French to the core, and ravishingly so

Finalement. After two years of planning, more than a year of construction and months of test dinners and private parties, Bastide is open. The letter B picked out in glass beads on either side of a doorway among antique shops on Melrose Place marks the spot of chef Alain Giraud’s new restaurant.

Two silvery-leafed olive trees stand over a serene courtyard garden. Andree Putman, the Paris designer, has turned the small house at the back into a ravishingly chic restaurant. As reconfigured by Putman, Bastide encompasses a trio of intimate dining rooms divided by shimmering crystal bead curtains. The middle room, open to the sky in fine weather, features a dramatic cascade of plants.

Bastide is French all the way -- French chef, designer, sommelier -- and, to my knowledge, in a first for L.A., it pours only French wines. How this will fly remains to be seen, though I haven’t seen any California winemakers picketing out front -- yet.

The cooking, of course, is French too, with references to Giraud’s native Provence. No a la carte options here (or corkage, for that matter), just a choice of several tasting menus ranging from $60 to $90. The seasonal menu (right now, figs) is the most interesting. The grand “Bastide” menu, the most lavish. It’s very classic, very delicious and surprisingly conservative for a restaurant with ambitions.

Giraud’s foie gras is amazing; a plump little cushion of duck liver in a syrupy fig sauce made with Banyuls, a sweet red dessert wine from Provence. I loved the soothing grapefruit sorbet bathed in Noilly Pratt vermouth served after it, followed by rack of lamb in a dusky black olive sauce and panisse: tender chickpea batter fried to a pale gold. To finish, Giraud sends out lavender ice cream enrobed in meringue and berries and a plate of impeccable petits fours.

It didn’t end there. The first few evenings, sommelier Christophe Rolland made the rounds wielding an impressive jeroboam of 1986 Chateau d’Yquem.

Bienvenue, Bastide, a Los Angeles.

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Bastide

Where: 8475 Melrose Place, Los Angeles.

Hours: Open Monday to Friday for dinner only, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Prices: Tasting menus, $60 to $90; no a la carte.

Parking: Complimentary valet parking.

Info: (323) 651-5950