Ristorante Per L’Ora

On our list of the best special-occasion restaurants in Los Angeles.

The ground floor of the Giannini Building, a 1922 tower that once housed the Bank of Italy's headquarters, now holds this Italian restaurant at the corner of 7th and Olive. A 20-foot Italianate ceiling and a Moroccan-themed bar frame a sharing-style menu split into primo, pasta, secondo, and contorno, with dishes like hamachi tartare and a squid ink tagliatelle loaded with lobster. Walk-ins are seated without a reservation, and an aperitivo hour before dinner service knocks down the cost of a negroni or a glass of wine. The kitchen closes Sundays and Mondays.