RESTAURANT REVISITED: ORIGINAL PAUL'S STILL GOING STRONG IN S.O.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

Expatriate Welshman Paul Lloyd, who had worked at Cafe Bizou in Sherman Oaks (with fellow Welshman chef Neil Rogers), teamed with an ex-Joe's (in Venice) chef named Darin Eckermann to open his Paul's Cafe in the summer of 1998.

Not surprisingly, it bore distinct impressions of Bizou and Joe's.

Bizou, the wildly popular Sherman Oaks restaurant that has since cloned itself in Pasadena and Santa Monica, parlayed its $2 wine corkage fee and $1 soup or salad into becoming a major player on the Los Angeles restaurant scene.

Additionally, the highly regarded Joe's-style American food at extremely moderate pricing proved it could develop a strong following in a hurry.

So Lloyd and Eckermann launched Paul's, very successfully utilizing both of those lures.

But Eckermann eventually moved on. And Lloyd opened a second Paul's (reviewed on previous page), selling the original to its maitre d'-manager August Nazzaro Jr. and partner Chris Delisle, who was a waiter there.

--Name: Paul's Cafe - Sherman Oaks.

--Address: 13456 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

--Phone: [phone].

--When we last reviewed: Aug. 7, 1998.

--How long in business: Originally opened July 1998. Under new ownership since Sept. 30, 2000.

--Menu/cuisine changes: Basic menu kept intact with few variations since inception. Most important changes, subtle as they were, took place at onset of new ownership.

New owner Nazzaro said that organic produce is now used in all dishes. Other modifications, according to Nazzaro, include using sashimi-cut ahi tuna, free-range chickens, a Caesar dressing without whole grain mustard, and more crabmeat and less filler in the crabcakes.

He also notes that some sauces have been changed, and that, generally, Paul's has ``upgraded the quality of meats, fish and other ingredients.''

--Decor/physical changes: The change in ownership brought about a brief 2 1/2-day shuttering for a repainting, new carpeting, redoing restrooms and the installation of shutters between the restaurant's two dining rooms.

--Personnel changes: New owner Nazzaro started working here as maitre d'-manager around a month after the restaurant first opened. Prior to that he held the same position at Out Take Cafe in Studio City for three years. Ricardo Micchi, the current chef, replaced opening chef-partner Darin Eckermann. Former waiter Chris Delisle is Nazzaro's partner and shares hosting duties.

--Recommendable dishes: Tuna tartare, roasted duck breast, wild mushroom ravioli, pan-roasted filet mignon in Bordeaux wine sauce with artichoke and gorgonzola potatoes gratin.

--Service quality: Knowledgeable and attentive.

--Pricing: Some items (i.e. the $8.95 grilled portabello mushroom dish) are $3 higher than when the restaurant opened. Others (i.e. the $14.95 potato-crusted salmon and $16.95 rack of lamb) have only gone up $2. Roasted chicken, which began at $11.95, is today a mere $1 more. Some items, especially those of higher quality, have gone up $1, said Navarro.

--Wine list/service: Additional wines have been purchased since the change in ownership. The current list of 53 bottlings ranges from $17 to $149 with most in the $20s and $30s. The corkage fee remains the laudable $2 per bottle.

--Miscellaneous comments: While generally retaining the original Paul's concept and menu, there has been an attempt to upgrade certain ingredient quality - organic vegetables, we know, cost more than regular.

--Our latest ratings: food: three and one half stars.

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Photo:

Paul's Cafe co-owners August Nazzaro Jr., left, and Christopher Delisle, right, and executive chef Ricardo Macchi present some of the fare offered at the restaurant's Sherman Oaks location.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer