It’s a New but Familiar Bistro Garden

The man at the next table leans over. “Would you believe,” he asks, “that I’m 83 years old?” He gestures grandly around the room, taking in the high ceilings, the well-trained waiters, the woman at the next table in her sequined gown. “And I believe in living well. After all, you can’t take your money with you. I’m so glad that they’ve finally opened this restaurant.”

The long-awaited Bistro Garden at Coldwater, 12950 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 501-0202, may be a brand new restaurant, but it doesn’t feel like one. It is as familiar as an old tuxedo. People walking into the room greet the maitre d’ with affection, wave happily at friends as they walk to their tables, hardly bother to look at the menu. “Oh,” says the man at the next table, “the food here is very good. Have the shrimp cocktail. They serve a great steak. Be sure to order a chocolate souffle for dessert.” He himself orders a cognac and settles into his chair. “We used to have to go over the hill to eat,” he muses, “and I’m so tired of driving.”

The man at the next table watches our salads arrive at the table. (The celery root is wonderful.) “You know,” he says after a while, “before this we didn’t have any restaurants over here. We got the Sportsman’s Lodge, but that’s just a place to get a sandwich. We got La Serre, but I go there for the Rotary and I’m sick of it. This, this is a restaurant.”

Indeed it is.