July 1, 2009

Bottega Louie * 1/2

LOCATION

700 S. Grand Ave. (at 7th Street), downtown Los Angeles; (213) 802-1470; www.bottegalouie.com.

AMBIENCE

Palatial Italian restaurant with pizza oven at the back, a gleaming open kitchen, black leather banquettes and miles of tables. There's also a gourmet market, patisserie and bar, which get less traffic than the dining room. No reservations, so there's often a wait for a table.

SERVICE

Congenial and speedy.

PRICE

Pizza, $14; salads, $9 to $12; sandwiches, $12; pasta, $8 to $12; main courses, $14 to $40; small plates, $6 to $8; desserts, $7 to $9. Breakfast dishes, $4.50 to $13; brunch $6 to $22.

BEST DISHES

Caesar, Modena salad, fried calamari, burrata and grape tomatoes, pepperoni pizza, lasagna Bolognese, steamed mussels and clams, pork chop, roasted peppers, chicken with artichokes, Bulgarini gelato.

WINE LIST

Mostly Italian and California labels, could be more interesting. No corkage fee.

BEST TABLE

One along the windows (but it's noisy everywhere).

DETAILS



Open from 10:30 a.m. to midnight Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for brunch, 3 to 4 p.m. for limited menu and 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The gourmet market is open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and from

9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The patisserie is open 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Full bar. Valet parking, $7.50 at night; parking in lot behind

the restaurant during the day, $8.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.