Nic's Restaurant

Nic's Restaurant

Owner

Longtime L.A. chef and restaurateur Larry Nicola's little Beverly Hills creation is cozy, hip and actually has some super food, whether for snacking or making a full meal. Couple that with the martini menu featuring 80 varieties and live jazz on weekends and selected weeknights, and you have a stylish way to relax in the lap of luxury. The restaurant's glass-ensconced vodka freezer is also the perfect place for friends to share a bottle of high-end vodka with some caviar.

Mar Yvette

Citysearch

Never mind those celebrity roast infomercials that promise to bring back the good ol' days of the R at Pack when smoking was cool and wearing a suit all day was considered casual. The spirit of Dean Martin lives on right here at this Beverly Hills joint where the martinis flow just as freely as the conversations. A small couch-lined area plays host to the nightly happy hour and the occasional jazz band, while an ascending walkway leads to a more formal dining room with semi-circular booths and tabletop seating. A play on classic steakhouse cuisine, restaurateur (and host with the most) Larry Nicola offers everything from meaty standards like miso-crusted prime ribeye with wasabi butter to lighter fare like grilled Scottish salmon dressed in figs and apples. Of course, no visit would be complete without a visit to the VodBox, an exhibition walk-in freezer where guests can put on a faux fur and raise a glass from one of the more than 80 varieties of vodka. Oh, and don't miss the Dean Martin shrine. Seriously. Told you his spirit lives on.