Finally … Flavor in North Ranch  
Leila’s 

We went to Leila’s at the Oak Park Plaza shopping center soon after it opened in June of ’99. For reasons that were not clear we did not enjoy our dinner. We tried a second time and again had a similar feeling.  The food was fairly good but we did not enjoy the overall experience. The room seemed small and claustrophobic and the waiter we had both times was more interested in putting on a performance than serving our table.

But we kept hearing good things about the restaurant. And it was enlarging its location, another good sign. We waited a while for it to settle down in its new surroundings before trying again.
 In the center of the main room there is a casual dining bar that views the open kitchen. A wall was broken through opening up this small room, which leads to an elevated spacious second room that has a couch for patrons waiting for tables. Many people prefer this new room while some regulars prefer the intimacy of the original area, which is a bit long and narrow for my taste. Both rooms are romantically lit with unobtrusive low voltage halogen lighting.    


Intimate Dining in Original Leila's Dining Room 
The menu, which changes a bit periodically, is small with about 5 appetizers, 4 salads and 9 main courses. Thus, there are no specials with unstated prices that may shock you when you get the bill. But every dish on the menu was interesting and appealing. My wife had  a salad of Slow Roasted Beets with spiced candied walnuts and warm crispy goat cheese with rosemary honey vinaigrette ($8). I tasted  it. It was wonderful. Our friends raved about the Grilled Asparagus ($7) and the Crispy Asian Shitake Spring Roll with red wine star anise truffle reduction ($9). I had Peking Duck Confit Pancake. It provided a great taste.      

Main courses range in price from $12 for Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli to $23 for a “Seasalt and Cracked Peppercorn” Filet Mignon with scallion mashers. My wife chose Grilled Thai Salmon with sticky rice pancake and cucumber peanut salad ($18). I tasted it and it was cooked perfectly. I chose the Ginger Hoisin Braised Lamb Shank with Chinese mustard mashers and grilled asparagus ($18). It burst with flavor and was one of the best lamb shanks I had ever eaten. One friend, a trout fisherman, ordered Pan Roasted Red Trout with potato hash, garlic and spinach ($19). He asked for the recipe. His wife had Black Mustard Seed Sea Scallops with roasted tomato golden orzo ($17).    

Deserts are made on premises. Are all $6 and include tempters such as the now ubiquitous Molten Chocolate Pyramid with crème anglaise and berry coulis, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Lemon Curd Parfait, Creme Brulee Tart Cherry and Key Lime Pie.     

Grilled Thai Salmon
Ginger Hoisin Braised Lamb Shank
Service was friendly and casual but professional. The manager- sommelier was knowledgeable without being pretentious. We had a bottle of “J” Pinot Noir, which at $29 was well priced at a fair less than double retail. Corkage is $9. The number of Asian items on the menu led us to conclude that the food might be Asian Fusion. Management thought it might be Contemporary Eclectic American, certainly a mouthful. (Oh Boy). Perhaps you can come up with a simpler and better description.    


Celebration in Leila's Addition 

 When we interviewed management further, the reasons for the improvement were clear. Chef Richard DeMane truly understands the meaning of flavor. He came aboard a few months after Leila’s opened. Exposure and attention to some of the finest chefs and restaurants in the country have honed his sophisticated tastes and skills. He worked the kitchen at Michael’s in Santa Monica, at one time the most expensive and “in” restaurant in Los Angeles. He cooked at upscale Bistro 2087 on Thousand Oaks Blvd. His energy and talent are etched on his face and in his movements.    
Extremely polished owner host Peyman Ashfar has been in the business since he was 19 while attending and graduating from the University of Oregon. He managed the hot Tribeca in West Hollywood for 5 years before returning to Portland to open his own Tribeca. He sold it in 1998 to get back to Southern California and opened Leila’s in 1999. He knows what he is doing.   Manager- wine steward Joseph Kono has a life history that might make him a sit-com star. His last name is actually Konopelski…shortened . He was adopted from Korea at the age of three by a Polish- American family, which might make him the only Polish American Asian in the world. He worked as a chef in some of South Florida’s top restaurants before coming to California where he worked the dining room at Bistro 2087.    

Leila’s  
 706 Lindero Canyon Road, Oak Park    818-707-6939  Reservations are Essential .  
Easy Shopping Center Parking.  Most Credit Cards.  Dinner Only - Closed Monday