The Dining Room is in the Shangri-La hotel. Owner Tehmina Adaya is depicted in black in a painting above the bar. Executive chef Dakota Weiss, left, has recently added a $15 three-course menu on Tuesday nights. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A deconstructed shrimp cocktail comes with a gutsy vodka cocktail sauce on blue-tinted ice. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Executive chef Dakota Weiss is formerly of Tower Bar. She offers accessible, heartwarming comfort food at prices lower than at most hotel dining rooms. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Spanish chorizo and Petit Basque sheep’s milk cheese is layered with cilantro atop grilled flatbread. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Short rib sliders are served with horseradish cream and sweet pickles. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Bartender Chris Corbin can see the sun set from the bar of the Dining Room. The cocktails here are strong and well made. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
With its location inside an Art Deco hotel across from Santa Monica Bay, the Dining Room feels like a private club, but its menu and special pricing make it very accessible. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Bite-sized chocolate cupcakes, shown here with strawberry mousse, are topped with a swirl of dark-chocolate icing. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
