What luck: Jimmy’s stages a return

The awning reads “Purveyors of Fine Food, Wine & Spirits,” and a coat of arms is mounted jauntily over the doorway. Valets open doors of one luxurious car after another. The legendary Beverly Hills hangout Jimmy’s is back, albeit in abridged format as Jimmy’s Tavern, and removed several miles to the west, in the old Primi space on Pico Boulevard, to be exact. Jimmy Murphy, the dapper Irish-born owner, is back, too, and with him the blarney stone, a gift to Murphy from the mayor of Cork, that sat outside his original restaurant.

A week after the April 1 opening, the place is thronged with the old crowd. Sidney Poitier, looking elegant, commands a large table at the back, not far from the baby grand where a pianist is shaking out standards. Murphy and his son, Sean, move among the tables working their charm on the room, stopping to chat or catch up with regulars -- which means everybody here.

The old-school service is as crisp as ever, but I have to say this place doesn’t look much like a tavern. It’s too studied and formal for that, with its tablecloths and porcelain pagodas. The banquettes and corner tables give it rather the feeling of a club.

The menu is basically continental with some updated touches like a sweet spring beet salad with blood orange and goat cheese, or a clam chowder laced with corn.

The traditional Caesar is worth noting, though the lettuce could be crisper. And hey, how can you pass up luscious bundles of smoked Irish salmon wrapped in a lemon-scented herb crepe?

Main courses include a fine rendition of braised short ribs with horseradish puree and a platter of lamb prepared three ways: roasted rack, roasted leg and braised shank. The New York steak is prime grade, served with an old-fashioned puff pastry tart filled with wild mushrooms.

And if you prefer fish, you have your choice of organic Irish salmon or New Zealand grouper prepared in a jalapeno tomato sauce.

For dessert, few could -- or should -- resist coupe a la Jimmy’s, a festive concoction of vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet and berries splashed with Grand Marnier, crowned with a drift of whipped cream. Cap off the meal with an Irish coffee and call it an evening.

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Jimmy’s Tavern

Where: 10543 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles

When: Lunch, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday; dinner, 5:30-11 p.m., Monday-Saturday. Bar stays open throughout the afternoon. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Appetizers, $7.50-$16; main courses, $19-$29.50; desserts, $7.50

Info: (310) 446-8808; fax (310) 446-8868; www.jimmystavern.us