Coco Pazzo to the Mondrian: Ciao!

Coco Pazzo Stands Free: Pino Luongo, owner of Coco Pazzo in the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset, has decided to lease back his restaurant to Mondrian owner Ian Schrager. Says Luongo of his decision to take his Italian restaurant elsewhere: “It’s a fact of not being a total, free-standing restaurant.” Luongo bridled under the hotel’s restrictions about putting a sign for the restaurant out front, and says that he and Schrager just couldn’t come to terms over the perceived differences between Coco Pazzo’s food and the Mondrian’s customers. Then Schrager suggested a solution. “He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Luongo said. Coco Pazzo will continue in the Mondrian until Jan. 25, when the space is scheduled to become an Asia de Cuba. In the meantime, Luongo is looking for Coco Pazzo’s new home in L.A.--definitely to be a free-standing structure.

Before the Millennium: This is a great year for a party. The end of the millennium is close, but not too close for comfort, and people are ready to revel. Luckily, restaurateurs in our area are throwing some fabulous pre-Y2K bashes. We’ve already listed the menus and parties that last past midnight, but many restaurants also have early seatings for those wanting a quieter evening. For the record, the prices listed below do not include tax or tip or beverage unless noted otherwise. Many places will ask you to hold your reservation with a credit card number.

A Thousand Cranes is serving a Japanese New Year’s traditional Kaiseki dinner at 8 or 8:30 p.m. A koto player will tickle the seven-stringed instrument while course after tiny course is set down in front of you. The price for adults is $70; children, $40. A Thousand Cranes, New Otani Hotel & Garden, 120 S. Los Angeles St., L.A.; (213) 253-9255.

Patrick Healy will be whipping up a four-course meal chock-full of choices at Buffalo Club. The entrees alone number six: salmon pepper steak, roast veal rack, lamb loin noisette, pepper-crusted venison steak, crowned Dover sole and bouillabaisse. Big Town 7 is the band; the $125 price tag includes a glass of champagne and seating begins at 9:30 p.m. Buffalo Club, 1520 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 450-8600.

Capo promises a “romantic accordion” dinner on Dec. 31, though some will deny the very possibility. Chef-owner Bruce Marder will serve a five-course menu including a glass of Veuve Clicquot to toast the New Year and a dessert wine to wash down the biscotti. Choice of entrees include Sonoma lamb au jus, prime New York steak for two (porcini crostini for the vegetarians). It’s $125 a head, seating at 8:45 p.m. Capo, 1810 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; (310) 394-5550.

Crustacean will have live R&B; from the Joli Starr Band and dancing after 9 p.m. The five-course menu includes a choice of Dungeness crab, colossal royal tiger prawns, Chilean sea bass, chicken breast or rack of lamb. Reservations will be taken from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. The $120 price tag includes a glass of champagne. Crustacean, 9646 Little Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 205-8990.

JiRaffe offers all manner of roasted choices (lobster, salmon, sole, beef, guinea hen) on its five-course menu. The $90 price includes a glass of champagne to toast the New Year. The seating is between 9 and 10 p.m. A jazz trio will be playing so you can boogie or listen quietly, depending on your style. JiRaffe, 502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 917-6671.

Lola’s is a place for cocktails and late nights. Its second seating on New Year’s Eve, beginning at 10:30 p.m., has a five-course menu that opens with buffalo mozzarella with roasted plum tomatoes and a glass of champagne. The second course is soup or salad, followed by one chicken and vegetable ravioli. The main course is filet mignon or grilled Hawaiian prawns; dessert is chocolate souffle for two. The tab is $75 per person. Lola’s, 945 N. Fairfax Ave., West Hollywood; (213) 736-5652.

Gerard and Virginie Ferry decided to get hot and tropical at L’Orangerie this year with four costumed Brazilian dancers and a seven-piece band, Hugo Jojo. The four-course dinner (your choice of appetizer, fish, meat and dessert) begins at 9 p.m. If you’re not too full, you can dance to the rhythm afterward. The whole shebang is $210 per person. L’Orangerie, 903 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A.; (310) 652-9770.

Lucques, the new project of chef Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, will be serving a six-course meal of blinis and caviar, warm mushroom salad, grilled quail, rack of lamb or seared scallops for the entree, endive salad with Roquefort, marron glacee parfait and a glass of champagne. Reservations will be taken for seatings from 9 until about 10:30 p.m. The price is $90 per person. Lucques, 8474 Melrose Ave., L.A.; (213) 655-6277.

Nick Coe swears his tented and heated patio is wonderful even in winter. Whether you choose to spend New Year’s Eve outdoors or indoors at Nick’s, you can partake of the Veuve Clicquot Champagne dinner, which features a different glass of champagne with five of the six courses. The appetizer is tartlet of quail egg; the entree is rack of venison. The tab is $125 per person. Only one seating 8 p.m. Nick’s, 1009 El Centro St., South Pasadena; (626) 441-7910.

For their first New Year’s Eve at Perroche, Stuart Barker and chef Grady Atkins have put together a five-course meal of scrambled eggs with caviar, choice of salad or salmon terrine, ravioli of goat cheese and mushroom and choice of beef tenderloin, John Dory or vegetable lasagna, followed by a bittersweet chocolate tart. The $65 price tag includes a glass of champagne and coffee or tea. Doug Gochman will entertain on acoustic guitar. Reservations will be taken for seatings from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The restaurant will remain open to ring in the New Year if any Valleyites are still awake to join them. Perroche, 11929 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 766-1179.

Papadakis Taverna throws a Grecian party complete with belly dancers, violinists and dancing waiters. The party starts at 9 p.m. with a six-course Greek meal; the tab is $99 a head. Papadakis Taverna, 301 W. 6th St., San Pedro; (310) 548-1186.

Pinot Provence, the new Orange County addition to Joachim Splichal’s empire, is serving a five-course $99 meal that includes a champagne toast at midnight. Your meal begins with a Dungeness crab galette, followed by grilled Maine lobster salad, pan-seared Long Island duck breast, roasted free-range veal rib eye and what is described as “the last dessert of 1998.” The seating is from 9 to 10 p.m. Pinot Provence, the Westin South Coast Plaza, 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa; (714) 444-5900.

At Saddle Peak Lodge, you can take your shot at roasted elk loin, one of the entree choices in a five-course meal. Other dishes include wild Belon oyster, grilled squab on polenta and frozen espresso parfait. The price is $85. If you want to stay past midnight, make your reservations for 9 or 9:30 p.m. Saddle Peak Lodge, 419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas; (818) 222-3888.

Typhoon once again hosts jazz musician Les McCann and his Magic Band, who’ll play two sets while you dine on hors d’ oeuvres, an appetizer, ginseng beef soup, a salad of river prawns, roasted lobster or stuffed hen with Hunan sauce followed by fresh fruit, Thai-style pudding and champagne truffles. Everyone gets a glass of champagne at midnight (except designated drivers, who get complimentary nonalcoholic fruit drinks all night). The $125 price includes sales tax. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. Typhoon, Santa Monica Airport, 3221 Donald Douglas Loop South, Santa Monica; (310) 390-6565.

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For more listings, check out the Restaurants & Cafes page at www.calendarlive.com.