A grace note on Beverly Boulevard

Beverly Boulevard between La Cienega Boulevard and La Brea Avenue is fast becoming a hip restaurant row. The latest to open is Grace Restaurant, on the site of the long-running Muse. One of the owners is connected to Brentwood Restaurant; the chef is Neal Fraser, who won a following at Boxer restaurant a few blocks west (now Cobras & Matadors) and later cooked at Rix in Santa Monica. From day one, Grace has been packed with a youthful, plugged-in crowd.

Don’t even think about arriving without a reservation, or you’re more than likely in for a long wait. Maybe you’ll find a seat in the bar at the front, a great spot for people-watching. But I wouldn’t count on it.

Break something edgy out of your closet, the better to fit in with the decor, which features tangerine banquettes, goofy hanging lamps and convex mirrors that reflect the entire room. Waiters vamp around the room in updated safari chic.

Fraser’s food is intent on making an impression. His appetizers include a rather French sauteed skate in parsley brown butter and capers, but also tandoori quail in a tamarind glaze with quince chutney and “coconut water cauliflower couscous.� Now, that’s a mouthful.

You can order one soup or a “soup tasting� of two or three. Crudo (raw fish) comes as a trio, too. And, if you can believe it, braised pork shoulder is an appetizer. There’s also a lump crab meat salad laced with fresh peas and Thai basil that tastes like the first hint of spring.

Fish is hardly ethereal here, though. It’s cooked more like meat, with hearty accompaniments. John Dory, for example, has a Pinot Noir sauce and comes with wild mushrooms and potato gnocchi. Salmon is flanked by Catalan-style peppers stuffed with brandade.

Braised short ribs with New Zealand langoustines make an updated surf ‘n’ turf. And a bacon-wrapped saddle of rabbit arrives threaded onto a sword.

For all this devotion to meatiness, Grace is the only restaurant I’ve seen that labels an occasional dish vegan. The current vegan entry is a main course of basmati rice-stuffed pepper with creamy tofu emulsion and butternut squash. I didn’t try it, but a number of parents have asked me where they could take their vegan son or daughter, and, finally, here’s a place.

The teas and tisanes are organic, and the coffee is a Sumatra-African blend Viennese roast, a nice touch.

Because the opening has been anything but “soft,� the staff at Grace has hardly had a chance to take a breath. For now, as with any new restaurant, the best time to reserve a table is either early or late -- probably all you’ll be able to get unless you plan well ahead. Fortunately, though, the restaurant stays open until midnight most nights, and till 1 a.m. on weekends.

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Grace Restaurant

Where: 7360 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: Open 5:30 p.m.-midnight, Tuesday-Thursday; 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m., Friday-Saturday; 5:30-10 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Appetizers, $7 to $15; main courses, $17 to $28; desserts, $7.

Info: (323) 934-4400, fax (323) 934-0485, www.gracerestaurant.net.