The bar area is an exciting venue of very stylish Murano derived atmospheric lighting.  Live and tasty  jazz shows up on Friday and Saturday and there are tables for snacks or full meals.

Oh!!!! Then there is the restaurant with separate rooms on both sides of the bar area. There is casual alfresco dining on the right heated by a fireplace along with gas heaters when needed.

A larger somewhat more formal, quiet and intimate room is to the left of the bar. It is studded with Belloff’s collection of Jazz and Pop oriented art and artifacts created by names such as Miles Davis and other musicians. .

Then there is the serious food. It is aggressively created by Executive Chef Robert Grenner who not only looks the part (See heading above) he also has the chops to back it up.

Grenner manned the stoves at Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois (rated by many foodies as the best in the Southland) and then headed kitchens at hot spots such as Saddlepeak Lodge and Jeoffrey’s at the beach.  He is also well known in the area for opening “Cravings”................. near his home in Oak Park. It featured somewhat sophisticated family style sausages and chilis along with some serious and often thrilling surprise gourmet on the side.  The soups were wonderful. But it may have been an idea before its time.

Paradoxically that "dreaded" traffic on the 101- 405  finally can be of  value to you!!. You see, Grenner tired of that trek into the supposed glamour of the  Westside at 3:30 midday  along with that late drive home at night through the mountains by which time his family was asleep.

Thus you may get real culinary  benefits. He is a very imposing chef with more than 2 decades of  experience at the highest levels combined with a still burning passion to create  palate exciting sensual food that is beautifully presented in today's vertical architectural style. The menu he offers can make you think about returning quickly to sample other of his preparations.

He, on the other hand  is equally thrilled to be working 10 minutes from home and retain the energy to  try to weave  a bit of that “down home”  Cravings philosophy into what I would now call that  very  exciting, yet broad  California Eclectic Menu. The menus change with the seasons and there is much emphasis on the fresh local produce of the period.

You should be prepared to know however, that as with all aggressive chefs, his exuberance can occasionally turn off some patrons who may not appreciate some of the elements  that are presented on the table. But the menu does offer wonderful  alternatives so that any one with an open mind should find something wonderful to eat.

There are 17 appetizer choices that include Hand Gathered Wild Mushrooms, Tempranillo Sherry and a Lavender Gruyere Gratin ($14), Slow Roasted Organic Beets and fresh Burrata Cheese with Wild Arugula Emulsion and Zinfandel Vinegar ($14).

Braised Lamb and Buckwheat Kibbeh with Pomegranate Molasses, Stewed Tomatoes, Kefir Lime and Crumbled Feta and Mint ($12) are offered along with such as “Red Cooked” Chinese Wheat Gluten with Shitake Mushroom or Chilled Udon Noodles with Spring Greens and Ginger Lemongrass Broth.

Down home enthusiasts will find wonderful and crisp Pan Fried Chesapeake Crab Cakes with Madeira Laced Remoulade ($14), Jumbo Prawn Cocktail ($14), Classic Caesar Salad ($10) and from downtown Milan, Sweet Corn, Pearl Barley and Porcini Risotto with hand grated Gran Padano. ($14). 
 

There are 11 high profile main courses along with Chef Grenner’s Chili of the Week with his famous Three Cheese Cornbread and Wildflower Honey. ($16). Bellavino was the first in the County to offer a Grilled Kobe Burger ($19). It comes with Maytag or Manchego Cheese, Pommes Gaufrette, Chipotle Ketchup and Creole Mustard.  I have had both of these dishes more than once and they are wonderful. It is hard to believe that a hamburger can be $19 but if you can get it prepared medium rare, it is worth it. If you order it medium or well, then don’t waste your money. You might as well go to In ‘n Out Burger.

You should know however that the beef is truly not from Kobe and the menu should be corrected. It is actually Wagyu Kobe Style domestic beef probably from the Snake River Farms in the Northwest where Kobe Bulls mate with Black Angus Cows. If the beef was actually from Kobe, the hamburger would be more than $100 for a 5 oz. burger. Bellavino is not alone in making this error. Bellavino servers have been trained to explain the difference. It is however still a great choice along with that Chili while sitting a the bar and listening to live music.

A suspect Kobe Beef burger has been on many menus for the last 4 years. In many cases, ill informed or careless servers insisted that the meat was from Japan. Yet true Kobe Beef had been banned in the United States since the Mad Cow Episode and recently reentered the United States at luxury restaurants such as Cut in Beverly Hills.  The average price for an 8 oz. true Kobe Beef steak is $160. Mastro’s does not offer Kobe Beef. They offer Prime.

Back in reality, Grenner does serve up Oven Roasted Prime Beef Filet Mignon with AF Rancho Mustard Sauce, Marinated Farmer’s Market Vegetables and Bloomsdale Spinach ($31).

The night we dined, there was a special  of now in season fresh Soft Shell Crab ($29) which I shared with my wife and it was remarkable.  I had the Oven Roasted Muscovy Duck ($29)  served with a Smoky Hawthorne Berry Crust and Gen Mai Tea Reduction along with Canellini Beans and those wonderful Marinated Farmer’s Market Vegetables. The veggies were worth the price of admission. 

Grilled Line Caught Swordfish($29) is served with Tahitian Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel Rub and Kefir Lime Buerre Blanc, Wilted Bloomsdale Spinach and those Farmers Market Vegetables.

There are Grilled Ahi Tuna or Wild Salmon or  Berkshire( Kurobuta) Double Thick:Pork Chops or Roasted Loin of Veal or Spring Colorado Lamb (all $29-30) served with that wonderful mélange of warm roasted Farmer’s Market Vegetables.

Desserts are all excellent. They vary nightly.

Wine is professionally served in appropriate full sized glasses from a fairly priced selection of esoteric wines that you would expect from a fine wine bar.  The room captain is an experienced semi- sommelier and will provide you with no nonsense suggestions that can enhance your evening.

Bellavino   3702 Thousand Oaks Blvd.  Westlake Village    805-557-0212     Most Credit Cards Easy Shopping Center Parking       Reservations Suggested
 

Frankly Noted

For the first time since that popularity contest called Zagat's has been published,  6 of the 12 very worthy Conejo restaurants have finally been recognized with listings in the Los Angeles Edition.  There are still at least 6 to go.   Ask me.

In the present case, local credit is due to the management skills of the owners combined with talented chefs. There is Tuscany, justifiably, rated as one of the best in all California within  the crowded and highly competitive Italian category. Owner Tomasso Barletta of Bari  and Executive Chef Maurizio Ronzoni from Lake Como deserve kudos for that.

Then there is Leila's,  unbelievably, perhaps,  rated equal (???)  to Spago's for California Cuisine. Give credit to the very capable and amiable owner Peyman Afshar for that, and for keeping the manic but brilliant chef Richie De Mane happy, super creative and healthy. Just watching Richie in the small open kitchen is worth the price of admission.

There is the super cool owner- manager Tom Sweet partnering with veteran Chef Nick Blinoff to offer consistently satisfying Mediterranean cuisine at the very attractive Mandevilla.

Cafe 14, also serving sophisticated  California Fusion  in Agoura has now made the list with the kitchen manned by a very competent espoused owner chef  team of Claudine and Neil Kramer.  See our review on this personable pair in our "Second Chances Feature."

If you just did the math, you only came up with 4 rather than six. But remember that the recently arrived Mastro's and Brent's had previous accreditation.