If you’re wondering who the Bambino d’Oro — the Golden Boy — is at this new ristorante in the western reaches of booming Pembroke Pines, look left as you enter. And be careful you don’t trip over the large brass dolphin at your feet.

There on the wall is an idealized portrait of Golden Boy Dan Marino — Miami Dolphins quarterback extraordinaire.

In Chicago, it’s news when one of the Bears stars does not open a restaurant, lounge or nightclub.

In the greater Miami area, Golden Boy is out there alone, and judging from the crowd at Bambino a few nights ago, Marino is having as great a success off the field as on.

I suppose part of the magic is the possibility of seeing the man himself, along with other Sunday sensations; and we noticed at the entrance podium reservation table cards — in brass no less — with the Marino name. But he was nowhere in sight as we canvassed the main room, definitely a clean, well- lighted place, and decided to dine in the lounge, where there’s a trio performing nightly.

Our waiter there, a Colombian with Italian rather than English as a second language, was an ever-smiling happy presence, although the place seemed overworked or understaffed or whatever. Well-meaning but not very professional.

The menu, however, contains a good many of the specialties found in every other ristorante of its type — fettuccine Alfredo, braciola, eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti bolognese, veal marsala, chicken cacciatore and clams posillipo.

And the prices are comparable. Appetizers ranging from $5.95 to $7.95; pasta from $8.95 to $11.95; and entrees from $12.95 to $19.95 — which includes a cup of soup, a side dish of spaghetti, house salad, garlic rolls and coffee or tea. Without those items the a la carte cost is $1.50 less ($1 less when ordering grouper Livornese).

Then there’s the $22.95 “Zuppa di Pesce Marino,” an explosion of the deep featuring just about everything, along with the dinner accompaniments. A landlocked version, “Bambino D’Oro Platter” is priced at $17.95 and has an inventory of chicken cacciatore, eggplant and veal Parmesan, spaghetti and meatball, sausage and cheese ravioli and the soup-salad-beverage.

For starters, we took the nodding cheerfulness of our waiter to mean both the $5.95 stuffed artichoke hearts and $7.95 mussels al cognac were wonderful ways to kick off a dinner with the Golden Boy. There must have been a communication problem. The artichokes were strictly routine and only three of the eight mussles could be eaten — the other had that off-putting smell and texture that means beware. But the sauce they were in was excellent.

Our entrees brought similar mixed reactions. The veal chop, a special of the night and a favorite way to check the competence of any back room, was half dried out and definitely not delivered slightly pink as ordered, and the composite spicy mushroom mound ladled over the chop was a classic definition of overkill.

The shrimp fra diavolo were only slightly more impressive, but far better than the vegetables serving as the chop’s platemates. The broccoli had been cooked into a state of tastelessness and the carrots were boring.

Far better had been the simple house salad — the tomatoes were the real thing and we liked the Italian dressing. We also liked the potatoes and the presence on the wine list of a good selection of Italian imports. Our Santa Margherita chardonnay was an ideal companion throughout the meal, and helped mightily to compensate for the shortfalls.

The musicians also helped, playing a good many of the golden oldies, but with only carpeting for a dance floor there were not many diners taking advantage of the eminently danceable music.

A final plus point was the size of the portions: as generous as ever we’ve encountered in any Italian-American restaurant. There’s enough food on the plates to stoke all those giants who protect the golden arm of the Golden Boy.

BAMBINO D’ORO

8389 Hollywood/Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines 437-5283

Cost: moderate to expensive

Credit cards: AE, MC, V

Dinner nightly