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The Tower Bar

You can get the fashionable dishes here -- braised short ribs, roast chicken with fingerling potatoes -- but in a bar that conjures the dreams of old Hollywood (the Argyle Hotel had a Tower Bar back in the 1930s), there need to be retro touches, such as duck a l’orange, here embellished with candied kumquats.

* Duck a l’orange, $25. Argyle Hotel, 8358 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; (323) 848-6677.

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Whist

The newish Viceroy Santa Monica is a splashy, popular place, and its restaurant, though it doesn’t make a point of being adventuresome, has its moments. For instance, the fluffy crab cake of peekytoe crab, accompanied by fennel salad and a bright lemon aioli.

* Crab cake with fennel salad, $15. Viceroy Santa Monica, 1819 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; (310) 260-7500, www.viceroysantamonica.com

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Diaghilev

Some hotel restaurants want to be youthful and lively; Diaghilev goes instead for the operatic grandeur of czarist Russia. You’ll have the caviar, of course (and you’ll bring money ... of course).

* One ounce of beluga caviar, $200; one ounce of American caviar, $26. Wyndham Bel Age, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 854-1111; www.wyndham-belage.com

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Chateau Marmont Restaurant

The no-name restaurant at Hollywood’s traditional Sunset Strip getaway serves surprisingly sharp dishes. Take the calamari tempura: squid fried in a gossamer-light batter, for dunking in a roasted tomato and pepper concasse, or the ravioli with Manchego and mascarpone cheese, served with tangy asparagus and seasonal mushrooms.

* Calamari tempura, $11. Chateau Marmont, 8221 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 656-1010

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Noe

The outdoor terrace at the Omni is one of the few places in L.A. where you sense an urban landscape, surrounded as it is by downtown’s towering office buildings. Here chef Robert Gadsby indulges in exotic combinations such as a chicken-topped salad with a minted mango frappe on the side. Many dishes have a distinct Asian accent, so the chef sometimes sets the table with his collection of fine chopsticks.

* Mimosa salad, $11. Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, 251 S. Olive St., Los Angeles; (213) 356-4100.

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-- Charles Perry