EATING UP THE ATMOSPHERE

Sometimes you go out to eat. Sometimes you go out for more than food. When ambiance is what you’re after, here are a few places, from plain to fancy, to consider.

ED DEBEVIC’S SHORT ORDERS DELUXE (134 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, (213) 659-1952; 23705 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, (213) 378-5454). Lowbrow Ed Debevic’s is the ultimate theme restaurant, a ticket back to a time you wish you never left--namely 1952. There are turquoise-colored vinyl booths surrounded by walls covered with clever signs like “If you can find a better diner, eat there.” In short, it’s dinner-theater. Luckily, everyone is magically transported back to pre-teenhood, so everything tastes good, even though it’s not. The hamburger is the best thing on the menu. Open Mon.-Thur. 11 a.m. to midnight, Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Full bar. Valet parking. No credit cards. Dinner for two: $7-$20.

GARDENS (in the Four Seasons Hotel, 300 S. Doheny Drive, Los Angeles, (213) 273-2222). High-brow Gardens is the most conservative looking new restaurant in town. You walk in via a massive entrance way lined with orchids, past antique furniture through a hushed bar plumply filled with sofas and into the restaurant itself. Tables are widely spaced, the walls are lined with fabric--the whole place wears a grown-up air. The menu, on the other hand, is a fairly radical document, filled with fancy prices and innovative food. For starters, there’s young goat pastry with dandelion greens and skordalia, and a garlic bread pudding served with lamb sausage. Open for all meals daily. Major credit cards. Dinner for two: $60-$70.

KATE MANTILINI (9101 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (213) 278-3699). Middle-brow Mantilini is the spiffiest new incarnation of the American grill. Occupying the site of a converted bank building, the restaurant has been described as a “kind of futuristic diner.” The food is old-fashioned fare; the huge menu runs the gamut from shrimp cocktail to macaroni and cheese, with a foray through meat loaf, roast chicken and pan-fried trout. It does especially well with starch: The sourdough bread is great, and there are all kinds of potatoes, including real mashed ones. Open Mon.-Fri. for all meals, dinner only on Sat. MC, V. Dinner for two: $30-$50.

PINAFINI (580 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, (714) 241-7504). Pinafini is what they call high tech. The walls are industrial tile, the overhead lights pink and blue neon, the ceiling filled with curt triangular strut work. It’s the Bauhaus aesthetic gone wandering. Pinafini is catering to the young-and-feeling-one’s-oats-and-looking-good-while-doing-it crowd with a ceaseless rock sound track and a big dance floor. It claims to specialize in Venetian cuisine. Everything on the menu is pasta or pizza, and everything is about $5. Entrees include linguine with prosciutto peas and cream, black and white fettuccine with shrimp and scallops, and pizzas with smoked chicken or prosciutto, artichokes, and mushrooms. Open for dinner nightly. MC, AE, V. Full bar. Dinner for two: $15-$30.

72 MARKET STREET (72 Market St., Venice, (213) 392-8720). Extremely arty, with its bar room dominated by an enormous sculpture by Robert Graham and the back room filled with local art. When you’ve finished looking at the art (and the celebrities), take a look at the straightforward American menu. There are simple dishes like grilled free range chicken, lamb chops with potato pancakes and meat loaf served with buttery spinach. There are good salads and pastas. The specials are more complex; one night sweet giant prawns were topped with a tangle of vegetables. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner nightly, brunch Sun., Full bar. Valet parking. MC, AE, V. Dinner for two: $40-$80.

VALENTINO (3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (213) 829-4313). A recent face lift has made this restaurant more than just a place with incredibly sophisticated Italian food. There are three separate dining rooms, each with its own atmosphere. The main dining room is bright and elegant, with the refined airs of an Italian palazzo. Windows have been punched out of the walls of what was once a dark wine room, and now the light comes flooding into this intimate room from the new little patio outside. The third room has a spare, very modern look with an understated mural sketched along one wall. But looks aren’t everything: The state-of-the-art Italian food is better than ever. Open for dinner Mon.-Sat., for lunch Fri. Full bar. Valet parking. All major credit cards. Dinner for two: $60-$120.