Located downtown in the historic West End, a remodeled gas station serves up a diverse menu with fresh taste and strong flavor. The Old Fourth Street Filling Station has received numerous Triad area awards for its outdoor brick patio, but it’s the food that keeps a steady stream of customers coming back for more.

The restaurant offers lunch and dinner everyday, with brunch from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sundays. Lunch can be under $10 and dinner is around mid-$20 with an appetizer and dessert. Overall, the menu gives a continental spread of the nation’s best foods, with appetizers and entrées representing New England and the Southwest and other places in between, all with beautiful presentation.

The dining area indoors is actually only one room, with deceptive mirrors and an adjacent patio and bar that give it an intimate yet spacious feel. The blend of classic style with natural elements is seldom seen successfully, yet the neoclassical-patterned ceiling above the bar, lit fireplace and candles, wine racks, ivy plants, brick wall and wooden beams make a seamless transition from a cozy interior to the patio outside, where the theme is continued.

Appetizers are substantial and made to share. The spinach and artichoke dip ($8) adds feta cheese to the usual recipe and serves it with toasted pita chips – a warm, gooey experience. The fiesta chicken nachos ($9) are new to the menu and selling well, along with the corn and black bean salsa-filled fried potato canoes ($8) and the cream cheese crab dip ($9), served with garlic bread.

Of the salads, the oyster salad ($8) is worth particular note with fried breaded oysters, smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, and mixed greens – double the oysters for $4 more. Chinese chicken salad, grilled chicken and salmon salads are also on the menu, all with ingredients so fresh, it tastes like they were bought from the farmer’s market that morning.

Portion sizes are big, unless you choose to try the tapas (3 for $19). The five tapas options are served in an appetizer size, but packed with rich flavor that together is as satisfying as a larger, full meal. The baked honey almond brie ($8) oozes on a bed of greens and fruit with sliced baguettes. The beef brochette ($8) is a skewer of grilled beef in a house-made teriyaki glaze with ginger coleslaw. Additionally, three fried jumbo lump crab cakes ($9) are served in cocktail, tartar and thousand island sauces.

The Carolina shrimp and grits entrée ($17) was featured in Southern Living magazine a few years ago during the holiday season, and manager Matt Harmon says “we call that our staple.” The brie and spinach stuffed chicken ($17) with caramelized onions and the seafood pasta ($17) made with sea scallops, shrimp, and crab meat tossed with roasted red peppers in a white wine garlic sauce over angel hair pasta are also delectable dishes served at the restaurant.

Smitty’s Notes voted the Filling Station as second place runner up to Midtown Cafe and Dessertery for the “Best of Winston-Salem 2007” in the dessert category. Each being priced at around $6, the desserts include a brownie sundae, chocolate pecan pie, Bailey’s bunt cake and a triple layer strawberry dream cake. All sumptuous desserts, the latter poses a triple threat with three cake layers and a strawberry cream cheese icing. Coffee is available as an after-dinner treat, too.

A popular specialty drink is the Fourth Street Filling Station Punch. A taste of a fruity combination of Tanqueray gin, Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur), sweet and sour flavors (lemon juice and syrup), wild cherry brandy, orange juice and a splash of grenadine with a lime on the side can flood your senses with thoughts of balmy summer evenings by the beach. As a tangy cocktail, it’s a great to start an evening out.

Drink specials are a definite draw to the Filling Station’s top-notch bar. Martinis and Cosmopolitans are $3 on Tuesday nights. The restaurant serves a “pomatini,” made with Pama pomegranate liqueur and vodka, which has caught on as a trendy drink in bars and lounges all over the country.

Any bottled wine under $50 is half priced on “Wine Lover’s Wednesday” with the purchase of a dinner entrée. The Filling Station tends to carry fine wines from all over, but for those interested in a local taste, the Shelton Riesling, made in Yadkinville, imbues the palette with a sinuous sweetness.

The patio is open from the later half of March through the end of October, but it continues to host dining guests year-round since it’s covered and well-heated during the chilly months. Harmon says, “On a lot of cold nights, we have to convince people to sit out there, and then once they’re seated, they say, ‘It’s warmer out here than it is in the dining room.’ ”

Local live bands come to perform at The Filling Station patio on Thursday nights in the spring, summer and fall. Playing music along the lines of Van Morrison and Jimmy Buffet with a bluegrass twist, the band Rain Check is an annual favorite. “I don’t want to call them bluegrass, because they’re not twang-y and I like what they sing,” says Harmon.

This spring, new band The Roots Soul Project will make its first appearance at the Filling Station with songs from the styles of Al Green and Barry White.

Dinnertime gets very busy, and reservations can conveniently be made online at the Filling Station website or by phone. The restaurant has a lunch delivery option for orders over eight and caters events (check out menu and pricing here).

The versatile menu and skilled chefs at the Filling Station keep it among the best restaurants downtown, and it can be a great restaurant to get a meal during the day or for an evening out with friends, dates or parents. Harmon says “the atmosphere is hard to beat,” and it’s true – the ambiance of this old gas station has been transformed into a dining establishment de luxe.