Dining Amid the Din at St. Mark’s

Looking for a place to take a date that you don’t want to talk to? Consider St. Mark’s, the restaurant and club that opened a few weeks ago at 23 Windward Ave. in Venice, (213) 452-2222. It already has a bar scene so hip that you have to wade through people to get to your table. And even on a Tuesday night, when there was no cover charge (in effect Wednesday-Saturday), live music kept conversation at the tables to a minimum--and the dance floor full.

But despite the presence of chef Gil Saulnier, formerly of Le St. Germain, and Lisa Stalvey, once Spago’s chef, this is a restaurant that seems better suited to listeners than to eaters. The music is loud (although it might be less intrusive at one of the booths than at the tables). The service is still a bit awkward. As for the food itself, it’s surprisingly French: lobster ($30) arrived out of its shell and arranged across a bed of green noodles with all the decorative care of classic cuisine. Rotisserie chicken ($17) had sauce atop its crisp skin. Desserts include classics such as floating island ($5.50) and lemon tart ($6); if you’re lucky, the band will take a break just long enough for your date to tell you how delicious they are.