HotelChatter

Lovely Lobby
Aside from being a Gordon Ramsay virgin, we still hadn't set foot inside the London to see what the place was all about.

The pull-up to the hotel on San Vicente (just below Sunset Boulevard) is very elegant, if you can ignore the fact that it faces an alleyway and the back of an Aaahs costume shop and other assorted stores that front Sunset.

Yet once we stepped inside the lobby, we were "oohing and aahing" all the way to Gordon Ramsay. Which is a long way since we were a little confused about how to get there. Basically it's a left after the check-in desk and then a right. Still, the inside of the hotel looks stunning. Keep reading to see what we mean.

Restaurant Reaction
The restaurant is much like the rest of the hotel, just amazingly posh. We felt as if we were in one of New York City's finest restaurants which is very hard to experience in LA.

Coincidentally, the LA Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila had just written her review of the restaurant before the holiday weekend and we have to echo her sentiments about the unbelievable renovation of the property:

For anyone who had ever been to the dowdy Bel Age hotel on San Vicente Boulevard, its transformation into the glam London is nothing short of astonishing. It boggles the mind to think what it must have cost.

The hallways shimmer with mosaic tile and white, lots of white and cream and gold. Inside [the restaurant], it's quiet and civilized, yet there's an energy that feels very urban and sophisticated.

What We Ate
As for the cuisine, we expected explosive dishes from GR but instead we got serene, tapas-style, a la carte dishes with very little flair. That's not to say it wasn't good.

We ordered three dishes: the burratta mozzarella to start; the hand-dived sea scallops as a second course; and the green asparagus risotto to finish up.

The risotto was a hit at our table, perfectly soft and flavored with aged parmesan cheese. The sea-scallops again had a perfectly soft texture if a tad salty. The buratta may have been the biggest disappointment as there was not enough of the cheese and too much tomatoes. Yet the drops of pesto enhanced the plate.

What It Will Cost
Our table loved the 2004 White Cottage Cabernet and an Italian Riesling. And of course, these wine selections ended up being more expensive than the food itself. The a la carte dishes range from $14 to $22 with the market specials a tad higher. There is also a six-course tasting menu at $85 a person but we think it's actually better to order a la carte.

We topped off the dinner with a selection of cheeses which were not very exotic and a bit underwhelming. While we loved the restaurant and the food tasted delicious, for Gordon Ramsay we expected a little bit more fire. Yet, we would totally return here again.

Bottom Line
At the end of the day, it's still very rare to stay at a Los Angeles hotel with its very own celebrity chef downstairs. This might be all the rage in New York but for a foodie visiting Los Angeles, this is a great way to kill two birds--a luxury hotel and a top chef restaurant--with one stone.

Bonus Celeb Sighting: We saw Kevin Spacey outside the hotel at the valet stand wearing a fedora and seeing off a cute young man before heading back up to his room.