Ciao La Scala Malibu, Hola! Moncho

“For the first time,” says Jean Leon, “Los Angeles will have a real Spanish restaurant.” Leon, who is Spanish, has sold his 14-year-old La Scala Malibu to Barcelona restaurateur Moncho Neira, who is turning it into an affordable Spanish seafood restaurant. Moncho de Barcelona is scheduled to open Thursday.

“I was in Barcelona in September,” says Leon, who travels to Spain three times a year, “and was talking to Moncho. He told me he wanted to open a restaurant in the United States. Out of the blue, I offered to sell him my place. Then I told him how much.” Neira, who owns Barcelona’s best--and most expensive--seafood restaurant, Botafumeiro (large incense burner), agreed immediately. La Scala Malibu closed on Dec. 31.

Neira, who is currently in Barcelona, plans to commute between Los Angeles and Spain with three of his chefs. He has kept the former staff from La Scala and made only minor cosmetic changes to the restaurant, which Leon had recently remodeled.

The menu will feature an eight-course degustation menu for $25; other dishes include paella, black vermicelli with octopus, arroz negre , beans with clams and lots of tapas. “Tapas like you eat in Barcelona and Madrid,” warns Leon, “not Mickey Mouse tapas like they serve here.”

HOLD THE PARRETTI: “There are no more ties between our restaurant and Giancarlo Parretti,” says Madeo’s Mickey Maravic. Parretti, the Italian waiter-turned-financier, lost control of MGM in 1992 after a lengthy court battle. Now, after four years of a highly publicized partnership, he’s lost his share in Madeo as well: Co-owner Bruno Vietini has bought him out. “Eighty percent of our clientele come from the entertainment industry,” Maravic says, trying to clear the Beverly Hills restaurant’s name, “and they were refusing to come and dine because of our association with Parretti.”

OPENINGS: On Friday, the former MaBe will become Barefoot Bar and Cafe, a less expensive version of the California restaurant. “The owner has bought out his partners and scaled it down,” says a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles restaurant. “The upstairs is more elegant and quiet; downstairs is going to be more of a hangout, featuring a special menu dedicated to healthy alternatives.” . . . Five months ago Raffaele Marsilio sold his Raffaele restaurant so he could go help his brother open a restaurant in Belgium; the new owner subsequently closed the restaurant. Now Marsilio has returned to California, bought back his place, and is once again serving the Northern Italian/Tuscan dishes the Beverly Hills restaurant was known for. . . . Giuseppe Bellisario, whose 15-year-old restaurant on Beverly Boulevard burned down last year, plans to open Prime Time in February. The Italian-American restaurant will be located on the old Yesterdays restaurant site in Westwood. . . . Carrillo’s Cocina Mexicana, a full-service restaurant featuring healthy and light Mexican dishes, is now on the third level of the Westside Pavilion’s Westside Too! addition.

CLOSINGS AND CHANGES: Stephan Pyles has closed Routh Street Cafe, the acclaimed Dallas restaurant. “Business was not that bad,” says Pyles, the winner of a 1991 James Beard award for best chef in the Southwest region. “In our case costs had really skyrocketed, especially workmen’s compensation insurance. Rather than try to continue another year, we decided to cut our losses.” . . . In Marina del Rey, Babette’s, the small French restaurant, and just down the street, Touche. And even further down the street, Endless Summer has closed its second floor, scaled down its hours and has added some pool tables and video games. “It’s a big, fun place now,” says a spokesman for the restaurant. . . . Meanwhile, near Santa Monica’s eastern border, Jean-Pierre Bosc’s Castel Bistro (a.k.a. Sostanza) has been closed since the holidays, but the message machine promises it will open for dinner beginning Jan. 29.

TABLE 86: Jonathan Waxman will cook a three-course dinner tomorrow at Rockenwagner in Santa Monica. Formerly the chef and part owner of Table 29, Waxman and his partner Stephen Singer abruptly left the Napa Valley restaurant last month. The restaurant remains open under the aegis of a third partner. Waxman refused to go into detail about the departure. “I tried the country. It’s nice. But I guess I am really a city person,” he says. In the meantime, the peripatetic chef is in no hurry to find permanent employment. “I have been offered a ton of things. I am going to sift through them and see what’s most appropriate.” Haven’t we heard that before?

BARGAINS: The redecorated La Chaumiere at the Century Plaza Hotel Tower now offers a special three-course prix-fixe lunch ($22.50). . . . In Pasadena, $12.50 buys the daily-changing three-course bistro lunch at Xiomara. . . . At Caffe Zaretti, owner Giancarlo Zaretti feels so bad that L.A. Unified School District teachers have had to take a pay cut, that any teacher who dines at his Northridge restaurant will get 20% deducted from the bill. . . And for the 10th and final time, Ken Frank will feature a six-course, all-truffle prix-fixe menu ($65) through Valentine’s Day at his La Toque. This could be your last chance: Frank--who has put his West Hollywood restaurant up for sale--hopes to be out of the property by summer.