RESTAURANT REVIEW : Small-Town Feel, Pleasures From Larchmont’s La Luna

After several visits to La Luna, a pretty Italian restaurant in Larchmont Village, I was able to recognize not just the staff, but also some of the customers. One man, it seemed, had taken up semi-permanent residence at the long counter by the open kitchen. Other familiar faces filled the dining rooms.

In this sense, La Luna reminded me of living in a small town--how one goes into the local cafe or doughnut shop and sees the same characters day after day talking, arguing, joking, eating. Such establishments, fairly rare in big, old anonymous Los Angeles, can form the heart of a community.

La Luna is an attractive place, with high wooden ceilings, contemporary light fixtures and some of the better faux-antique walls in Los Angeles. There are two dining rooms separated by a shiny open kitchen and a long counter. I preferred eating in the front room for its pretty window view of the street.

Once seated, we were invariably brought a basket of fresh bread and a bottle of mineral water. The bread is free with the meal; the mineral water, which one is free to reject, is $4.

The menu is large and ambitious. And there is a substantial variation in the quality of the cooking, which makes me think I would rather have a smaller menu of knockout dishes than this near-daunting document of diversity.

I loved a salad of steamed shrimp and arugula: The shrimp were sweet, the arugula fresh and the dressing a light blend of good olive oil and just the right amount of lemon. A more complicated dish of mushrooms and goat cheese wrapped in tubes of puff pastry and served in a pool of cream sauce was more disappointing: The cream sauce overwhelmed, the goat cheese was undiscernible, and for $8, it might have been nice to have had more interesting mushrooms than the ordinary kind sold at supermarkets.

The pastas we tried were delicious. Ravioli stuffed with mushrooms and topped with a creamy, cheesy fresh baby artichoke sauce is more rich than I normally endorse, but I didn’t want to stop eating it. Small-sized penne with smoked bacon came with a flavorful tomato-and-cream pink sauce. My favorite pasta was homemade taglioline with grilled zucchini, garlic and more of those great shrimp.

The rice in the quail-and-porcini risotto was cooked almost to that addictive chewiness of well-made risotto, but the porcini were negligible and the hunk of quail was overcooked. Lamb chops were cloaked in a dark heavy sauce with baby artichokes and came in a big flaccid heap of mashed potatoes. My first several bites were pure fat and I had trouble cutting through gristle. Soon I gave up in frustration.

On the other hand, I loved the lightly cooked calf’s liver, served in a rich onion sauce, with triangles of good grilled polenta.

Much is made of the grilled Italian seabass; waiters practically give customers a formal introduction to the lightly crumbed, browned filet, holding it dramatically on a pewter serving tray just below nose level, then whisking it away to be plated, a process that can take several minutes. All told, the ritual handling of this fish was confusing and curious, especially considering the fact that, while perfectly edible, it was in no way a spectacular culinary experience.

La Luna’s pizzas have chewy thin crusts and light, clever toppings. Pizza with mozzarella, tomatoes and roasted eggplant is simple and tasty. Pizza with mozzarella, bresaola and arugula is more troublesome to eat with the hard-to-bite-off meat and lots of loose leaves, but it is delicious once one manages. (We found it best to put two slices together and eat it as a pizza sandwich.)

The best reason to have dessert at La Luna is not the good-enough strawberries and whipped cream in a shortbread crust, nor is it the enormous serving of a respectable tirami su , nor the average chocolate souffle nor the often not-hot coffee. The best reason to keep going to La Luna is simply to stretch out a pleasant and relaxing meal for all it is worth.

La Luna, 113 N. Larchmont Blvd., (213) 962-2130. Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. (Open 7 days starting April 7.) Beer and wine. Parking on street. American Express, MasterCard, Visa. Dinner for two, food only, $28 to $67.