A LA CARTE : L.A., ACCORDING TO ZAGAT.

Byline: Larry Lipson

Every year around this time, the Zagat Survey of Los Angeles restaurants is released.

Zagat Surveys, the nation's best-selling restaurant guides, list restaurants alphabetically in a narrow, pocket-size book that sells for $10.95 in bookstores.

Compiled from a survey of diners, rather than the opinion of a critic-author, and using the quotes of the diners to formulate snappy, single-paragraph descriptions, the guide indicates the overall favorite restaurants of respondents and those with the best food.

Here then, are the 1997 Zagat restaurants that top these rankings:

Patina

Address: 5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: French-Californian.

Comments: The consistent No. 1 in popularity and a 28-point (out of 30) leader, tied for first place in the food rankings, this is chef-restaurateur Joachim Splichal's flagship restaurant, heading his growing chain of Pinots, now totaling five.

Chinois on Main

Address: 2709 Main St., Santa Monica.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Pacific new wave.

Comments: Wolfgang Puck's initial French-Asian stalwart has remarkably held on to the No. 2 spot in the list of favorites while maintaining a share of Zagat's food rankings lead with 28 points.

Bel-Air Hotel

Address: 701 Stone Canyon Road, Bel-Air.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Californian-French.

Comments: With talented chef Gary Clauson in charge, this kitchen lives up to its heady, beautifully landscaped surroundings amid the quiet, shielded Bel-Air mansions, and jumps from fifth place in popularity last year to third in the 1997 book. Its food ranking remains at a worthy 26 points out of a possible 30.

Cafe Bizou

Address: 14016 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: French.

Comments: Amazingly, this suburban gem has vaulted from 21st to fourth in the new Zagat's favorite restaurants poll. Those familiar with it easily understand why it's such a huge hit, simply a combination of delicious, well-prepared food served stylishly and priced with admirable restraint. Additionally, there's the bonus of $2 corkage which draws wine fanciers from far and wide. Bizou though, somehow, dropped a point, from 27 to 26 in the latest food rankings.

Campanile 

Address: 624 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Mediterranean.

Comments: Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton continue to enjoy their positions as prominent members of the restaurant royalty of this city though Campanile slipped a notch from fourth to fifth in popularity from the '96 to '97 surveys. Meanwhile, it retained its 26 points in the food ratings list.

Matsuhisa

Address: 129 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Japanese.

Comments: With founder-chef Nobu Matsuhisa now internationally acclaimed with restaurants in New York and soon in London, the local and original edition soared back to the top of the food rankings this year after slipping to second behind Shiro last year. As far as popularity though, it slipped from eighth to 11th.

Shiro

Address: 1505 Mission St., South Pasadena.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Pacific new wave.

Comments: A no-frills little cafe with sensational food, Shiro has dominated the upper strata of the food rankings for the past few years, this year taking third spot in the 28-point top-dog segment, allowing Patina to edge into second and Matsuhisa to regain first. The out-of-the-way Shiro jumped from 27th to 26th in the popularity rankings.

Sushi Nozawa

Address: 11288 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Japanese.

Comments: Sushi purists-masochists love this tiny place where you're obligated to ``trust'' the chef. It consistently earns 28 points, though this time it fell a rung from fourth to fifth in the food leaders' category. And perhaps its strictness deters it from making it into the top 50 in popularity.