RESTAURANT REVIEW : Il Giardino Attempts a Comeback

In the annals of restaurant history, Il Giardino is remembered for giving Los Angeles simple, authentic Italian food back when most of us still considered angel hair a metaphysical concept. Famous for its pinzimonio (Italian crudites) and hefty, herb-infused T-bone steak, Il Giardino introduced Angelenos to raw artichoke salads, salmon marinated with celery leaves, earthy Italian stews and soups. Waiters could barely speak English, but they were noted for coddling diners. When the explosion of Italian restaurants took place in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Il Giardino clones popped up everywhere.

The original chef, Agostino Sciandri, moved on long ago (in 1987) to clones of his own making--Trattoria Toscana in Brentwood, Terrazza Toscana in Encino, Rosti in three locations, etc.

Il Giardino’s original location, on the 9200 block of West 3rd Street in Beverly Hills, was nondescript: as one reviewer wrote, “a plain room furnished with patio chairs and Astroturf.�

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With both chef and location gone, it seemed as if Il Giardino had disappeared for good. But the place is irrepressible. One partner in the original Il Giardino has lent the venerable name to a new incarnation. Today’s Il Giardino can be found on the 8900 block of Olympic Boulevard in what was once an IHOP. Much has been done to the premises, both structurally and cosmetically--the floor has pretty tiles, candles twinkle amid glassware on white tablecloths, a spare mural of a Mediterranean seascape (water, a few rocks) reigns over the dining room--but the A-frame structure is a dead giveaway. This new Il Giardino does have one thing the first never did: a garden. The outdoor patio is enclosed in lath, green with plants and lit with tiny white lights.

In keeping with Il Giardino’s reputation, waiters take good care of their customers in hopes that they’ll become new Il Giardino regulars. This process would be easier for the waiters if the kitchen were as consistently willing to please.

Many dishes on the menu are touted as homemade, but this is not necessarily a recommendation. The fresh mozzarella, for example, is allegedly homemade, but has no particular texture or milky sweetness to distinguish it from the most unremarkable commercial variety.

Other antipasti are equally uninspired. Salmon baked with fontina cheese is a study in intense saltiness. Carpaccio is heavily dressed in lemon and olive oil and topped not with capers as promised on the menu, but chunks of tough celery and domestic mushrooms.

A similar improvisatory flair surfaces in the Caesar salad, with its hard-boiled egg, thin slices of tomato and tough rind-like shreds of parmigiano. Eating the bandiera salad, named for the three-colored Italian flag, is like grazing in a salt marsh.

Pizzas are unavailable--trouble with the oven, says our waiter.

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Homemade gnocchi are OK, but like the mozzarella, have nothing exceptional to recommend them. Homemade crepes have a scorched taste and are stuffed with unpleasantly vinegary chopped artichokes. Risotto with wild mushrooms has a good flavor, but the dry, fluffy rice lacks the creaminess of traditional stirred risotto.

Entrees, served with vegetables and roasted potatoes, are serviceable. The salmon in particular is lightly cooked, delicious. Pan-fried, breaded veal “Milanese� has no flavor beneath the crunch. Rack of lamb is fatty and on the gamy side.

After my first two visits to the new Il Giardino, I was equivocal: If I lived in the neighborhood and didn’t want to drive more than a few blocks, I thought I might patronize the place on occasion. My third visit, however--which involved that strange Caesar, those awful crepes, the fatty lamb and some sodden desserts--dampened even this trace of ardor. There are too many Italian restaurants in the same price range in this city that use significantly better ingredients and take notably more care with food preparation.

Il Giardino, the irrepressible, may be facing a tough comeback.

* Il Giardino Moderno Ristorante , 8925 Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 652-7999. Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, open Sunday for dinner only. Beer and wine served. All major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $34-$65.