Penthouse panorama

IF every fleabag motel in Los Angeles has been or is in the process of being converted to a boutique hotel, it stands to reason that somebody would take a shining to the cheesy round tower hotel just below the Getty Center on Church Lane. Renovated from top to bottom, it has been rechristened Hotel Angeleno and boasts public rooms that look crisp and fresh and very Palm Springs. Two weeks ago, the hotel debuted its penthouse restaurant, West, on the 17th floor, up a slow elevator.

Trust me: The restaurant and adjacent lounge don’t spin around, though if you ask the bartender to hit you with a sufficient number of cocktails, I’m sure it could perform on demand.

Who’d ever think the 405 would make such a mesmerizing view? From up here, the streams of headlights look like sparklers tracing curves through the canyon. But to really experience the view, you have to get one of the tables along the windows.

The theme of West is Italian steakhouse. The decor is supposed to evoke the 1950s Italy of the film “The Talented Mr. Ripley.� That would be what? The dark wood, the plush banquettes, the white marble tables? Or the slim hope that Matt Damon or George Clooney might drop by for a Florentine steak?

Executive chef Josh Moulton, late of Union Square Cafe in New York, has a multifaceted menu. When you sit down, the waiter hands you a placard printed with lines of text. It’s actually a list of small-plates possibilities, all $6, and meant to be shared -- grilled spring onions with aioli, white anchovies with celery and almonds, grilled baby artichokes, etc.

The heavier-duty menu starts with a list of crudo, or raw fish, which could be oysters, grappa-cured salmon, or “lime-soaked� sea scallops. Think of it as Italian-style sushi, a genre that Mario Batali more or less invented at Esca, his Italian seafood restaurant in New York.

Then come the actual first courses, which lean toward salads, pastas and such. Pasta, like capellini with tomato, sweet basil and mozzarella, incidentally, can be ordered as a full or half portion, which is a nice option if you want to try more things.

The star of the menu is, of course, the grilled Florentine T-bone, prime, and offered in either a 20-ounce or, for two red-meat-loving carnivores, a 36-ounce portion. The chef dresses it up with a thread of rosemary-infused olive oil. The rest of the main courses stick pretty much to standard chophouse fare -- it’s a hotel restaurant, after all. That would be a veal chop with sage butter, Dijon-crusted rack of lamb, a New York steak. Oh, and fish lovers get a handful of choices, none of them particularly Italian.

What’s unique about West is that killer 200-degree view. It’s impressive for a minute, but if the kitchen is doing its job right, you’ll soon forget all about it and delve into your pasta and steak.

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West

Where: Hotel Angeleno, 170 N. Church Lane, L.A.

When: Breakfast, 6:30 to 10:30 a.m.; lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner, 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. daily. Full bar. Valet parking.

Price: Small plates, $6; crudo, $14; pasta and risotto, $10 to $26; steaks, chops and roasts, $22 to $38; sides, $6.

Info: (310) 481-7878; www.hotelangeleno.com