The Review: Can't get into the Ivy? Book at Cecconi's

 

At the latest London import, Cecconi’s, an expat Brit orders a cocktail, leans back against the luxurious cushions strewn along the terrace banquette and opens the morning’s Times — that would be the Times of London. Hostesses have a tony British accent, some of the servers, too. A gentleman in a bespoke suit with tie and matching hankie tucked into his breast pocket glides past our table at lunch.

Most of the crowd, though, consists of ladies who lunch, several generations of them, many bestowed with major bling, major work, and itty-bitty appetites chattering over pretty salads and dainty servings of seabass carpaccio. Can’t get into the Ivy a few blocks south on Robertson Boulevard? Reserve at Cecconi’s: The food from former All’Angelo and Dolce chef Mirko Paderno is much better....

Cecconi´s biggest surprise is reserved for the prices, which are remarkably moderate.

-- S. Irene Virbila

Photo: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

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The review: Huckleberry

 

Sometimes at lunch the line at Huckleberry in Santa Monica is out the door, snaking past the tall wooden planters filled with herbs and greens and tomatoes, all the way into the parking lot in back.

From the avid look on people’s faces as they hurry in, intent on that sugar fix, you’d think they’ve never seen a bakery before. And in fact, maybe they haven’t, at least not one quite like this offshoot of Rustic Canyon Wine Bar & Seasonal Kitchen, which, despite an occasional rough spot, is already one of the most talked-about new spots in Southern California.

Read the rest of Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila's review here.

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Photo credit: Ann Johansson / Los Angeles Times

Rivera's sophisticated 3 1/2-star sizzle

 

Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila on the new Rivera in downtown L.A.:

John Rivera Sedlar, the chef who brought us Saint Estephe, Bikini, and Abiquiu (may they all rest in peace) is back and back in a big way. At the new Rivera within shouting distance of L.A. Live, the 54-year-old chef is firing on all cylinders. Rivera is terrific, one of the most exciting restaurants to debut in L.A. in the last few years.

Go.

I have to confess I took my own advice and ate at Rivera more times than I really needed to. I couldn’t help myself — Rivera’s food is so utterly unique. I couldn’t believe it was actually that good and had to keep pinching myself. But the hyper-talented chef nailed it every time, virtually every dish, a remarkable feat in a restaurant hot off the presses.

Read the rest of Rivera's 3 1/2-star review here. See more restaurant reviews -- including our top rated reviews of the past five years -- here.

Photo: Ringo H.W. Chiu

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Church & State gets a second chance -- and three stars

Have you tried Church & State? What did you make of it? Here's what Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila has to say about the new restaurant, and its chef, Walter Manzke (formerly of Bastide):

If you tried the restaurant when it opened and were disappointed, let me just say this: After a rocky start that ended in the original chef leaving, the restaurant is really humming. Manzke is throwing himself into the bistro genre with gusto. He's making his own charcuterie. He's changing the menu every few days. He's in the zone.

For anyone looking for a restaurant downtown that has good food, and feels festive and fun, all without straining the pocketbook too much, that place is Church & State.

Read the rest of her review here -- she gives Church & State a rare three out of four stars. That puts Church & State into an elite group: Check out its standing among the top-ranked restaurant reviews of the past five years.

Photo: Jamie Rector / For the Los Angeles Times

The Review: Kiwami in Studio City

If you happen to find yourself at the new sushi restaurant Kiwami, remember this tip from Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila:

Eat in the main dining room or the regular sushi bar and you'll get very good sushi, but to get that "ultimate," you'll have to reserve a seat in the separate sushi bar, a room at the back, where [chef Katsuya] Uechi himself presides and offers omakase (chef's selections) only.

Read more of her review here, and check out this photo gallery of Kiwami, and its signature dishes.

Photo: Stefano Paltera / For The Times

The Bazaar: It's a four-star experience

If you follow the culinary travels of Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila, you know that four-star reviews are almost unheard of. (Check out this list of our top-rated restaurants of the last five years, and you'll see that her last four-star review came in 2005.)

Well, move over Joel Robuchon. You've got four-star company. Here's how Virbila starts this week's review:

Olives that flood your mouth with flavor. A foie gras lollipop wrapped in cotton candy. The definitive shrimp with garlic. Innocent-looking bites that shoot smoke out of your nostrils.

How to describe the experience at the Bazaar by José Andrés in the new SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills? Fellini-esque, a gastronomical circus, a flirtation with the flavors and soul of Spain?

Los Angeles has never seen anything remotely like this exciting restaurant from Spanish chef José Andrés.

Read more about S. Irene Virbila's four-star experience, and check out more photos of the Bazaar -- as well as its signature dishes -- here.

And the video is must see.

--Rene Lynch

Drago Centro has it all -- except for a crowd

Times Restaurant Critic S. Irene Virbila on Drago Centro:

This is a seriously good restaurant that exudes urban chic. It’s got views, a glamorous downtown setting, a private dining room with a demonstration kitchen in a former bank vault, and, most importantly, the best Italian cooking downtown in the area, and some of the best anywhere in L.A.

But where are the crowds?

Virbila gives it 2 1/2 stars. Here's a photo gallery look at the restaurant, and its signature dishes.

Have you been to Drago Centro? How many stars do you give it? And care to hazard a guess as to why there's not a line out the door?

Click here for more restaurant reviews.

--Rene Lynch

Photo credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times