Restaurant Style: Bottega Louie Restaurant and Gourmet Market

If you ask me, the best restaurants offer great food, ambiance and service dished up with a generous portion of style. It's a recipe that Bottega Louie Restaurant and Gourmet Market, in downtown Los Angeles, serves daily.

Think NYC-cool-meets-Paris-chic with an LA crowd. Although it is obvious that even the smallest details have not been left to chance -the overall effect appears effortless. 

 

  I love finding inspiration worth imitating on the menu -but some things are best left to the pros. I'm pretty sure gilding fruit is on that list...

I found this lovely video of the bakery by Thalia Eats Donuts on YouTube. All dessert, no calories. You can thank me later. Enjoy:

 

Let them eat cake!

There is more than dessert on the menu, however, (although you might be wise to start with that) and a large open kitchen provides a gleaming stage for the stars of the show. This is LA after all...

On this visit, my friends and I shared a thin-crust, hand-tossed pizza, pancella salad and crispy calamari with tangy sauce. I am taking suggestions for next time, so fire away!

Steal this idea: raspberries as candle holders! (Happy birthday Candy & Suparna!)

The chocolate mousse was Absolute. Perfection. (and also a great way to celebrate!)

 Simple, elegant decor, beautiful flowers, excellent (friendly) service and a bakery that just won't quit. Wear something stretchy and go.