<i> Local Restaurants’ Policies on Lighting Up </i>

Mason’s: “Yes, we allow it; yes, we sell them--by request. A good one can go up to $15, and we only use good ones. Basically, a traditional restaurant should always be able to supply good cigars. And we go through quite a few.

--Pasquale Pavone, maitre d’

La Serre: “I’m not too crazy about (cigar smoking)--it really stinks up the restaurant and customers get very, very upset. Sometimes people do smoke and we always have a problem. We used to sell cigars but not anymore; most (cigar smokers) bring their own anyway.”

--Ginette Sembiazza,co-owner with husband Roger

Valentino: “It’s a touchy situation. When you pay fine money for a fine meal, the pungent smell (of a cigar) can ruin a meal. If there’s a complaint, we ask very gently if (the smoker) can come to the bar; then I’ll stay and chitchat and keep (the smoker) company.

“Ten or 12 years ago the mentality was that it was almost unheard of to not sell cigars. But you have to keep them moist, and you have to have a proper cigar cutter--we gave up on the cigar box; it was an economical waste. And secretly you say to yourself, I’m glad these things are past.”

--Piero Selvaggio, owner

Michael’s: “We get requests (for cigars) almost every day. Ours start at $2 and go all the way up to $16, but people can smoke here only if they’re sitting outside. Customers can also sit inside the bar with one of our great Armagnacs or cognacs.”

--Abraham Rubio, assistant manager

L’Orangerie: “We don’t allow them in the dining room--it’s quite elegant and people complain. But in the bar area, yes. We sell cigars once in a while, mostly Monte Cristo brand, (which run) $5 to $10 dollars each.”

--Gilles Lagourgue, manager

La Toque: “Officially we don’t allow cigar smoking, but sometimes at the end of the night, we make exceptions. It’s a dilemma for a small restaurant because smokers are usually our very best customers--they end up being compulsive good clients. They order the extra appetizer, the extra bottle of wine--smokers are never stingy. But in a restaurant with 50 people in it, 49 say kill the guy with the cigar. You can either tick off 49 customers or tick off one person and keep the others happy. I’ve had (non-smokers) refuse to come back, call me names--they’re offended, they’re incensed . . . and they’re right, it stinks.”

--Ken Frank, owner-chef

Hotel Bel-Air: “It’s kind of a touchy situation in the dining room. If it’s late in the evening and there are only a couple of tables left, fine . . . unless there’s a complaint from a guest. Then we tell (the smoker) that we have a nice table for him in the bar. In our Dallas hotels (The Mansion at Turtle Creek and Crescent Court) it’s different. Cigars are part of the wine list--there’s a good 30 selections--and we even taught a cigar class for the staff on how to light them and how to soak them in brandy. But here in California, we only have six sizes and one brand (Zino Davidoff, from Honduras; approximate price $4-$12).”

--Edward Peckels, food and beverage director

Nicky Blair’s: “I spent the extra money on a terrific air ventilation system, but you can’t really stop them. You get a complaint, you go over and explain the problem. But it’s been OK; 90% of the (cigar smokers) are international people--or else they’re from New York or Florida--and Europeans usually eat late. When Milton Berle comes in (with a cigar), he never really lights it--he just holds it. George Burns will hold them too.”

--Nicky Blair, owner

Toledo: “I’m a heavy smoker, but I don’t smoke (cigars). It’s terrible for any restaurant. Even when I worked in England, places would not allow (cigar smoking) in the dining room, only in the bar. Here (too), it is allowed only in the bar.”

--Pedro Calle, owner

Rex (and Pazzia): “I am a good smoker (but not of cigars), so I know that for whoever smokes, it’s like having leprosy--you always get the worse of the worse--the worse seats on the plane--I understand. But with cigars, sometimes after just three minutes I get complaints from everybody in the room; so at Pazzia I invite (the smoker) outside to the patio, and don’t hassle him that much. And upstairs at Rex we have so much space that they can really enjoy it.”

--Mauro Vincenti, owner

Ritz Carlton (Laguna Niguel): “There still is a fair amount of people smoking cigars. We don’t allow it in the restaurant, but we have a really nice setting in the library. It’s a wood-paneled room with couches and a fireplace and a large window overlooking the Pacific. It’s just adjacent to the dining room, and we have older Armagnacs dating back to 1800s and what is probably the port of the century--Quinta do Noval, vintage 1931. We also offer a good selection of fresh cigars.”

--John Collins, assistant food and beverage director

Chasen’s: “I haven’t seen (customers) with cigars in months. Ninety-nine percent won’t light up, or they’ll go outside and grab a smoke. But we do allow smoking--we have a smoking section. All the same, if it gets too strong and someone objects, the (smoker) may be asked to move.”

--Al Weir, restaurant controller

L’Ermitage: “We allow it, unless someone complains. Normally by 10 or 11 o’clock there’s no problem. People are well-educated about the problem; either they ask (the people around them) or they go to the bar and enjoy their cigars with a drink. And we have excellent cigars available (from $16-$20).”

--Fernand (no last name), maitre d’

West Beach: “We let ‘em light up and then if there’s any flak . . . most (smokers) are understanding. Some have a cognac and leave to smoke cigars; some people just buy (the cigars, which run between $6 and $15) and leave. But I think done under the right circumstances (cigar smoking) is more than appropriate. It was never intended to be a frenetic habit early on; it’s relaxing--if you’re used to it--otherwise it makes you dizzy.”

--Bruce Marder, owner