Roaring With Laughter at Pomodoro

The morning after my dinner at Pomodoro, 133 N. La Cienega, Beverly Hills, (213) 652-7666, my dining companion called to tell me that he couldn’t remember when he’d had more fun.

This is not, you understand, because the meal had been so wonderful. I think the giggles started when we discovered that “aragosta e fagioli” is translated on the menu as “lobster and white clam salad” (fagioli are white beans). Then the bread turned out to be remarkably hard (considering that the restaurant had only been open two days), the waitress had never opened a bottle of wine before, and the waiter appeared with a dish of veal asking, “Who gets the chicken?” When the waiter walked over with a plate of pasta, insisting that it was the antipasto I had ordered, we began roaring with laughter.

You might expect a really rough opening from an inexperienced restaurateur. But Pomodoro is owned by the Ruggeri family, who run the famous Bices in Milan, Sardinia and New York. They have spent a lot on their debut in Los Angeles, bringing in famous designer Adam Tihany to redo the old Bistango, and hiring big publicity guns.

It will undoubtedly improve. Meanwhile, eat a little designer pizza, sip some San Pellegrino, have an espresso, some gelato-- and enjoy yourself.