Photo: Los Angeles Times

With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’ve scoured all of Los Angeles for the best dishes. Here’s a few of our finds and the special tasting menus taking place around L.A. on Tuesday, February 14. Bon Appétit!

Drago Centro

Located in the historic heart of downtown Los Angeles, Drago Centro provides fine dining in a unique atmosphere. It’s one of the five restaurants under Chef Drago Celestino in greater Los Angeles. The restaurant is located in what used to be the vault of a bank and the urban design of the dining area is marked with inspirations of Italy.

Prepared by Executive Chef Ian Greski, who previously served at the Patina Restaurant in Los Angeles, the menu has a mix of sweet and savory. Before taking the helm at Drago Centro, Greski traveled throughout Italy, France, Greece, and Spain to study the various culinary styles. The menu takes you on a journey, with a variety of options for antipasti (beginners), primi piatti (first course of pastas) and secondi piatti (second course of meats and seafood). As for the dishes, we’re intrigued to taste the duck breast, served with Swiss chard and potato, as well as the milk chocolate mousse dessert, topped with passion fruit and vanilla cream.

Drago Centro is located in the City National Bank Plaza at 525 South Flower Street, Suite 120 in Los Angeles.

FIG & OLIVE

From east to west coast, FIG & OLIVE is taking the culinary scene by storm. The FIG & OLIVE west coast flagship restaurant is situated in West Hollywood and features dishes from Executive Chef Pascal Lorange, who has cooked for the likes of fashion designer Oscar de La Renta, singer Julio Iglesias, and the Clinton family. FIG & OLIVE brings the best oils, flavors, and cuisines from the coastal regions of Italy, France, and Spain.

For Valentine’s Day, there is a splattering of aromas. For the appetizer, our pick is the Santa Barbara prawns, a set of marinated grilled prawns with zucchini, cherry tomato, and puff pastry. An excellent choice to follow the prawns would be the organic seared salmon that’s glazed with honey and paired with grilled asparagus, red bell pepper and celery root puree.

FIG & OLIVE is located at 8490 Melrose Place in Los Angeles.

Ford’s Filling Station

Based in Culver City, Executive Chef Ben Ford brings fresh culinary choices and local ingredients to the table. Ford’s Filling Station is an American gastropub, with dishes like shrimp poboys and Washington mussels. Ford has earned rave reviews for his flavorful cuisine.

Some of the choices that we’re especially excited about include an adeptly named cocktail, Love Potion No. 10. For starters, our choice is the beet tartar, which features candied hazelnuts, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. For entrees, the wild mushroom lasagna sounds delicious, with a combination of egg pasta, chanterelles, and bellwether farms ricotta.

Ford’s Filling Station is located at 9531 Culver Boulevard in Culver City.

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