A LA CARTE : SOLO DINING.

Byline: Larry Lipson

Do solo diners get a fair shake at restaurants?

Because they often take up a table for two or more, some restaurants put solo diners on the bottom of the list for service.

But savvy restaurateurs are learning that it's a segment worth catering to, says Marya Charles Alexander, a South Pasadena-based author-consultant to the restaurant industry.

In connection with Alexander's latest trade tome, ``150-Plus Tips on How to Attract & Keep Solo Diners,'' she's asking solo diners to nominate their favorite restaurants as part of a contest or drawing, the solo-friendly ones termed ``stars'' and the solo-unfriendly ones labeled ``stinkers.''

Alexander will present four lucky solo diners who participate with $100 toward a meal at a restaurant they've nominated.

For book information and contest rules, call Communications Concepts at [phone].

Here are a few of the solo diner-friendly restaurants that Alexander believes are worth consideration:

BG to Go

Address: 12930 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Continental.

Comments: Offspring of the adjacent Bistro Garden, here's a great environment for solo diners to eat leisurely on the boulevard patio or inside without feeling out of place.

Cafe Bizou

Address: 14016 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: French.

Comments: Solos can eat full meals at the bar or at one of many small tables. In the European manner, they don't look askance if you ask for a table for one.

Cellar

Address: 305 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: French.

Comments: This is one of the rare restaurants in Greater Los Angeles that has a communal table for solo diners. It is so solo-friendly it pours women who dine alone a glass of champagne on the house and men a chardonnay.

Duke's

Address: 8909 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Coffee shop.

Comments: This hangout of musicians and show-biz types has narrow picnic-style tables where anybody and everybody sit to eat their meals or snacks.

Dynasty Room

Address: Westwood Marquis Hotel & Gardens, 930 Hilgard Ave., Westwood.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: French-continental.

Comments: Individuals are pampered here, says Alexander, who claims she has had letters recommending this restaurant for its ``coddling'' of solo diners.

Newsroom

Address: 120 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: American.

Comments: Of the 95 percent who are regulars here, 50 percent are solo diners, and they get to eat leisurely on the large patio, at the counter or in the bar area.

Philippe the Original

Address: 1001 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: American.

Comments: Dressed in your best suit or your grungiest attire, you're at ease here, eating at wooden picnic tables on a floor covered with sawdust.

Pinot Bistro

Address: 12969 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Bistro French.

Comments: ``It treats single diners very well,'' said author Alexander.

Prego

Address: 362 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Italian.

Comments: If you're solo, you can dine at the bar or in the bar area, borrow the latest edition from the newsracks to browse through and generally feel welcome.

Rockenwagner

Address: 2435 Main St., Santa Monica.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Californian-French.

Comments: The communal table here conducted in the European manner has resulted in solo diners enjoying a regular party atmosphere.

MEMO: Do you have a question about restaurants? Mail it to Larry Lipson, P.O. Box 4200, Woodland Hills, Calif. 91365-4200, and look for the answer in a future dining beat column in L.A. Life.