Alba

This see-and-be-seen NYC Italian transplant serves salads, crudos, pastas and mains from a dreamy, vacation-inspired space along Melrose Avenue. Despite its snoozeworthy dining genre, Alba keeps it fresh with a tightly curated, ever-changing menu and a dimly lit, art-filled pastel pink hued dining room that feels straight out of a Wes Anderson film. “She’s rotating,” my affable server told me when I asked about a previously available pistachio pesto rigatoni. Instead, I opted for the sea shells lobster cardinale and family-style, burrata-topped orecchiette arrabbiata, which is mixed tableside. Transplanted head chef Adam Leonti revels in the superior quality of L.A.’s fresh produce with standout starters like the accanto salad (cashews, avocado, lettuce) and a pistachio-topped tuna tartare. Throw in the well-executed cocktails and impossibly chic clientele, and you’ve got another crowdpleasing West Hollywood hot spot perfect for those occasions where the ambience and scene matter just as much as food and drink.