Xiomara on Melrose

California Cuisine is acclaimed for its use of produce that is local, seasonal and often organic, allowing diners to enjoy and appreciate the natural freshness and taste of fruits, vegetables, seafood, poultry and beef. In her 30 plus years as one of the most successful restaurateurs in the Los Angeles area, owner and executive chef Xiomara Ardolina has long believed that cooking with the best...

The Extras: Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 3:30pm.

Parking: The restaurant offers valet for $4.50, but parking is easy to find on Seward Street.

Restaurateur Xiomara Ardolina is behind this sexy coffee-colored space featuring a cool mezzanine dining room lined with wrought iron railing. Tables are dressed in crisp white linens, candles flicker throughout, and a stately mirrored bar is busy dispensing what may be some of the best mojitos in town (it is one of the few places this far from Havana that juices its own sugarcane for the...

Xiomara Ardolina turns out an "eclectic" array of "well-executed" Californian cuisine with Cuban touches at this "easygoing" spot in Hollywood; a "friendly staff", "jazzy" soundtrack and "cozy" Havana-style setup create a "romantic" mood, and almost all agree it has one of "the best mojitos in town"; P.S. it's also a lunch mainstay near Paramount Studios.

The Scene
Xiomara's Hollywood outpost is more modern than the Old Town original, but lush foliage, decorative wrought-iron details and an earthy palette evoke an inviting island...

Xiomara Ardolina, who was born in Cuba and came to the United States at the age of 13, has established herself as one of the top restaurateurs in Southern California. Her first restaurant, The Epicurean in La Canada, operated for 12 successful years and was considered by many as the best in fine dining. In 1991, Xiomara relocated her restaurant to the newly rejuvenated Old Pasadena, renaming it...