of having pasta or not, since the mussels, shrimp scampi, and bouillabaisse are served over fettuccine. One of us chose the flounder almandine ($18.50), which was encrusted with panko crumbs before being pan-fried and topped with sliced almonds, in a white wine sauce. The roasted cod ($17.95) was also finished with white wine, but topped with crushed tomatoes and capers for a sweet-tart bite. All the above came with crisp green beans and carrots.

Johnnie was still in her summer mood for a lobster roll ($15.95), which pleased her as moist, without too much mayo. Her fries were hand-cut and the coleslaw moist. Since this place is called a grill, I felt professionally obliged to go for a surf ’n’ turf, choosing the five-ounce top sirloin ($15.95) over the 10-ounce ($21.95), both of which came with three medium butterflyed shrimp, the sweet teriyaki sauce over it all. The shellfish was flavorful, and the steak quite tender, medium rare as specified.

Since bars do not normally employ pastry chefs, diners usually have to take their chances with frozen food service offerings. We were told that the chocolate ÒdynamiteÓ cake and Key lime pie were popular, but we patted full tummies and declined, exchanging virtuous glances among ourselves. We ended the meal by continuing a convivial conversation and adding to the barroom din. We felt just like locals.

Bill Rodriguez can be reached at bill@billrod.com.