RESTAURANTS : Downtown Dining Tips for the Pre-Theater Crowd

It’s 5-something in the evening, the play or concert starts at 8, I want to go out for dinner, and my mind’s a blank--I can’t think of a single restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, much less one that caters specifically to a pre-theater crowd.

For my own good--and hopefully for yours--I have compiled the following list of pre-theater dining options. This is neither a comprehensive nor definitive list. A few of the restaurants offer a special fixed price pre-theater menu. Most offer transportation to the Music Center--via shuttle, taxi or hotel car.

Since different dining experiences have different tempos, it’s important to make reservations for the time recommended by each establishment for an 8 p.m. event.

* Rex Il Ristorante, 617 S. Olive St., (213) 627-2300. Sublimely elegant Italian cooking in a classic Art Deco environment. Special three-course prix fixe pre-theater menu includes a pasta, entree and dessert and costs $45 (plus tax and tip) per person. Make reservations for 6 p.m. Leave your car with the valet ($3) and, when you finish eating, the maitre d’ will call a taxi to take you to the theater.

* Checkers, 535 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-0000. This plush, hushed restaurant in the Wyndham Checkers Hotel serves alluring contemporary French/American food. The three-course pre-theater menu costs $39.50 (plus tax and tip) per person. Make reservations for 5:30 p.m.--certainly no later than 5:45. Leave your car with the valet--validated parking costs $5.25--and take the shuttle.

* Grand Cafe, 251 S. Olive St., (213) 356-4155. On the third floor of the Intercontinental Hotel, this (of course) Continental restaurant offers a fixed-price three-course pre-theater meal for $22.50, which includes cappuccino but not tax and tip. There is validated valet parking ($3). Take either the shuttle or the hotel car to the theater. Make reservations for no later than 6:30 p.m.

* Engine Company No. 28, 644 S. Figueroa St., (213) 624-6996. This former fire station redone as a nouveau old boy’s club bar and grill serves robust, contemporary American food, with entrees priced from $10 to $18.95. Make reservations no later than 6 p.m., hand your car to the valet ($3.25) and take the shuttle.

* Nicola, Sanwa Bank Building, 601 S. Figueroa St., (213) 485-0927. Larry Nicola’s contemporary American cooking embodies a host of multiethnic influences; entrees range from $13 to $20. Valet your car ($3), walk across the street and catch the shuttle.

* Cafe Pinot, 700 W. 5th St., (213) 239-6500. Joachim Splichal’s elegant indoor-outdoor garden cafe serves California/French bistro food with entrees priced from $18 to $22. There’s valet parking ($3.50 for 4 hours, $7 maximum), and a shuttle. Reserve for no later than 6:15 p.m.

* Water Grill, 544 S. Grand Ave., (213) 891-0900. A fresh “Pacific/American” seafood restaurant with a Northwestern edge, the Water Grill’s entrees range from $16 to $25. Make your reservations before 6:30 p.m. Validated valet parking ($3.50), and shuttle.

* Stepps, Wells Fargo Center, 330 S. Hope St., (213) 626-0900. Stepps, which serves standard, eclectic, California cuisine (entrees from $8.95 to $19.95), is popular both before--and after--the theater. Reservations are recommended; make them for between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Validated parking ($3.30 maximum). Shuttle.

* McCormick & Schmick’s, First Interstate Towers, 4th Level, 633 W. 5th St., (213) 629-1929. A massive menu features fresh seafood with entrees priced from $7 to $22. Make reservations no later than 6:30 p.m. Validated parking ($3.30 all evening) or use the valet ($5.50). Shuttle.

* Impresario, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7333. No shuttles needed here: This new on-site contemporary Italian restaurant run by Restaurant Associates (with Piero Selvaggio consulting) serves everything from snacks ($6 to $8) to entrees ($20 to $28).

And don’t forget these low-budget, no-frills (no valet, no shuttle) options:

* Sushi Imai, 359 E. 1st St., (213) 680-4116.

* Philippe the Original, 1001 N. Alameda St., (213) 628-3781.

* Mandarin Deli, 727 N. Broadway, (213) 623-6054.

* Chiu Chow Restaurant, 935 Sun Mun Way, Chinatown, (213) 628-0097.