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Pizzeria Mozza (641 N. Highland Ave.; 323/297-0101; dinner for two $80), jointly run by Mario Batali, Joseph Bastianich, and Campanile's Nancy Silverton, deserves all the hysterical hype that preceded its opening. The pizza crust is as perfectly calibrated as a Maserati's engine and the irresistible toppings range from burrata (creamy buffalo mozzarella) and squash blossoms to lardo and rosemary. Good luck beating Jake Gyllenhaal to a table.
The swell Philippe Starck design at Katsuya (11777 San Vicente Blvd.; 310/207-8744; dinner for two $120) features white leather sofas, giant fetishistic photos of eyelids and lips, and two decorative bars—one robata, one sushi. Food seems beside the point, but it's hard to stop eating the minced spicy tuna mounded on crispy rice cakes and the seared albacore carpaccio scattered with fried shallots.
Serious sushi fans are discovering Sushi Dokoro Ki Ra La (9777 S. Santa Monica Blvd.; 310/275-9003; omakase meal for two $190, by reservation), whose young owner prides himself on not serving overwrought rolls. Though the small room has all the ambience of a concrete shed, the omakase tastings—rich slices of akinomo (monkfish liver), flash-seared maguro dotted with basil oil—will make you feel as if you've landed in Kyoto.
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