Following Celestino’s Footsteps in Westwood

Until recently, the westwood village dining scene had been reduced to mostly fast-food joints and funky student hangouts. But change is afoot. The first new wave of grown-up restaurants in the village is Tanino Ristorante Bar, an Italian spot from Tanino Drago, the longtime chef at his brother Celestino’s Santa Monica restaurant, Drago.

Celestino Drago, you might recall, immigrated to L.A. from Sicily in the mid-’70s, landing his first job at Osteria Romana Orsini on Pico Boulevard as a chef. When he left to launch Celestino, his seminal Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills (now defunct but re-created in Pasadena under the same name), he brought over three of his brothers from the family restaurant in Messina.

Though still close, the brothers are finally venturing out from under the wing of their elder sibling. Last year Giacomino, the youngest, opened Il Buco, a little pizza place and trattoria only blocks away from Il Pastaio, Celestino’s “spaghetteria,” where Giacomino is still chef. And now it’s time for Tanino to go out on his own, too.

He and partner Franco Simplicio of Allegria in Malibu and Padri in Agoura Hills couldn’t have found a more ideal site for Tanino. In the heart of Westwood Village is a graceful Italian Renaissance-style building designed and built in 1929 by architect Paul Williams for Kelly Music Co. It’s a handsome space in the grand style, with a soaring, ornately painted ceiling, stunning Arts and Crafts hanging lamps and travertine walls trimmed in dark wood wainscoting. It’s wonderful to see this faded treasure looking its best again, a fire in the fireplace and tables set under the arches out front. But I’m not sure the naked torso of Bacchus painted on the facade beneath the restaurant name adds much to the allure. It looks like a runaway from Caesar’s Palace in Vegas.

When it comes to cooking, Tanino Drago hasn’t strayed far from the tried-and-true Drago formula. Instead of showing what he can do away from the influence of his brother, he’s basically turning out the same generic Italian food served at any of Celestino’s four restaurants--with the exception of the handful of Sicilian dishes that make Drago (and, needless to say, L’Arancino, Celestino’s West Hollywood Sicilian restaurant) stand out from the crowd.

To start, you can’t go wrong with the antipasto misto, though the quality of the mortadella and salame is not at all exceptional and the prosciutto is sliced too thick. The meats, however, are nicely set off with strips of vinegary roasted peppers and chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano chiseled from a huge wheel of the cheese. The raw artichoke and shaved Parmesan salad is also a good bet, along with an occasional salad special of arugula and fresh corn kernels. Drago’s signature carpaccios are here, too. Unfortunately, the carpaccio di bue (beef) one night is as icy and watery as if it had been defrosted moments earlier. And the one made with smoked tuna tastes as if it had been in the refrigerator too long. The vegetable soups are fine, if uninspiring. But beware the sauteed foie gras with polenta and an inexplicable blueberry sauce.

It’s hard to get worked up about the pasta course. Take the basic tomato sauce--it should be vibrant enough to make pastas sing. But even rigatoni in amatriciana sauce, normally one of my favorites, tastes as dull as pasta dished up in a cafeteria. I do like the lasagna, a rich layering of fresh pasta with ricotta and mozzarella, chunks of pumpkin and sage leaves. Linguine ai frutti di mare, noodles with all manner of seafood, is acceptable but hardly memorable. And though they’re on the heavy side, the pillows of potato gnocchi blanketed in tomato sauce and molten smoked mozzarella are tasty. Rabbit ravioli is the biggest disappointment--the stuffing has about as much appeal as sawdust. The best of the pastas is fat ribbons of pappardelle tossed in a savory ragu of lamb and porcini mushrooms perfumed with rosemary.

The fish special most nights is Chilean sea bass (not a choice to set my pulse racing) or, if you’re in luck, branzino (Italian striped bass). One night the sea bass is prepared with a delicious Sicilian-inspired citrus sauce studded with olives that doesn’t, however, suit the slippery texture of the fish. Branzino, simply grilled and served with a squeeze of lemon, turns out to be a better choice. If you’re in the mood for meat, order the fiorentina, a Tuscan-style grilled T-bone. The beef is not very flavorful, but it’s pleasant enough and a much better choice than the bland osso buco with gluey saffron risotto or the dry, chewy pork tenderloin in black pepper sauce. Veal chop, it comes as no surprise, has the usual drawback: It’s almost devoid of taste. It is, however, impressively large.

For dessert, there’s a very respectable tiramis that’s less sweet than most and a lovely honey- and mascarpone-laced cheesecake. Tanino’s panna cotta, a chilled vanilla bean-scented cream, is one of the best around because it doesn’t have too much gelatin. There’s also a flourless chocolate torte so dark that it’s practically a fudge and, for the intrepid, glasses of grappa to finish off the meal.

Tanino’s wait staff is its biggest asset. Every member, Italian or not, treats each table like family. And most nights, the chef , who resembles a younger, ponytailed version of his silver-haired older brother, steps out from the kitchen to chat with friends at the bar and introduce himself to newcomers. Like Celestino, he’s a consummate charmer. And maybe that and a romantic setting are enough for this middle-of-the-road Italian to draw a crowd in Westwood. The kitchen will have to work harder, though, if Tanino wants to be more than just another neighborhood fixture.

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Tanino Ristorante Bar

CUISINE: Italian. AMBIENCE: Set in historic building with ornate detailing, red damask booths and full bar. BEST DISHES: antipasto misto, artichoke salad, pappardelle with lamb ragu, fiorentina, tiramis, mascarpone cheesecake. WINE PICKS: 1996 Fonterutoli Chianti Classico, Tuscany; 1995 Monte Antico “Barrique Aged,” Umbria. FACTS: 1043 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 208-0444. Dinner daily; lunch Monday through Friday. Dinner appetizers, $7 to $15; pastas and risottos, $10 to 15; main courses, $17 to $26. Valet parking and parking in nearby lots.