Ideal Setting for Cha Cha Cha Offspring

You’ve had a lot of this food before. But never in such a setting. For Prado, 244 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 467-3871, with its walls of della Robbia blue, its delicate chandeliers and its angels disappearing into the clouds on the ceiling, is one of the most charming little restaurants around. It’s the perfect setting in which to eat the Caribbean cooking of Toribio Prado, the chef who first made the food at Cha Cha Cha so exciting.

If you ate there (or at Cafe Mambo), you’ll like the food here. Prado and his brother, Javier, are making many of the same dishes. Remember that terrificly spicy corn chowder? You could also begin a meal with tamales in a tomatillo sauce topped with sour cream and sprinkled with caviar. Or one of the pleasant salads. (The menu is small.) My favorite of the entrees was camarones in a potent black pepper sauce, although I also liked the pollo negro and the vegetarian curried vegetables.

I liked the prices too: Entrees are in the $10-$15 range and portions are generous. Have a piece of tarte tatin for dessert, notice the size of your bill and then make your reservations to come again. There aren’t very many tables, and I suspect that when this place gets discovered they’ll be very hard to get.