They’re Hungrily Eyeing Westwood Landmarks

Westwood Village is undergoing a renaissance of sorts, at least in terms of restaurants. The few streets south of the UCLA campus that make up Westwood Village are lined with some gorgeous Mediterranean-revival buildings, but, until now, the places to eat there encompassed, mostly, delis, ice cream parlors and pizza joints.

One of the exceptions has been Gardens on Glendon, the lovely California/American restaurant run since 1987 (the first five years as Hamlet Gardens) by the Lewis family, founders of the Hamburger Hamlet chain. Since they opened the Westwood Hamburger Hamlet in January 1955, they’ve seen restaurants like the Mustache and Monty’s Steak House carve out a niche for themselves despite the waning vitality of Westwood. They watched as the L.A. riots, increasing gang activity and the earthquake drove off many high-end retailers and the upscale consumers.

The fact that the Lewis family hung in there has encouraged the effort to revive Westwood.

Last November, restaurateur Jeff Knight brought Maui Beach Cafe to the area. With the kitchen in the hands of chef Mako Segawa-Gonzales (who trained under ex-L.A. chef Roy Yamaguchi in Hawaii), Maui Beach Cafe has brought a renewed interest in fine dining to Westwood Village. But it wasn’t easy. Knight gambled $2 million that Westwood could shake off its negative image, embrace its original village atmosphere and make a serious cultural comeback soon.

“The first six months were the scariest,” Knight says. “I’ll never take a risk like this for the rest of my life.”

But it looks as though he may have won. Restaurant spaces in head-turning buildings are being snapped up, by three major restaurateurs.

Michael Chow of Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills and London is bringing his newest venture, Eurochow, to the historic dome building. You know the one--it sits prominently on that triangular intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Broxton and Kinross avenues. Chow is schooled in architecture and has a special appreciation for the building, which was constructed in 1929 as the headquarters for the Janss Investment Corp.

The two Janss brothers painstakingly developed Westwood Village in a Mediterranean style to complement UCLA’s Romanesque buildings and sun-drenched landscape. They hired Allison and Allison, the architects who’d built Royce Hall, to create the dome building in Spanish Colonial style. The decor of the domed room, with its 55-foot ceiling, will be white marble with white-on-white chairs and a 23-foot-tall white marble obelisk. And the whole thing will be lit from below.

“It’s the nearest thing to heaven as we know it,” Chow says. For the exhibitionists in heaven, there’s an 8-foot balcony with a table for two, visible to all, that can only be accessed by a bridge extending from the second floor. What you’ll eat at that table (or any other) is a fusion of Chinese and Italian cuisine by Andrea Rogantini, former chef of Prego in Beverly Hills. Eurochow should be open by the end of the year.

Kam Hekmat, owner of the 22-story Center West office tower, which sits at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Glendon Avenue, had been waiting eight years for the right tenant to fill his 9,100-square-foot ground-floor restaurant space. The building, clad in red granite and punctured with clear green windows, was erected in 1990 and designed by architect Romaldo Giurgola, a gold medal winner from the American Institute of Architects. He finally said ‘yes” to Palomino Euro Bistro, an upscale chain owned by Restaurants Unlimited from Seattle.

They’re decorating the vacant floor with marble and mahogany. Expect to see art glass chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, original artwork on the walls and plenty of flora and fauna. Despite the campy-sounding name, the concept is basically a rustic Mediterranean bistro with an open kitchen. On the menu are spit-roasted meats, fish cooked in a wood-burning oven, thin-crusted Roman-style pizzas, chopped salads--and tiramisu. It should be open by the beginning of next year.

And finally, Tanino Drago, brother of chef Celestino Drago, has partnered with UCLA grad Franco Simplicio, co-owner (with Jean-Louis De Mori) of Allegria (Malibu) and Padri (Agoura Hills). Together, Drago and Simplicio will open Tanino Ristorante & Bar in the Italianate Renaissance building at 1043 Westwood Blvd. The structure was originally designed by architect Paul Revere Williams. You may know Williams’ work from the L.A. County Courthouse, Chasen’s, Saks 5th Avenue in Beverly Hills and various homes in Beverly Hills, La Can~ada Flintridge and Hancock Park.

The two-story brick design sheathed in stucco was built for the Kelly Music Co. in 1929 for $28,000. With five arches at ground level and a frieze stretching across the top, one half of the store was for sheet music, the other for instruments. It was purposely placed adjacent to the Janss’ building, its Italian Renaissance design fitting in nicely with the village the brothers had in mind. For years, it housed Alice’s restaurant, and then it became a Mexican cantina for a while.

The menu at Tanino’s obviously will be Italian, so for the first time, the food in that space will be married to the architecture. Look for it to open around the end of the year.