French Bistro La Mediterranée - original French cuisine and wines in Midtown Manhattan

It will never make anybody's list of Manhattan's 10 chicquest restaurants, nor will you see it mentioned in the society columns accompanied by photographs of insouciant celebrities clinking glasses and pecking cheeks. La Mediterranée,on Second Avenue at 50th Street , is about as voguish as spats - but considerably more comfortable. Quite simply, it is a wonderfully homey and neighborly spot that gives you a warm feeling upon entering - all timber and stucco with faux wooden shutters, colorful murals of France and comfortable banquettes. The moderately priced menu is just as familiar and soothing, running from hot sausage and potato salad ($5), calf's liver with raisins ($15.75), lamb chops ($17.75) and assorted daily stews and roasts, such as a soothing poached stuffed chicken and . winter vegetables ($14.50). Prix-fixe dinners are $18.50 from 5:30 to 6:45 P.M.and $20.75 afterward. The prix-fixe lunch is $18.50. The food is wholesome and satisfying at best (specials are worth noting). On Sunday evenings, a beaming Frenchwoman strolls through the dining room singing "La Vie en Rose" and other nostalgic hits of yesteryear, occasionally joined by the owner, Robert Chamoux. La Mediterranée, 947 Second Avenue, is open for lunch noon 3 P.M. Monday to Friday; dinner 5:30 to 11 P.M. daily. Telephone: 755-4155.