Long-anticipated Bastide is set to open tonight

After a drumroll that has stretched out for months, the elegant French restaurant Bastide is finally scheduled to open this evening. It has not taken any reservations in advance, so there is no preexisting waiting list.

The kitchen will be headed by Alain Giraud, formerly of Citrus and Lavande. The luxurious, serene decor includes heavy monogrammed linens, parquet floors and designer Andree Putman’s Tressage dinnerware.

There will be three prix-fixe menus: a traditional five-course menu for $60, a five-course fig menu for $70 and the seven-course Bastide menu for $90. A vegetarian menu is also available upon request. The restaurant will be open for dinner Monday through Friday with two seatings a night, closed on Saturday and Sunday for private parties.

Bastide, 8475 Melrose Place, (323) 651-5950.

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Small bites

Hisashi Yoshiara, the former chef of Jozu, has formed a partnership with Jonathan Chu (formerly a staffer at Morton’s and Ginza-Sushi-Ko ) and Evan Silver (who helped build California Pizza Kitchen from two to 75 restaurants). The partners are opening Buddha’s Belly where Rosti used to be on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. Its menu will include Pan-Asian dishes, sakes, Japanese wines and Asian desserts. The opening is scheduled for mid-November and the owners are hoping it will be the first in a series of Buddha’s Belly restaurants in Southern California.

Buddha’s Belly, 7475 Beverly Blvd., (323) 931-8588.

-- Jessica Strand