I love paella, when it’s made right. If you look on the Internet there are a half dozen or so restaurants between Pasadena and mid-Wilshire which serve paella, but La Paella, on San Vicente near La Cienega, gets the best reviews for that special dish. But, as with most authentic ethnic restaurants, some like it and some don’t. I do.

The restaurant itself is quaint. It’s obviously an old house which was converted into the current spot about 17 years ago. For a restaurant to stay in business that long alone tells you it’s very good.

The best place to sit is near the front window, particularly if there is a crowd in the upper, back room as there usually is weekends. The cozy bar is cute and friendly. The front room has only a few tables, and somehow feels like Europe. The background music was at a comfortable, low level, although I’ll never understand why they don’t play Spanish music in Spanish restaurants, Italian music in Italian restaurants, etc.

There are plenty of appetizers, more than a dozen hot tapas, and more than a dozen cold ones. We tried two tapas calientes: gambas al ajillo and the pulpos a la gallega. The portion size is just right for the price point, $8.

For the main course I had the paella Negre–cuttlefish, calamari, baby shrimp and mussels cooked with rice and squid ink. This paella, and the paella Valenciana mixta, are the most popular dishes on the menu. The portions, which only come for two people, are more than sufficient. The paella is presented in the paellera and then divided between the people who want it, so it’s a great dish to share among three or four people. The rice was cooked perfectly and you could really taste the squid ink. My only complaint was there weren’t any chunks of seafood visible, just small shrimp and cuttlefish chopped into the rice. So the flavor was good but it looked just like black, moist rice with just small shrimp and cuttlefish chopped into the rice. So the flavor was good but looked just like black, moist rice.

Black squid ink paella is a lot like Italian risotto in squid ink with seafood, the regional dish of Venice. The main difference is in the rice’s texture. The Italian version is softer, with a more liquid consistency. The Spanish version is a bit less moist, with bigger grains of rice and more rice consistency. Both are much to my liking, but getting away from Italian restaurants from time to time is very appealing.

The menu is extensive, and includes soup (including garlic and gazpacho), salads, fish and meats. I found the prices extremely reasonable: small plates between $5-8 (the very expensive, special jambon dishes excepted) and the paella serving at least two people in the $25 range.

As is often the case in Spanish restaurants the wine list offers a wide selection and included a lot of interesting wines, with a nice selection at reasonable prices.

The Courier’s restaurant critic Merv Hecht has been a consultant to several food and wine importing companies for 22 years.

La Paella
476 S. San Vicente Blvd.
Reservations: 323-951-0745