Pick a Night, Any Night

A really good Italian restaurant depends as much on a friendly atmosphere as on flavorful food, and at Farfalla on La Brea, you get both. But the 11-year-old eatery offers more than tummy-tempting dishes and a treat-you-like-family staff.

On most nights, one need only walk up a short flight of stairs to the restaurant’s lounge for another slice of la dolce vita: intoxicating music ranging from laid-back blues to groovin’ hip-hop to extravagant cabaret stylings.

Bar F2, Farfalla’s softly lit yet often lively second level, showcases some of the most diverse talents in town.

The funky jazz of Sean Franks (son of songwriting legend Michael Franks), usually on Saturdays, recalls the lazy, hazy cool of eras past, while a roaring comedy night never disappoints on Wednesdays. Surf group the Black Shadows performs a few Fridays a month, along with guest songstress Mickey “The Mike” Champion, a seventysomething blues pioneer (she used to gig with the likes of Billie Holiday) who’s been known to sit provocatively at the upstairs bar during her set, simultaneously crooning and sipping cocktails. Lounge lizard John Upset packs the room on occasional Saturdays with swinging numbers that are more vampy than Vegas-y. And speaking of vamp, the reigning queen of Bar F2 has to be Thursday night’s weekly luminary, the glamorous chanteuse Morganne.

Decked in elaborate headpieces and flamboyant frocks, the Montreal-born cabaret queen has been belting out an international mix of jazz standards and soulful originals at F2 for four years now. In addition to attracting a colorful crowd often specked with celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Mira Sorvino upstairs, the sultry singer has helped bring in customers to the restaurant too (they try the food during her show and come back for more later)--a reciprocal relationship that Farfalla’s owners (general manager Mauro Pazienti, chef Giancarlo Macchiarella and entrepreneur Gean Montesano) see as more than just good business. They see it as destiny.

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“Something here was just calling for music,” remembers Pazienti, the man whose vision transformed the second level into an entertainment showcase and popular venue for private parties more than five years ago. “Little did I know the history of the building when I made the decision.”

And what a history it is. The La Brea space was once home to legendary blues club Bob Lewis’ Swanee Inn. The main attraction during its heyday in the late ‘30s was none other than Nat King Cole, whose jazz trio packed the place every week. According to jazz lore, it was at the Swanee that the famed vocalist first used his silky pipes when a drunken customer requested a tune and the owner demanded Cole (who was only a pianist at the time) sing it. Of course, it led to a truly unforgettable career.

“That stage has a powerful point of energy,” Morganne says. She cites the “vintage” feel of the room as inspiration for her performances, which incorporate acoustic and electric melodies with European, American, African and Middle Eastern influences. She starts her second set with a belly dancing segment, for instance, and works in dazzling costume changes and plenty of audience participation. “It’s like a home for my friends and fans to gather.”

This kind of interaction is also evident at Farfalla’s latest venture, Tuesday’s hip-hop club Heat. It’s the first outside promotion brought in, and it takes over the downstairs restaurant, too. DJs on both levels spin underground rap artists, and promoter Damon White brings in live entertainment including percussionists and MCs to add to the evening’s free-flowing flavor and social mix.

Every night has this fluttery, free-spirited vibe, and it’s no wonder--farfalla means butterfly in Italian. The name is also symbolic of the restaurant’s recent success: It was always a great place to wine and dine, but since spreading its musical wings with F2, it has a vim and vibrancy that just can’t be contained.

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* Farfalla’s Bar F2, 143 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. Entertainment most nights (call for the week’s schedule). All nights free, except Tuesday. (323) 938-2504.