Los Angeles Venue Directory
Restaurants JIRAFFE
The use of fresh seasonal ingredients is one reason Jiraffe has been successful since 1996. For group dining, the loft offers a picturesque semiprivate area that overlooks the main room and holds 45 people. The main dining room holds 45. (502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, 310.917.6671) JOSIE RESTAURANT
The farmer’s-market-inspired menus from chef and owner Josie LeBalch are sophisticated and relaxed. The rooms are soft and inviting, with sandblasted wood-beam ceilings, a stone hearth in the front room, and a quiet bar in the back. The entire restaurant seats 85. (2424 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, 310.581.9888) KATANA5
The people behind Sushi Roku brought this Japanese robata and sushi bar to a historic Sunset Strip building. A private dining room seats 30, the patio overlooking the strip holds 200, and the entire restaurant seats 225 or holds 500 for receptions. (8439 West Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 323.650.8585) KATSUYA BRENTWOOD5
Combining the talents of Sam Nazarian, chef Katsuya Uechi, and designer Philippe Starck, this restaurant and lounge is a display of style and substance. The restaurant seats 160. A small patio seats 16. (11777 San Vicente Blvd., 310.207.8744) KATSUYA DOWNTOWN5
With a menu by sushi chef Katsuya Uechi and a design by Philippe Starck, this Japanese restaurant is in the center of the L.A. Live promenade. The space can hold as many as 300 guests, and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. (800 West Olympic Blvd., 213.747.9797) KATSUYA GLENDALE5
This Japanese eatery, part of Americana at Brand, opened in May 2008. The main floor includes a patio facing cocktail and sushi bars, while the second floor houses the main dining room, a cocktail bar, and a 10-seat private room. The entire venue holds 300 for events. (702 Americana Way, Glendale, 818.244.5900) KATSUYA HOLLYWOOD
The venue holds 200, while the bar seats 50 and a patio also has space for 50. (260 South Raymond Ave., Pasadena, 626.356.4444)
burgundy room holds 16, and the entire eatery holds 150. (1104 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, 310.395.0881 ext. 110)
NEW LA GRANDE ORANGE SANTA MONICA
MELROSE BAR & GRILL
Santa Monica got a branch of La Grande Orange in May 2009. The location’s menu focuses on American cooking, with fresh ingredients that emphasize seasonal organic cuisine from the local farmer’s market. (2000 Main St., Santa Monica, 310.396.9145)
The desert-chic look of Doug Arango’s was wiped clean by owners Chris and Julie Bennette, who opened this more casual spot in 2007. The space has white banquettes, dark furniture, and earth tones. (8826 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, 310.278.3684)
LA MILL
This coffee-focused space features custom-made French wallpaper; faux crocodile, ostrich, and sharkskin chairs; and black Lucite tables. Providence chef Michael Cimarusti designed a menu including pumpkin soup with coffee maple Urfa chile crème fraîche. (1636 Silver Lake Blvd., Silver Lake, 323.663.4441) LAWRY’S CARVERY5
Run by the same owners as Lawry’s the Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, this casual restaurant has three locations. The South Coast Plaza space has two dining areas and a patio for events of as many as 80 people. There are also offshoots in Century City and at L.A. Live, next to the Staples Center. (South Coast Plaza: 3333 Bristol St., Suite 2601, Costa Mesa, 714.434.7788; Century City: 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, 310.432.0101; L.A. Live: 1011 South Figueroa St., 213.222.2212) LAWRY’S THE PRIME RIB
Its location has changed since this restaurant opened in 1938, but the menu is still the same. The main dining room has a domed ceiling and murals and holds 240. The Vintage Room seats 36. The Oak Room, with a fireplace and wood-beam ceilings, seats 80. (100 North La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310.652.2827) LIBERTY GRILL5
This patriotic-themed American restaurant opened in 2006 in a historic mission-style building. The small front dining room is lined with pictures of Old Glory, Abe Lincoln, and the Liberty Bell. A patio with umbrella-covered tables and fire pits holds 200. A balcony holds 14. (1037 Flower St., 213.746.3400) LIFE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE5
The former Level One lounge is a hot happy-hour spot for the Wilshire corridor crowd. It has white stone walls and columns, leather sofas and ottomans in the center, and a 50-seat patio. The entire restaurant holds 300. (6311 Wilshire Blvd., 323.651.5433)
The Hollywood outpost of this Japanese restaurant opened in 2007. The soaring place has suspended sushi knives, red kimonos, and oversize photos of geishas. The entire space seats 180, in the dining room, lounge, and two private rooms that seat eight each. (6300 Hollywood Blvd., 323.871.8777)
LITTLE DOM’S
This Patina Group restaurant in the Music Center offers rustic French cuisine in a dining room filled with fringed lamps and oversize Toulouse-Lautrec murals. A private room holds 14; the boardroom seats 100. The bar holds 75 for receptions, and the patio seats 28. (135 North Grand Ave., 213.972.7322)
Wooden doors open to a courtyard with linen-topped tables and flowers. Inside, various rooms of this historic house have been transformed into private dining nooks. One has bright blue walls, mutton-rug seats, and wood-beam ceilings; it seats 30. The patio seats 70. (8164 West 3rd St., 323.951.1210)
KENDALL’S BRASSERIE AND BAR5
KETCHUP
This Dolce Group restaurant riffs on the classic American diner with a Hollywood twist. The all-white space is punched up with tomato-red accents and, in some cases, real tomatoes. The restaurant holds 250; a separate lounge holds 50. (8590 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 310.289.8590) KITCHEN 24
This classic all-night diner with a contemporary spin, from the owners of Cinespace, opened in May 2008. The restaurant— decked in chrome, white seats, and dark walnut tables—has DJs and a full bar. The design came from Kris Keith. (1608 North Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, 323.465.2424) THE KRESS5
The 1930s S.H. Kress department store building is a registered landmark. The lower-level lounge holds 320. The restaurant holds 280, including 32 on an enclosed patio and 130 on the mezzanine (which houses the sushi bar), plus a private room for 12. (6608 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 323.785.5000) KUMA SUSHI
This Atwater Village sushi restaurant is awash in cool white and tan stone, dotted with colorful flowers and bronze Buddha statues. A private dining room with projection and audio capabilities seats 30. (3179 Los Feliz Blvd., Atwater Village, 323.661.5555) KUMO
Kumo means “cloud” in Japanese, and the space evokes its namesake with an all-white interior and blue carpet throughout. The chef comes from sushi restaurant Hamasaku and has created an upscale Japanese menu with French and Italian influences. A private room seats 12. (8360 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, 323.651.5866) NEW THE LAB
This 20,000-square-foot spot offers gastropub fare from associate executive chef Thomas Moran in a setting reminiscent of a science lab, with slate-topped tables, beakers as vases, and bookshelves that house science textbooks. The Lab also has a private dining room wired for full audiovisual capabilities. It holds 18 guests for a seated event or 30 for a reception. (3500 South Figueroa St., 213.743.1843) NEW LA CACHETTE BISTRO
Jean Francois Meteigner’s La Cachette Bistro in Santa Monica opened in August 2009. The dining area has room for 60 for seated events, a private room accommodates 18, and a 1,000square-foot bar area seats 40. The private, glassed-in patio has room for 80 for seated events. (1733 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, 310.434.9509) LA GRANDE ORANGE CAFÉ5
This restaurant opened in March 2008 in the renovated 1935 Santa Fe Railway Depot. Kristopher Keith of Spacecraft designed the space, which includes dark wood and Batchelder tile accents.
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An offshoot of Dominick’s, Little Dom’s has a front room with leaded windows, marble-topped tables, and a vintage bar. The back room has framed ’50s black-and-white glamour shots and red leather booths. (2128 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz, 323.661.0055) THE LITTLE DOOR5
THE LOBSTER5
Originally built as a seafood shack in the 1920s, this now tony restaurant at the top of the Santa Monica Pier has glass on three sides and an open-air deck with panoramic views of the ocean. The restaurant seats 150. (1602 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, 310.458.9294) LOCANDA DEL LAGO5
This restaurant serves dishes from Northern Italy’s Lombardy region in a room with high ceilings and painted ivy-covered trellises. There are semiprivate areas for groups of as many as 50; the patio seats 45. The entire restaurant seats 145 or holds 260 for receptions. (231 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica, 310.451.3525) L’OPERA5
Set in a historic downtown Long Beach building, this Italian spot has majestic vaulted ceilings, a colorful mural, and jade marble columns in the main dining room. Two private rooms seat 80 and 90, and the lounge holds 50. The entire restaurant holds 600 for receptions. (101 Pine Ave., Long Beach, 562.491.0066) LUCQUES5
THE MELTING POT5
The Melting Pot opened in Santa Barbara in January 2009. The space encompasses more than 4,700 square feet, with seating for 145. The restaurant also features a patio and bar, as well as a private banquet room that can accommodate groups of 32. (608 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, 805.845.4444) MICHAEL’S5
Michael McCarty is considered one of the founders of California cuisine. The flower- and foliage-filled garden holds 72, the terrace holds 38, and combined they hold 110. Three private rooms hold as many as 40. The entire restaurant holds 250. (1147 3rd St., Santa Monica, 310.451.0843) MINX5
Minx’s 100-seat dining room and the 4,000-square-foot lounge feature natural woods and clean lines; fountains, water ponds, and private cabanas fill the wraparound patio. The dining room seats 100, the lounge and patio hold 400, and the entire space holds 700. (300 Harvey Drive, Glendale, 818.242.9191) NEW MIXT GREENS
Mixt Greens is a family-owned, healthy food chain that originally started in San Francisco, and has opened another location in downtown Los Angeles. The dishes are served in an ecoconscious manner with gourmet sensibility. (350 South Grand Ave., Suite D6, Los Angeles, 213.587.7970) MOJITOS
The former Xiomara, a longtime Old Town Pasadena favorite, has new owners and a new contemporary look. The back room and atrium hold 150 for receptions. The menu features Latin and Cuban cuisine and mojitos made with hand-juiced sugarcane. (69 North Raymond Ave., Pasadena, 626.796.2520) MONSOON CAFÉ5
This bustling Third Street Promenade restaurant has a sushi bar, live music, and tropical decor. Individual areas seating as many as 50 are available, including several private rooms; or the whole restaurant (which holds 400) can be bought out. The patio seats 25. (1212 3rd St. Promenade, Santa Monica, 310.576.9996) MOONSHADOWS5
Since 1971, this beachside spot has attracted everyone from surfers to celebrities. An indoor dining room filled with blond wood furniture, the Blue Lounge, and the wood deck hold as many as 400. (20356 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu, 310.456.3010) MORELS FRENCH STEAKHOUSE AND BISTRO5
The wraparound patio gives full view of the outdoor mall shoppers; inside, it’s a theme-park version of a bistro, with waiters in white shirts and vests. A less casual steak house is upstairs. A private room seats 35, and the patios together seat as many as 275. (189 The Grove Drive, 323.965.9595) MORTON’S, THE STEAKHOUSE
The Beverly Hills outpost has a private dining room called the boardroom; it seats 68 or holds 110 for receptions. This link the Morton’s chain opened in the mixed-use Warner Center development in late 2007. Three boardrooms are available for dinner meetings; they can accommodate groups of 10 to 100. (435 South La Cienega Blvd., 310.246.1501; 6250 Canoga Ave., Suite 302, Woodland Hills, 818.703.7272) MURANO RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
This Mediterranean spot opened in the former Game space in 2007. Custom-designed red Murano-glass chandeliers contrast the all-white decor; ottomans and more dramatic chandeliers fill a separate lounge. The space seats 150 or holds 300 for receptions. (9010 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, 310.246.9118) MUSSO & FRANK GRILL
Suzanne Goin and Carolyn Styne turned Harold Lloyd’s former carriage house into a dining room with exposed brick, woodbeam ceilings, leather booths and banquettes, and a fireplace fronted by leather sofas. The menu includes seasonal and classic artisanal cuisine. (8474 Melrose Ave., 323.655.6277)
Although most of Hollywood’s old glamour restaurants have come and gone, its oldest eatery has the clubby decor, leather booths, and whiskey-soaked ambience that have attracted everyone from Charlie Chaplin to George Clooney. The space holds 300. (6667 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 323.467.7788)
The Malibu Pier Club expanded its event space in July 2009 with the opening of the Beachcomber Café. Outdoor space includes the 2,100-square-foot pier neck with ocean views, and a boatlaunch area that seats 50. Upper decks at the foot of the pier hold 45 for receptions. Sister property Malibu Pier Club, which boasts an 11-seat beachside bar and a 58-seat outdoor area, opened in April 2008. (23000 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu, 310.456.9800)
Two formal private dining rooms seat 40 and 20. The patio seats 60 or holds 125 for receptions. Semiprivate areas in the main room are available. The entire restaurant seats 250 or holds 550 for receptions. (1100 Glendon Ave., 310.824.2255)
NEW THE MALIBU PIER CLUB5
MALO5
Steven Arroyo and several Silver Lake entrepreneurs opened this hipster haven for chips and spicy homemade salsa, ground beef tacos with pickles, and margaritas. The space holds 100 for receptions, and has a 60-seat patio. (4326 Sunset Blvd., 323.664.1011) NEW MARBELLA
Once the Montmarte Café in Hollywood, this giant Spanishinfluenced nightclub opened in August 2009. The tapas restaurant portion of the space opened in September 2009. Marbella offers a 4,000-square-foot patio with wrought-iron accents, meant to invoke both Spain and the ’20s. The entire space holds 900 and is available for buyouts. (6757 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 323.465.0447) MÉLISSE
This restaurant’s 70-seat main room, with hues of green and taupe, is a fitting setting for chef-owner Josiah Citrin’s Frenchinspired seasonal fare. The private Olivia Room holds 50, the
NAPA VALLEY GRILLE5
NICK & STEF’S STEAKHOUSE5
This contemporary take on the classic steak house is the scene of power lunches and pretheater dinners. The Prime Room, with dark brown suede banquettes and a terrace, seats 28. The Bacchus wine room holds 12. The patio holds 250. The entire restaurant seats 300. (330 South Hope St., 213.972.3028) NIRVANA RESTAURANT AND LODGE5
This Indian eatery has a back lounge with three poster beds made for dining and a six-foot Buddha head, while an alfresco dining room is available with more traditional seating. The patio holds 35, and the whole facility seats 125. (8689 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310.657.5040) NOBU WEST HOLLYWOOD5
Nobu Matsuhisa’s eponymous celebrity-magnet Japanese spot opened in the former L’Orangerie space in February 2008. There are three private rooms: a patio that holds 150, an atrium for 40, and a main dining room that seats 290 or holds 150 for receptions. (903 North La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, 310.657.5711) NOE AT THE OMNI5
This third-floor restaurant at the Omni downtown features chef