Alice Doesn’t Cook Here Anymore

Walking into the new Westwood restaurant Tanino, noting the white-clothed tables outside on the sidewalk beneath the Italianate Renaissance arches, I’m thrilled that Tanino Drago (yes, brother of Celestino and longtime chef at Drago in Santa Monica) has put an Italian restaurant in this 1929 landmark. Admiring the pressed tin ceiling high above and the ornate iron chandeliers suspended from it, it’s hard to picture this as the former funky UCLA hangout, Alice’s Restaurant.

The dramatic two-story Italianate Renaissance structure was originally the Kelly Music Co., designed and built in 1929 by the Los Angeles African American architect Paul Revere Williams. The space is so stunning, all the designer basically had to do was refurbish the faded interior. The main dining room features curvaceous booths upholstered in an opulent red damask. To the left is a grand bar, with tables. And upstairs, a smaller dining room for parties and private events, swathed in silk curtains beaded with tiny pearls.

For this, his first restaurant (in partnership with Franco Simplicio of Allegria in Malibu and Padri in Agoura Hills), Tanino Drago hasn’t strayed far from the Drago formula. The food could best be described as Drago-esque--whether that’s a good or a bad thing depends on your view of the Santa Monica contemporary Italian.

On a recent visit, it’s hard to get the attention of a waiter, any waiter at all. The kitchen, however, is sending out the food fast and furious. I like the salad of thinly shaved artichoke and sharp pecorino cheese in a lemony dressing, and the alici (fresh, vinegar-marinated anchovies) adorning a little frisee. Tuscan beans with sausage is earthy and good, too, but most of the other starters are lackluster.

Spaghetti with squid ink and baby cuttlefish is decent, but those ravioli stuffed with rabbit are not the supple, delicious pillows they should be. Risotto with quail and sausage would be a very tasty dish, if the rice weren’t so gluey. Main courses, though, are rather basic: a grilled veal chop, a fiorentina steak on the grill, lamb chops, tarragon chicken with couscous.

He’s got the place open, even earlier than anticipated; now’s the time to concentrate on the cooking to match this extraordinarily lovely setting.

BE THERE

Tanino Ristorante Bar, 1043 Westwood Blvd. (310) 208-0444. Open for dinner daily, for lunch Monday through Saturday. Dinner appetizers $7-$15; pasta and risotto dishes $10-$15; main courses $17-$26. Valet parking.