Red Rabbit, the new casual Italian restaurant on Grand Avenue, probably isn’t where you would go for your anniversary dinner.

And owner Luke Shimp is fine with that. Shimp would rather the restaurant, which serves pizzas, pastas, a few entrees, an approachable but really good wine list and some darn good cocktails, be an everyday place wheregroups gather and weeknight family dinners are feasible if you don’t have time to cook.

Judging by how packed the place has been when we’ve visited, his mission has been accomplished.

We have popped in a few times, and though we’ve found the menu to be a bit hit or miss, there are definitely items we’ll return for.

Starting with fresh oysters or fluffy, juicy meatballs bathed in a bright tomato sauce, or maybe both, is definitely a good idea. We’re also fans of the creamy burrata, even if the crostini were a little too toasted for our liking.

One of our favorite menu items is the hearty, complex farro salad. It is full of textures — softness, chew and crunch — and a lemon vinaigrette keeps it from feeling overly heavy. It’s also included in the salmon entree, which is $24, but easily shareable. If I’m being honest, though, I’d skip the salmon next time and order the salad on its own.

Pastas are decent. We really enjoyed the linguini and clams, but it’s no longer on the menu, replaced with a shrimp garganelli that was a little ho-hum.

We were pleasantly surprised by the first few bites of the odd-sounding raviolo, which uses poppy seeds in the pasta dough, and is stuffed with burrata cheese and topped with pickled rhubarb, among other things. We tired of it fairly quickly, though, so if you want to try it, we recommend sharing it among a few people.

I think the item we’ll return for the most are the pizzas, with their crisp-chewy crust and that bright tomato sauce. The best we’ve tried is the spicy salami, which is balanced with dollops of creamy ricotta and sweet chili honey.

The restaurant is the second Red Rabbit — the first is in Minneapolis’ trendy North Loop. This one, in the former Wild Onion space, is more of an open concept: A large, rectangular bar with the requisite bar tables is near the entrance, but a line of booths is all that separates the bar area from the rest of the room.

All in all, it’s a massive upgrade from the previous tenant, and something that was obviously sorely needed in the neighborhood.

Small Bites are first glances — not intended as definitive reviews — of new or changed restaurants.

RED RABBIT

Where: 788 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-444-5995; redrabbitmn.com

Prices: Appetizers, $6-$13.25; pastas, $12-$16.50; pizzas, $9-$14.50; entrees, $16.50-$27; desserts, $5.25-$8.25

Good to know: Red Rabbit has a parking lot, which is worth its weight in gold on Grand Avenue. There’s also a really great happy hour that includes discounts on all drinks, and some food, including $8 pizzas.