Dinner in LA Friday night.....$$-$$$$ ??

[loreeLB]

Going to be in town (Brentwood) Friday evening, looking for a place to have a nice romantic or non romantic dinner maybe in the Beverly Hills/West Hollywood?? area.... was looking at La Boheme or The Palm or???? Old standby is usually Ruths Chris or somewhere in SM.... Any recs???

[mc michael]

Have not been to Il Cielo in a long time, but it used to be quite romantic.

[lizziee]

If you are in Brentwood, Wilshire is less than a 6 minute car ride. I was pleasantly surprised - I wasn't expecting that this would be as good as it turned out.

See here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/689528

[exilekiss]

Hi loreeLB,

Since you mention Beverly Hills, West Hollywood "or somewhere in SM"... in that whole area, you might consider:

* Spago - Try one of their Tasting Menus. An L.A. classic in a nice setting.

* Valentino - Their regular menu has been solid, but has some misses, but their Tasting Menu has always been enjoyable for me, but it's been over a year since I've been back.

* Providence - If you're willing to drive a little bit east on Melrose, Providence is another great choice. Chef Cimarusti's tasting menus are fabulous. :)

Also, what did you mean by "or non romantic dinner"? Is the focus then on... good food? More casual, relaxed environment? If it's about good food, then definitely consider:

* Animal - Fantastic creations from Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo in a casual setting.

Enjoy~

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Providence
5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Valentino (Santa Monica)
3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

Animal
435 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[honkman]

I agree on Providence and Animal but based on recent tasting menus I would skip Spago (not bad but a clear decline in quality compared to some years ago)

[Servorg]

In SM proper she might want to consider Wilshire Restaurant (if the weather is nice they have a beautiful / romantic patio).

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Wilshire Restaurant
2454 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404

[Phurstluv]

I love that patio!!

[Servorg]

It is one of the nicer ones in town. I also think the one at Cliff's Edge in Silver Lake is really gorgeous (although the food is better at Wilshire). Before Wilshire was Wilshire the patio was a wonderful place to have German food at the old Knolls Black Forest Inn.

[A5 KOBE]

Nothing says romantic like "FOIE GRAS LOCO MOCO"

I third Animal.