The Hotel Dining Room Revival

The Hotel Dining Room Revival

Some of L.A.'s best restaurants hold forth in hotels, and locals vie for tables along with the guests.

From the Cambodian silks to the French porcelain, Jaan (310/278-3344. www.raffles.com), at the Raffles L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills, swaddles you in luxe surroundings. Its inventive contemporary cuisine incorporates luxury ingredients—Kobe beef, black truffles, caviar—from around the world.

Catch (310/581-7714. www.catchsantamonica.com), at Santa Monica's Hotel Casa del Mar, showcases sushi, crudo, and refined French-inspired seafood dishes in an oceanfront room famous for its sunsets. At the nearby Viceroy Santa Monica, Whist (310/451-8711. www.viceroysantamonica.com) serves market-driven contemporary fare in a dramatic dining room with rows of vintage English china, or at poolside cabanas.

The Tower Bar (323/848-6677. www.sunsettowerhotel.com), at Sunset Towers, is a seductive hideaway evoking its glamorous Hollywood history. At Simon LA (310/278-5444. www.simonlarestaurant.om) in West Hollywood's Sofitel Los Angeles, "rock n' roll chef" Kerry Simon puts a hip spin on nostalgic American comfort foods. Celebrated Italian chef Gino Angelini didn't hesitate locating his sophisticated West Hollywood restaurant, La Terza (323/782-8384. www.laterzarestaurant.com), at the Orlando Hotel.

CUT (310/276-8500. www.wolfgangpuck.com), Wolfgang Puck's latest venture, is a strikingly modern steak house hidden in the stately Italian Renaissance-style Regent Beverly Wilshire.

Pasadena's Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa is packed with amenities, but the cuisine at The Dining Room (626/577-2867. www.langhamhotels.com) is reason enough to go.