This is a success story. Once upon a time, La Marina was a simple fish market. Then it moved up Hertel Avenue a ways and became a fish market with a small restaurant attached.

Finally, it took an even bigger step and became, almost exclusively, a restaurant (although you still can buy fish retail there on Fridays, and many do).

But in this new incarnation, it’s certainly a welcoming and comfortable place. The decor is quietly luxurious; chairs are soothingly padded; music plays softly. And the nicely printed menu — soon to expand, I’m told, to include traditional popular Italian-American dishes — is brimming with fish and seafood; some dishes are prepared simply, others are more elaborate creations. There’s pasta, steak and chicken, too.

We began our meal on a high note with two terrific soups: a rich and dusky minestrone with loads of vegetables and a luxurious lobster bisque. The rich and velvety bisque slid down smoothly. A larger portion of this pink creation goes for $6.75 ordered a la carte and would probably be enough for a meal.

There are two menus to choose from here. One, the dinner special list, changes daily. From that list we ordered salmon a la escarole ($19.95), a grilled, well-cooked fillet served over a bed of the braised greens. Of course, the appearance was beautiful — the pink fish over the dark greens looked like a painting. And the sauce, based on red wine with a few capers and shallots, set it off well.

Other special entrees that evening included grilled marsala-glazed tilapia fillet served with roasted pepper coulis ($17.95) and, for the nonfish crowd, a grilled New York Strip with caramelized onions and Romano cheese ($24.95). There was also pork loin with a cherry vodka glaze (19.95). A vegetarian could have chosen linguine with porcini mushrooms for $14.95.

Moving right along to the longer printed menu, we ordered Sole a la Marina ($19.95), an elaborate creation indeed. Perhaps too elaborate. The fresh Atlantic sole was overwhelmed with a coating of seasoned bread crumbs before being sauteed. And then it was covered with a thick mixture, described on the menu as lemon butter caper sauce. That poor innocent little fishie didn’t have a chance.

Perhaps next time we’ll go for the bouillabaisse at $23.95. It’s the most expensive seafood on the menu, but it sounds very, very good: a combination of mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops and whatever the catch of the day might be — everything is simmered in broth and topped with a lobster dainty. The salmon carciofini ($21.95), seared and served with artichoke hearts and fresh tomatoes, sounds pretty good as well.

And there are loads of pastas, with mussels or clams or shrimp or calamari or combinations thereof. Again there’s provision for the non-seafoodites among us: pasta bolognese ($17.95) or jambalaya pasta (with chicken and sausage, $17.95).

And, by the way, everything at La Marina comes with a good house salad, too.

LA MARINA MARKET & GRILLE

Three stars

WHERE: 1503 Hertel Ave. (834-9681). What was once a fish market and restaurant has now gone upscale and become primarily a restaurant. It continues to offer a wide variety of fish and seafood, cooked in many different ways.

Credit Cards: American Express, Visa, MasterCard.

FAVORITE DISH: Lobster bisque

NEEDS WORK: Sole ala Marina

PRICE RANGE:Entrees including house salad or soup, vegetable and starch from $18.95. Pastas from $13.95. Fish Fry (Friday only) $12.95.

SERVICE: Excellent

HOURS: Lunch, Fridays only. Dinner from 5 to 9 p. m. Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p. m. Friday and Saturday.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes

PARKING: On the street or in the small lot next door. Valet also available.

RATINGS:Stars reflect the overall dining experience at the time of The News’ visit — including service, ambience, innovation and cost — with greatest weight given to quality of the food.