With a knack for wine and cheese, Tria Fitler Square fits in the neighborhood

Fitler Square is one of the most adorable pocket parks in Philadelphia - and maybe all of America. Anchored by a gurgling fountain, this idyll of peaceful urban charm sits in the residential heart of Center City West, surrounded by quaint 19th-century rowhouses. It's an intimate and neighborly place where holiday pageants and farmers' markets unfurl throughout the year, where the winding brick paths are lined with whimsical bronze animals and the chalk-mark traces of children's play.

Such a city treasure is surely deserving of a sophisticated cafe from which to drink it all in. And at Tria Fitler Square - the latest branch of the beverage-forward cafes - that is quite literally the best way to proceed.

Since opening near Rittenhouse 12 years ago, Tria has been among the city's pioneering touchstones for drink nerds seeking just the right glassful of obscurity - a Gros Manseng or authentic Baltic Porter or golden pour of sweet South African mead - to make a well-curated cheese list sing.

And this latest version, with a full kitchen and bonus of an expanded dinner menu, serves that elemental purpose well. Co-owner Michael McCaulley's wine list is as eclectic and appealing as ever, from a spicy light red Blaüfrankisch and dusky dark Carignan blend to a dry but aromatic Austrian Muskateller and a lush Rhône-style white from California. The beer list from co-owner Jon Myerow is just as sharp - with international gems (Dr. Fritz Briem's historical take on Berliner Weisse, sublime Saison de Pipaix, Hitchino Red Rice Ale) and national and local stars (Cigar City, Anderson Valley, Sly Fox.)

It's even better, of course, if you don't end up in the rainy section. And I'm not talking about the spring deluge that sent me inside along with a surprisingly packed crowd on a recent Tuesday night. No, water had condensed inside and trickled out of the exposed air duct - drip . . . drip . . . drip - right onto the platter of earthy Tomme Crayeuse and oozing Portuguese sheep's milk Zimbro I was enjoying at my corner seat with a rare glass of Viennese Gemischter Satz in hand.

Such are the hiccups of renovating an old Philadelphia building, this one formerly occupied by Dmitri's. Even so, battening down the hatches is just one of many new challenges at this latest project for the Tria team - including co-owner David Kwass and relatively new chef Karen Nicolas. A better dishwasher is among them (a dirty plate or utensil appeared at each meal). A bigger issue, though, is the considerable shadow of fondness for the old Dmitri's, the Greek taverna that, despite its own limitations, hit a resonant chord as a reliably fresh, affordable neighborhood hub.

I suspect those at the next table over were Dmitri's regulars (a couple generations older than typical Tria-zens) politely asking a server to lower the music a notch. The din, stoked even higher by the handsome but sleek minimalist wood decor, easily spiked into the high-90 decibels.

"I'll ask, but it is a bar," the young woman replied curtly, sending a visible frost across the group.

Well, yeah. Tria's DNA has always been bar-first. And until now, the food menus have mostly been about comissary-prepped snacks and good cheese. The Tria Taproom on Walnut Street was a flatbread-and-sandwich step beyond the original cafes. But the Fitler Square location, which inherits a full kitchen from Dmitri's, is the first time Tria has full-service restaurant potential.

As the concept morphs here into more of an actual neighborhood restaurant (that also happens to have great drinks), there have been growing pains in service and food.

The basic Tria template lays a good foundation for starters - with classics like cheese-smeared bruschetta and bountiful salads; warm figs stuffed with Gorgonzola over silky prosciutto, and a puff brioche toast topped with truffled molten Fontina and a raw egg yolk.

But one can also make a dinner here, as Nicolas, formerly at Citron + Rose, has created a solid list of entree-size ("medium") plates at neighbor-friendly prices topping out at $18.

Not all were hits. But I was most impressed with the delicate seafood. A crisply seared trout fillet glazed with capery piccata butter comes over celery root puree and herbed semolina choux dumplings. The grilled octopus isn't just an apt homage to the dish that made Dmitri's big, Nicolas' rendition has at times been better, the octo's plump arms superbly tender and scented with fennel over orzo, chick peas, and golden raisins in a minted yogurt dressing. The shellfish stew is also fantastic, with perfectly snappy rock shrimp, tender squid, and yawning littlenecks brimming with bead-shaped fregola pasta and sweet corn in a rich seafood broth flavored by fennel and chile butter. A salad of poached calamari was also addictive, the tender ribbons of squid layered against snappy green beans, red onions, and almonds in Calabrian chile oil.

This kitchen even managed something interesting for the chicken crowd, with a juicy, crispy-skinned breast over pureed potatoes enriched with Piave, preserved artichokes, and sweet-pea pesto for just $15.

The disappointments came with dishes I expected to be easy hits - a pair of unmemorable pasta entrees that were inelegantly plopped into the square-edged bowls, one looking something like a heavy mushroom Stroganoff, the other with oversize cavatelli shaped like worms.

The braised short rib with gnocchi also has been very popular here. But ours was not spectacular. The meat was tender but also stringy in thin broth, topped with kale chips that were chewy (not crisp) and dabs of burrata that, usually a dual-texture delight of cream-stuffed mozzarella, were inexplicably whipped into homogenous melty blobs.

It was a rare curd misfire for a place that maintains one of Philly's best cheese lists - with excellent renditions of familiar styles (a more flavorful farmhouse Brie, perfectly ripe Valdéon), local gems (Yellow Brick Road from Chester Springs), and bold classics (stinky Ardrahan, complex Ossau Iraty, creamy Kunik) that could make a lovely finish.

But Tria also offers a couple of excellent sweets to end your meal - a knockout flourless chocolate torte with espresso custard, and a Meyer lemon cheesecake that's perfect with a sweet glass of tropical-funky Coteaux du Layon "Chaume," one of a half-dozen unusual dessert wines on the list. Tria may still be fine-tuning its menu mission as a new neighborhood restaurant. But the mere fact I can sip a glass of "6 Puttonyos" Tokaji Aszú or Rare Wine Co. Madeira, nibble a wedge of ale-washed cheese, and watch the sun set over idyllic Fitler Square is already a tasty step in the right direction.

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