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Dining in Beverly Hills


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So I have to entertain two big shots in LA in a couple of weeks.  We will be in Beverly Hills, so I would like someplace nearby.  Money is not a consideration and extra points if we can see celebrities.

What do you all think?

Aren't they always conducting celebrity interviews over lunch at Chateau Marmont or as bookluvingbabe suggested, on the patio at Ivy? Make sure it's the middle of the week though.

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Matsuhisa and Spago. The first is the best Japanese restaurant in Southern CA and a temple to the raw. The second still defines power and business while also serving as Puck's flagship. This is an especially good link:

"Spago: Beverly Hills" on seeing-stars.com

Spago is also considered one of the best restaurants in L. A.

 
For both of these you should reserve NOW. They are extremely popular.

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I had reservations at Spago, but they called me and said that they have to close that night for a special event. I have a new reservation at Mastro's (NOT Maestro's, Joe!)  So I am hoping that this place is ok.

But the Ivy...that is a good idea.

Thanks for your thoughts

That should actually be "safe" for a business dinner-better steak houses usually fall into this category. If you have another night in that area and you're not on business there is a seriously good Italian restaurant called Locanda Veneta which I've been to four or five times and really, really like. It feels very much like you're in Venice. There is nothing in D. C. that I would compare it to. But it's excellent and, along with the formal Valentino, considered L. A.'s best.

For what it's worth my wedding lunch was at Tommy's (double chili cheese) and dinner was at Chinois in Santa Monica. (crab risotto, sliced filet Szechuan, smoked lobster on a bed of deep fried spinach-I think this is his best restaurant, even more than Spago. There is a food bar at the rear where you can sit at one of about eight seats only a countertop away from where the food is prepared. A great experience!) Santa Monica could be a half hour or more from Beverly Hills though, depending on traffic.) At the time there was not an In 'n Out Burger anywhere around.

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Thanks for the insight, Joe. I will try out the other Puck place on my own when I have some down time.

The dinner that I am arranging is two male heavy-hitters so I am thinking that a steak dinner would be good for all the testosterone in the room. But its too bad that I got the royal dis on Spago. I was really looing forward to it.

---

Jar (AlliK)

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I've been hearing great things about The Beacon in Culver City [Closed Jan 16, 2011]. The owner/chef is a Japanese guy who was the executive chef at Chinois for many years. I have a copy of the menu that looks fabulous--it is Japonais-style food. I stopped in but couldn't get a table. My brother has been a couple of times and says it is Da Bomb.

Also consider Mori on W. Pico Blvd. in West L.A., two blocks west of the 405. The most amazing sushi bar I've ever eaten at-- a favorite hang-out of the young trendy chefs in L.A. The owner is a madman--he has a pottery wheel and a kiln out back, and makes all his own serving dishes, and grows the shiso and other herbs he serves. You've got to order omakase there and put yourself in the chef's hands. I had a matsutake soup (wild forest mushroom) that was one of the most extraordinary experiences--it was what Minibar tries to do-- I was instructed to lean over the covered bowl and inhale the steam as the lid was lifted. The aroma was like stepping into a steamy pine forest. An ethereally delicate shrimp dumpling floated in the pale, clear intensely flavored broth.

---

The Beacon (DonRocks)

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The LA Weekly's 99 Essentials list highlights Maude and Spago for Beverly Hills.

On Jonathan Gold's 2015 list of the 101 best restaurants in LA, he recommends Spago, Maude, Cut (another Puck restaurant), and SAAM (by Jose Andres, similar to Minibar) in Beverly Hills, and Sotto (Italian) is close by. 

All of these except for Sotto are super fancy/$$$$, so don't know if they meet your criteria. 

I've never actually been to that area so don't have any personal recs.

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For casual Italian in Beverly Hills, Da Pasquale is good.  It's not a place I would make a destination, but it's just a couple blocks from the Beverly Hilton.  Good pastas and bread.

I've also enjoyed a couple dinners at Bouchon, if you're open to bistro fare.  It's a fun, lively place in the Montage hotel.

If you like Hillstone restaurants, Honor Bar is also close by.  The menu looks pretty limited, with not much more than a few sandwiches and sushi.  I've never been to this one, but I've always liked other Hillstone spots.  

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