Adieu to St. Germain

Le St. Germain wraps itself around you as you walk in the door, enclosing you in the sort of luxurious intimacy you just don’t find much anymore. As you walk through these dimly lit, rose-colored rooms and sink into your seat, the outside world disappears. This is an old-fashioned restaurant that caters to your every whim, doing its best to convince you that you are being served in a private home. You never even see a menu; the maitre d’ simply comes over and tells you about the sauteed foie gras ($17.50), the feuilletage of asparagus and crayfish tails ($13.50), the roast lobster with noodles ($34).

But all this is about to disappear. For Le St. Germain, 5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 467-1108, which has been one of the city’s most influential restaurants since opening its doors 18 years ago, will close them for good a week from Saturday. The regular menu will be served through Wednesday. And then Le St. Germain will exit with style; on Thursday, next Friday and Nov. 12, a series of gala farewell dinners ($36-$58 per person), with live music for dancing, will light up the restaurant’s last days.