PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

For more than a decade this provincial hideaway off 3rd Street has been voted one of L.A.'s most romantic restaurants. From the street all you see is a high fence and two carved little wooden doors, but pass through them and voilà! -- a bastion of quaint French countryside in the midst of the bustling city. The Little Door consists of four dining areas situated throughout a converted cottage-style house, the most popular being the "Patio" with its tile fountain, koi pond, wrought-iron candelabras, and lush greenery. If you can't get a table here, ask for one in the back room by the fireplace, which is both quieter and roomier. Fittingly, the cuisine is French/Mediterranean, ranging from a terrine of duck foie gras with strawberries to pistachio-encrusted scallops with Moroccan greens to rosemary-encrusted rack of lamb in a parsnip purée. Because the chef shops at the local farmer's market daily, the menu changes often -- ergo, be sure to ask your waiter for recommendations. All wines on the list are also served by the glass, which makes for some fun wine paring with the medley of menu choices. Caveats? It's pricey ($30 for fettuccine?), the tables are a tad too close together, and the attitude from the servers can be a bit . . . er . . . French as well. But when it all comes together perfectly -- the candlelit table you requested, an attentive waiter, a warm summer night, you looking marvelous in the candlelight, a nice glass of wine, a soupçon of foie gras melting on your tongue -- it's easy to see why the Little Door is where the locals go when they're in the mood for romance.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Los Angeles 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»