Martinis, Nostalgia Give Rix a ‘40s Supper Club Edge

The babes were out in force on Rix’s first Friday night. Decked out in skimpy black dresses, they pranced up and down the staircase made famous by the film “Get Shorty,� pausing to hug, kiss or slip into a booth, briefly. The former Abiquiu (and before that Bikini) has been transformed into an edgy vision of a ‘40s supper club. Not for nothing are martinis back in fashion.

Gone are Abiquiu’s saturated colors in favor of a more muted palette of taupe, browns and mahogany. Nostalgic black-and-white photos of celebs caught out on the town line the walls. Upstairs, the bar and rooftop garden are filled with a young, hip set sipping Manhattans and those crazy martinis.

Someone kept playing with the lights, turning them up, then down so far you could barely find your fork. The food took a long time coming out of the kitchen, but who cared, the people-watching was so good. You could never make this up.

The food seems to be American supper club, a genre that’s increasingly popular with young chefs. Rix’s Cobb salad didn’t compare to the Grill’s. But a Southern fried chicken salad in a buttermilk dressing was pretty good. So was a smooth grilled corn chowder laced with Maryland crab. New York sirloin (mit bone) was delicious, but those soggy sweet potato fries were definitely not worthy.

I won’t bother with the details: On Tuesday, the chef scratched that menu and wrote up a new one. So much for first impressions.

Patience.

BE THERE

Rix, 1413 5th St., Santa Monica; (310) 656-9688. Open daily for dinner; lunch to start sometime next month. Appetizers $7 to $10; main courses $16 to $24. Major credit cards accepted. Valet parking.