By MERIDITH FORD
Journal Restaurant Critic

PROVIDENCE -- If you visit newly reopened 3 Steeple Street looking for major changes, you'll be hard-pressed to find them.

And for a bistro that has been part of Providence's restaurant scene for over 25 years, that's probably a good thing -- for new owners Julie and Bill Nahas as well as for the restaurant's loyal customers.

Of course, there have been a few changes since the Nahases bought the place from Brian Kenner last year (they reopened in March). The kitchen, which used to be more open to diners, is enclosed. New chairs give a spiffed-up look. The wide pine planks in the bar area are shiny and refinished, and little pots of cacti adorn the tables as well as the large warehouse windows. Where the old looked dark and brooding, cleaning and refurbishing now gives everything a brighter mood.

Still, you might not notice the difference. And that's how the menu is, too.

So many things, such as the sole amandine and especially the German sausage plate, have remained. The oversized, hand-carved wooden salad bowls are still home to spinach and Greek salads. And while the Nahases and chef Julio Quinonez have added a few new items such as steamed mussels Dijon, for the most part things seem the comfortably familiar.

The mussels are a little overwhelming -- there are so many of them and so little bowl. But they become more manageable as you begin to eat them -- steeped in a pungent, creamy, broth, they disappear quickly. Not at all like the Mediterranean-inspired broths so often served in Rhode Island, the tart, yellow flavor of the Dijon mustard is a welcome diversion that pairs well with the plump mussels without -- surprisingly -- crushing their flavor.

Starting a meal with soup is difficult at 3 Steeple Street -- it's hard to choose between a big bowl of chili and French onion soup. An odd juxtaposition, surely, but what the heck. And while I'll have to return to rate the chili, the French onion soup has sweet, flavorful broth loaded with onions and blanketed with a thick layer of gooey cheese.

I wasn't as enamored of a large salad with salmon cakes. Oh, the salad was fresh and loaded with carrots and greens in a pleasant-tasting vinaigrette. But the salmon cakes, while crispy-edged, had a gummy texture and lacked any salmon flavor.

Sole amandine was a perennial favorite on the old menu, and it is sure to keep its fans happy on the new one, too. With such a delicately flavored fish, it would be easy to overpower it with heavier flavors. But here the dish is light, with traces of lemon and butter and a generous sprinkling of crunchy toasted almonds.

Just for the evening, Quinonez had fried up beer-battered fish and served it with freshly fried potatoes. With a colorful house-made cole slaw, it was the simplest, yet most enjoyable dish of the evening -- the fish was ethereally light, with crispy bits of batter here and there, and a perfect, classic mate to the chips.

For dessert, there are a few house-made treats, although some items are brought in from a purveyor. Creme brulee isn't, but it was a little too soupy and -- the greatest sin -- had no hard snap to its broiled sugar crust. Still, a fresh fruit tart was filled with creamy, vanilla-laced custard and topped with funky tropical fruits -- mango, pineapple and coconut.

Service was fast-paced almost to a fault -- we were barely finished with salmon cakes and mussels when the second course started to arrive. But to his credit, our waiter was apologetic, smoothing things over with an affable charm.

By the way: If you're going, try the next few days or wait a week. It closes for vacation this Sunday, reopening the following Saturday.

3 Steeple Street, 125 Canal St., Providence. 272-3620. Casual. Reservations accepted. Not wheelchair accessible. Open Monday through Thursday for from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 5 to 11 p.m., Sunday 5 to 9 p.m. Smoking at the bar only. V, MC, AM, DIS.

Appetizers and soups are $3.50 to $9.95; meal-sized salads are $6.95 to $10.95. Burgers and sandwiches such as the Philly cheese steak and crab melt are $5.95 to $10.95. Pasta and other entrees are $10 to $19.95. Desserts are $5.50 and $6.50.

A short, succinct wine list has bottles from $20 to $40. All the wines can be served by the glass as well.