WHY The elegance, the view, the impeccable service run by famed ma’tre d’ Dimitri Dimitrov… and the food’s good, too.

WHAT Is it a movie set or a restaurant? This restaurant atop the Sunset Tower Hotel is a little of both, a dazzlingly glamorous set with equally dazzling city views; outside is a separate operation, the Terrace, a poolside bo’te that’s filled with Entourage types. Back inside, you’ll be served special-occasion French and modern American dishes (shrimp cocktail, caviar, steak frites, poulet rôti) that’s better than it needs to be, given that Olive Garden food could sell in such a setting.

WHO Anniversary and birthday celebrants, well-heeled tourists and some famous faces.