Petros
White walls, smooth arches, blond wood tables, and a long marble bar make Petros perhaps the most chic and modern of L.A.'s Greek restaurants. Owner, Petros Benekos, is in the fashion industry and has a clothing shop a few storefronts away. Young servers move through the crowded room, Greek music plays in the background, and dancing happens only if you stay late enough and Petros himself feels like it. The menu mixes refined regional specialties with family recipes from Ioannina (not to be confused with the Ionian Islands). Some of the restaurant's best offerings include such dishes as warm, sesame-crusted feta topped with sweet golden raisins, astakomakaronatha (lobster spaghetti), and lamb loin with figs. For dessert it's one of the few places that serves loukanades (honey-dipped doughnuts) and bougatsa (custard-filled phyllo). No shorts or flip-flops after 5 p.m.
>> Metlox Shopping Center, 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach
310-545-4100 L-D daily. Full bar. $$$