The Restaurant at the Getty
![The Getty Center's collection of art extends into the Restaurant's dining room, where visitors will find what's easily the best museum meal in town.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/57b9580/2147483647/strip/true/crop/586x457+0+0/resize/586x457!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe3%2Fb6%2F7342ddf499623f9a30e5e31999a4%2Fla-fo-1224-review01-kc5ihenc.jpg)
The Getty Center’s collection of art extends into the Restaurant’s dining room, where visitors will find what’s easily the best museum meal in town. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
![review02_kc5ifsnc.jpg](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5ca9e25/2147483647/strip/true/crop/586x383+0+0/resize/586x383!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F6d%2Fad031c6d3f901bf38748a491f8a3%2Fla-fo-1224-review02-kc5ifsnc.jpg)
A mural by artist Alexis Smith lends a whimsical air to the Restaurant at the Getty. [An earlier version of this caption misidentified the mural as being by Barbara Kruger.] (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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The eatery draws its share of tourists as well as locals. Sandra Chie, left, shares a toast during a festive group lunch. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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On the menu, the local green salad is a vibrant mix of wild arugula, radicchio and baby lettuce sparked with colorful Fuyu persimmons, dried cherries, apples and cucumbers -- all bathed in a slightly sweet vinaigrette. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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The restaurant shows its backbone with a gutsy appetizer of Pacific Northwest mussels and clams flecked with rounds of chewy, paprika-streaked chorizo. It’s accompanied by bread for sopping up the fragrant juices swirled with chipotle cream. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Pan-roasted striped bass teams with potatoes and asparagus, all in a lemon beurre blanc. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
![review07_kc5ic6nc.jpg](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b4dff62/2147483647/strip/true/crop/586x411+0+0/resize/586x411!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5d%2Fa7%2F2246938280c88e99d32784296d13%2Fla-fo-1224-review07-kc5ic6nc.jpg)
A hearty dessert, beautifully presented, is the warm Guinness stout chocolate cake with caramel ice cream and macadamia nut brittle. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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French buttter cake is accented with rum-hazelnut crunch ice cream and a bittersweet chocolate sauce. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)