It has been there since 1907 — remodeled many times and now under new management — but the Wilson Boat House still sits on one of the prettiest sites on Lake Ontario. It’s right on the Wilson Harbor, with pretty views and a town park adjoining. It may be an institution, but the place manages to serve up plenty of action and a bar that won’t quit.

The Boat House is a handsome place, too. The skylighted dining room is two stories high, with glass walls so that the space is light-filled. Natural wooden floors and furniture, yellow walls with white accents and the handsome chandelier would be perfectly at home in a formal restaurant, but since many of the patrons have obviously just come from a boat, it’s far from that. The essence of summer is here.

Servers hustle; the crowd pours in; there are lots of kids; and there’s an underlying hullabaloo. Yet, seemingly miraculously, meals seem to turn up on time.

At dinner on a perfect evening last week, the place was jammed to capacity with diners adorned in everything from long skirts to very short shorts. Family groups were tucked in everywhere, alternating with couples obviously out to celebrate.

We began our meal at the top with two really excellent appetizers. Oh, admittedly, the shrimp fritters ($7) had us a tad worried when they first came out — so dark in color was the batter that we thought they had tarried too long on the flame. But silly us. Those softball-sized shrimp fritters were crisp and fresh tasting — in other words, delicious. They were cleverly served with the perfect complement: a teasingly spicy chili remoulade sauce. There was also a little corn salad (the menu calls it corn salsa) on the side.

Another starter, Boat House Chowder ($6) was pleasing, too, especially since it sported both scallops and mussels. A little heavier than a real New England chowder should be, maybe — the real stuff is much thinner than we usually see hereabouts, relying only on potatoes for thickening — but still, this soup was not a bit pasty and served good and hot.

Sadly, we weren’t as enthusiastic on the bread that accompanied it, though. It looked alluring enough, served in those cute little open cones many restaurants are using for french fries these days. But, equally sadly, that bread had succumbed to the Summer Damps. (There were enough carbs in the soup already, so no hardship to let the bread go.)

But then, dinner entrees are more imaginative than you might expect in this casual place. The grilled flat-iron steak ($19) is served with chimichurri (herb) sauce and

truffled potato wedges; Javanese roasted salmon comes with asparagus and mango salsa ($18). There’s also something called Lobster4 that sports orange cilantro sauce ($21), but I like my lobster served more simply, thank you very much.

Another house specialty, short ribs in pineapple jalapeno sauce, is $24. I didn’t try it, mind you, so I won’t swear on a stack of Bibles, but this, too, may be trying too darn hard.

The lunch menu, by the way, is equally interesting and maybe even more tempting: fish burrito, tempura-battered grouper sandwich and a pot roast burger with caramelized onion, cheese and horseradish mayo. Sign me up.

Back to dinner. An evening special, our Coca-Cola Ribs ($25), used a Southern recipe. I’d suppose that below the Mason-Dixon Line they once used the the all-American beverage in everything from veggies to cake. In this case, it produced meat (no surprise) on the sweet side, with the sauce thick but surprisingly unsticky. French fries in accompaniment were fine.

We also tried, from the standard menu, Chicken Under a Brick ($16), a small quarter bird, on the bone flattened, of course. It was not at all crisp and did not have much flavor, although the chicken was juicy —I’ll give you that. I added a lot of salt.

The chicken came with panzanella, a classic Italian salad made with vinegared tomatoes, greens and bread. In this case, the bread was cut in big sloppy crusty chunks, the vegetables also large. It’s a light meal for a summer night, I suppose, but it needs retooling.

Dessert was strawberry shortcake on a pleasant biscuit, but it presented a challenge to eat. Stuffed in a goblet, bordered with “whipped cream,” it was striving for “wow” appeal, I guess.

We asked for two spoons — no room for even one spoon in that goblet. There were berries all over the table when we finished our meal.

WILSON BOAT HOUSE

Three stars

WHERE: 57 Harbor St., Wilson (751-6060; www.wilsonboathouse.com). As pretty a site on Lake Ontario as you will ever see. A casual marine ambience, a handsome deck and a very active bar scene. Now under new management. One transient boat slip available; call the Wilson Boatyard to secure.

Credit Cards: American Express, MasterCard and Visa.

FAVORITE DISH: Shrimp fritters

NEEDS WORK: Chicken Under a Brick

PRICE RANGE:Dinner entrees from around $18. Starters or small plates from $8.

SERVICE: Very good.

HOURS: Seven days. Lunch from 11:30 a. m.; dinner from 4 to 9 p. m. Sunday through Thursday, 4 to 11 p. m. Friday and Saturday.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes.

PARKING: In the lot.

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.