Chef’s table

For serious foodies, the chef’s table is the ultimate indulgence. It’s a treat for chefs too: an opportunity to strut their stuff.

Norman’s

The chef’s table here is a comfy banquette tucked into one end of the green-tiled kitchen. But because the kitchen is enclosed in glass, diners don’t feel cut off from the rest of the restaurant. Allow the chefs to create a custom menu or try the seven-course tasting menu. Right now it features dishes such as seared diver scallop in pho broth with duck confit.

* Tasting menu $85 per person; 8570 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 657-2400.

The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air

Table One at this canyon retreat is one of the most desirable tables in the city. It’s a mini-dining room for up to eight just off the main kitchen, done up in an easy but elegant French country style. Meals typically begin with a cold seafood buffet. The rest of the menu is designed with your likes and dislikes in mind.

* There is a $1,000 minimum for Table One; 701 Stone Canyon Road, Bel-Air, (310) 472-1211.

Patina

Gauzy window treatments, a bloom of fresh flowers and a handsome round table suitable for up to 12 people give this room style and substance. Behind the huge window an amazing show is going on: dozens of chefs at work. Every menu is unique, created with the best of that day’s bounty.

* Chef’s table food and beverage minimum is normally $1,000. In December, it is $1,200. 141 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. (213) 972-3331.

Le Dome

A video feed from the kitchen is shown on a flat-screen TV in one of the intimate private dining rooms. So one minute you’re watching the chefs plate grilled kurobuta pork with a pomegranate reduction, and the next it is set down before you. Chef Sam Marvin will create an entire menu around your favorite ingredient. Or let him surprise you.

* Chef’s table menus range from $50 to $125 a person; 8720 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 659-6919.

Matsuhisa

You might think of the intimate omakase bar at this popular sushi joint as the original chef’s table. Diners are treated to seven courses. And although it is chef’s choice, a few things are standard: toro tartar with caviar or a kumamoto oyster with caviar, black cod with miso and sashimi salad and sushi.

* Prices start at $100 a person; 129 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A., (310) 659-9639.