One of the first restaurants to open in San Jose’s Santana Row in 2003, Pizza Antica is still drawing crowds and going strong.

On the heels of that impressive streak, it’s now been joined by its new sister restaurant Augustine with adjacent Augustine Bakery/Cafe, both of which opened in March.

All are owned by the Bacchus Management Group, which has a host of restaurants in the Bay Area, including Michelin-starred Selby’s in Redwood City and the Village Pub in Woodside.

The expansive, former Sino restaurant spot has been completely made over in tones of deep cobalt with custom light fixtures as luminous as contemporary jewelry, and a glittering marble u-shaped bar that commands attention steps from the entrance. A covered patio offers ample outdoor dining, too. The look is elegant and well-heeled.

And is the place ever attracting a crowd.

When I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant on a Wednesday night, the place was already humming with most of the dining room and bar seats already occupied when I arrived at 6 p.m.

Divided into categories of “Sea,” “Garden,” and “Ranch,” everything on the menu is made for sharing.

Savory Dungeness crab donuts ($18) come three to an order, but since we were a party of four, the kitchen was only too happy to add an extra one on the plate for an additional charge. Crisp and golden on the outside and fluffy within, they are crowned with a mound of crab enriched with creamy remoulade with chives and lemon. They just beg for a glass of bubbly alongside for the perfect upscale nosh.

For more luxuriousness, spring for the fried chicken & caviar ($43) that’s like the fanciest chicken fingers ever. Four breaded, crunchy and boneless pieces of chicken arrive like a short Jenga stack with a bowl of creme fraiche crowned with caviar molded into a perfect square. It’s uptown meets downtown — and the snack you’ll be longing for the next time you watch a game on TV at home.

Spring arrives in the form of an asparagus and snap pea salad ($18) with crisp Little Gem leaves, crunchy turnips and radishes, and wedges of hard-cooked egg with an on-point jammy center. A sprinkle of fresh dill leaves adds a nice fresh herby hit.

Don’t sleep on the hand-rolled cavatelli ($18) with the supple, grooved shell shapes holding onto a creamy tomato sauce enlivened with Italian sheep’s milk cheese and basil. It may sound simple but it’s sublime. II could have created a distraction to hoard the entire dish to myself, I would have.

It’s said that every Bacchus restaurant must have a burger on its menu, owing to founding partner Tim Stannard’s penchant for them. The Augustine Burger ($22) definitely doesn’t disappoint. It’s oh-so juicy and saucy with house-made Thousand Island, and melted white cheddar on a soft burnished bun with a dill pickle on the side.

Enjoy it with a side of thin, crispy fries ($8) that come with garlic aioli. Add another $6 to get them showered in grated black truffle.

A coil of spiced lamb sausage ($24) has a hint of heat plus plenty of warm Moroccan flavors. It comes atop a pool of minted yogurt to cool things off.

The double-cut pork chop ($44) comes to the table already neatly sliced with the bone off to the side for those who want to gnaw on it to their stomach’s content. A zingy salsa verde is spooned over the top to balance the richness of this super tender chop.

You have to love the fact that the chefs at Augustine were so excited about the debut that week of the annual Santana Row farmers market that they bought strawberries from my favorite vendor there, family-owned P&K Farms of Castroville. The strawberries got a toss in simple syrup, then served with Chantilly cream. With strawberries this good, that’s all you need.

However, I will say they also went very well with the old-fashioned crullers ($12) for dessert. Ridged and sugar-dusted, they arrive warm with creme anglaise for dipping. Spoon some of those strawberries over a donut, then top with some Chantilly cream for your own makeshift shortcake.

For something fancier, there’s the opera cake ($14) with its precise layers of almond sponge cake, buttercream, and chocolate ganache with coffee syrup. It gets a final flourish of salted caramel on the plate.

If you’re someone who has a hard time deciding on just one dessert to end on, don’t despair. The cafe/bakery next door stays open until 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. That means, you can still pick up another sweet treat or two to take home to enjoy.