A Bar Scene Just Waiting to Happen

For years anyone driving south on La Cienega Boulevard from the Sunset Strip would be sailing along until they reached the corner of Sherwood Drive, halfway between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. There, in front of Cafe Maurice and piling up at the corner was the predictable snarl of fancy cars and frantic valet parkers that created a notorious traffic hazard. The crowd, cell phones glued to their ears, spilled out onto the sidewalk, and from inside you could hear a globe-spanning mix of languages in rapt conversation.

Cafe Maurice closed its doors late last year, and suddenly the hundreds who frequented this wildly popular, mediocre cafe had vanished. Where did they go? Have they all gravitated to some new spot?

Meanwhile, after a much-needed renovation, the Belmont has just opened in the same space. It’s almost too discreet, hard to spot from the street. Open for just over three weeks, it’s struggling to find an audience. None of the old crowd has been back to check it out, I guess.

Inside, it’s now better looking (and much more brightly lighted) than Cafe Maurice regulars could have ever dreamed it could be. Welcome to the Belmont, an American restaurant and bar outfitted with C-shaped leather booths, polished wood paneling and a style reminiscent of ‘30s ocean liners.

Yet when my friends and I dropped in recently, we were the lone table, until finally, halfway through dinner, another table was seated in the wake of a visitation by one of the owners. The staff tries to put a brave face on the lack of customers. The bartender struggles to stay awake behind the bar, all his expertise going for naught. I can only imagine how the cooks must feel with no one to cook for.

Not that they get to do much that’s innovative or exciting.

The food is familiar contemporary American fare--crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, fried calamari, a decent Sirloin burger with or without cheese, grilled salmon filet , an acceptable New York strip with a Jack Daniel’s peppercorn sauce for under $20. Not to forget the ever-popular chopped salad, which the svelte young women at the larger table order.

None of it would make a foodie’s heart beat faster. The Belmont isn’t pitched to that sort of person anyway. But if you’re in need of a swell-looking, intimate place for a drink, the bartender will be forever grateful. Who knows, it may be the start of something. Anything would be appreciated.

The Belmont, 747 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 659-8871; Fax (310) 659-8743. Appetizers $8 to $11; main courses $12 to $22. Open 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week; dinner served until midnight. Valet parking.