Dining at Ristorante Fieni's, in Voorhees, is pretty much like having dinner in a private home. Three small, intimate dining rooms create a genial stage for a waitstaff that - almost like magic - appears only at the precise moment its services are needed.

Tables are angled away from each other and spaced in a fashion that makes it easy to forget you're in a restaurant.

And that's precisely what Lucio Fieni had in mind when he opened in November.

"It was my dream, and I wanted it to be small and comfortable,'' he said. `We even decorated it so it wouldn't be like going to a big commercial restaurant but to someone's home. That was the feeling we wanted to create.''

Fieni is from Abruzze, where he trained in the culinary arts. He's spent 17 years cooking professionally in the United States, and for the last five years was the head chef at San Marco, on City Avenue.

"My dream was always to have my own restaurant,'' he said, `and after so many years of working for others, it has come true.''

Fieni's menu reflects the cuisines of central and northern Italy. It's what he calls `basic'' Italian cooking.

Food is homestyle; straightforward dishes capitalize on the value of using good ingredients. Nothing extraordinarily fancy, mind you, just made-to-order dishes caringly crafted. His wife, Angela, helps with the desserts.

Mussels ($6.25) in shells so shiny they looked polished, were small, tender and even in size. The mild white sauce had a subtle touch of lemon. Another hot appetizer brings together cannellini beans, some large shrimp and broccoli rabe, all sautéed in a lightly garlicky olive oil ($6.95).

Cold appetizers include an antipasto ($7.50) of prosciutto, marinated vegetables, mozzarella balls, and cuttings of quality aged Parmesan. Tomato slices that tasted like summer had arrived at last.

Pastas are fresh, homemade and excellent, perhaps Fieni's signature. The deep dish of Puttanesca ($10.95) was coiled in a huge al dente mound covered with a tomato sauce flavored with a fine balance of black olives, capers and anchovies.

For something a bit different there's Timballo ($11.95), a lasagna-like dish of ground veal, tomato sauce, and ricotta cheese layered between noodles. Rigatoni al Forno ($11.95) is baked with a meat sauce, tomato, and mozzarella and ricotta cheeses.

Soup or salad comes with all entrees, including the pastas. Veal, beef, chicken and lamb dishes also include a vegetable of the day or a side of pasta. Soup at a recent visit was a routine pasta e fagioli in a light broth.

Veal dishes are created from tender milk-fed veal (not a favorite of mine) in a variety of ways, from sautéed in a champagne-infused tomato sauce with fresh-textured shrimp ($14.95) to Parmigiana style ($14.95).

Chicken dishes - all made with breast meat - can be as simple as sautéed with peppers and black olives in a rosemary-flavored white wine sauce ($12.95) to a more sophisticated creation of mushrooms and shallots in a cream sauce touched with brandy ($12.95).

There are steaks ($16.95 to $17.95) and rack of lamb ($19). Desserts are prepared daily. Espresso, cappuccino (decaf available) and mineral water are served. No liquor license, but you may bring your own wine.