Scarpetta vs. Gordon Ramsey or...?

[josephnl]

We are going to take an extremely elegant older woman out for dinner. She's been everywhere, loves wonderful food and restaurants, and has truly been entertained by royalty. She has said that she has not had dinner at either Scarpetta at the Montage, or Gordon Ramsey at the London, and is "curious about them". We want to take her somewhere that, of course, has very good food, but equally important is somewhere where the ambiance is very nice, and comfortable conversation is possible. Would either of these fit the bill (we'd like to take her somewhere she'd like to try)...or is there somewhere else somewhat new that you would recommend? She's been to Providence, Melisse, Water Grill, Patina and all of the obvious places and also would not be comfortable if we took her somewhere that is overly ostentatious. What would you recommend?

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Water Grill
544 South Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Scarpetta
225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[maudies5]

"We are going to take an extremely elegant older woman out for dinner. She's been everywhere, loves wonderful food and restaurants, and has truly been entertained by royalty."
I guess you could be describing me. :) How about taking the "elegant older woman" to the Apple Pan or Animal or The Hungry Cat @ Hollywood and Vine? If the elegant lady isn't up for seafood you might suggest Papaya King. It;s nearby.

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The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Apple Pan
10801 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Papaya King
1645 Wilcox Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

[goodhealthgourmet]

i can't speak to GR as i've never been, but i adore Scarpetta. the food is excellent, the space is lovely, and i've always had good-to-great service. noise has only been an issue for me there once, and it was due to an extremely loud & boisterous large table seated a few feet away from us.

if you do go there, be sure to ask for a pillow/cushion for her chair...and you might want one for yours as well. the seats are pretty hard which can get uncomfortable rather quickly unless you have ample built-in padding ;)

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Scarpetta
225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[Servorg]

I wear shorts and tee-shirts about 90% of the time, so elegance is probably out of reach. Many say I was raised by wolves, so my entertainment skills are a little on the "wild" side. I've been threatened with great bodily harm most everywhere (probably having to do with the wolf raising thing). But that said it sounds like Villetta ought to be part of this conversation too: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/788071

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Villetta
246 26th St, Santa Monica, CA 90402

[ipsedixit]

The Royce or Saddle Peak Lodge.

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Saddle Peak Lodge
419 Cold Canyon Rd., Calabasas, CA 91302

[honkman]

If she is open to outstanding but more unusual food Saam (Jose Andres restaurant within Bazaar) would be a great choice. The food is unique and great, service was some of the best we had in LA and the room is quite and elegant

[foodiemahoodie]

She would not be comforable in a place that is overly ostentatious? Give me an example or two of that. Just so I know what you're trying to avoid. (trendy?) Woudl that be Bazaar?

Villetta has an understand elegance, and the older women have a monied elegance about them.

Bouchon. Spagos.

Madeos reminds me of L'Ami Louis in ways. The crowd, ambiance. Prezzies and prime ministers dine there, but not sure if it's royal. Last royal I dined with was at Gjelina, but she's a younger royal. Cicada has an elegant feel, food is good, but not in the Melisse/Providence category. The Royce looks good (Pasadena and all).

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Madeo Restaurant
8897 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Villetta
246 26th St, Santa Monica, CA 90402

[josephnl]

I guess by overly pretentious I mean, at least in part, very expensive...perhaps Melisse and Providence would apply...or Per Se if it were here.

[Juji]

I think Culina would be a nice option. I liked Scarpetta, but was not totally wowed. But it's a lovely space and the food is solid. I enjoyed my experience at Culna more and thought the food was exceptional. And the setting is great.

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Culina
300 S Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Scarpetta
225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[josephnl]

I'm the op, and thanks Juji for recommending Culina at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons. We went last night and loved it. The food was terrific (perhaps the best veal chop ever!) and the service was great. I think we like it better than Scarpetta. Our guest was very impressed, and we all left very happy. The one minus...as the restaurant fills up, it gets quite noisy.

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Culina
300 S Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Scarpetta
225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[Obessed]

Scarpetta

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Scarpetta
225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[perk]

I liked the food at Scarpetta....but had horrible service. I mean....beyond bad. (Though, to the restaurant's credit, they did send me an apology when I e-mailed the next day.) I thought maybe it was just an off night, which happens, but I was having dinner with friends the other night, and they told me they'd had a similar experience there.....as had friends of theirs. It makes me a little wary.
I've read very good things about Villetta....and loved that space when it was Chez Mimi. And Bouchon sounds like a very good option as well.