RESTAURANT REVIEW : Sampling the Russian Menu at Former Movie Palace

The El Rey is hard to miss; it’s a big old movie theater on Wilshire Boulevard, the one with the colorful neon blazing in quasi-Aztec designs.

Inside, where the theater once held movie seats, there was a sea of tables set with white linens and wine glasses with cloth napkins sticking out of them. On either side were elevated seating areas, tables with a box-seat feel to them. Between the front row of tables and the stage was a parquet dance floor. Except for one elderly couple, we were the only people there.

We ordered drinks and perused the menu, a listing of Russian classics.

Our waitress said she had been working at the El Rey for only a few days, and mostly, she was still mystified and delighted to find herself employed at a Russian restaurant in a movie house with a Spanish name. Weekend nights are when the El Rey fills up, she said. There’s dancing and singing with an orchestra and a violinist. In fact, because big parties often book a large number of the tables, it’s a good idea to have reservations.

That Wednesday night, however, when we ate in the big empty hall the borscht had no particular character, the lamb shashlik was a kebab of dry meat served with bland rice and steamed carrots, the cabbage rolls were filled with rice and meat that had an off-putting metallic taste. A few more diners, most of whom spoke Russian, wandered in.

We returned to the El Rey the next Saturday night and found an entirely different arrangement. There were valets out front to park cars. Inside, the place was packed with people who were all dressed up. The tables were arranged banquet-style and occupied by what seemed to be a party of family and friends. We were seated above the dance floor with a good view of the stage where a violinist named Sergei was performing. Backed up by a three-piece band, Sergei, in a white tuxedo with red cummerbund, executed fancy footwork and wandered from table to table with his amplified violin. The audience loved him.

Intermittently, Sergei took a break and dancers performed, two women in glittery folk dress with tambourines and scarves and a man in a cap and boots. All three looked as if they’d come straight from a fabulous fairy tale.

After the dancers, the band welcomed a woman singer in a red pantsuit who sang Russian and American songs. The dance floor filled. Sometimes, with a Russian favorite, a few older women would join hands for a circle dance.

Throughout this display, we ordered and ate our dinners. On weekend nights, there is a $25 minimum per person, and since nobody was drinking at our table, three of us found it difficult to order enough food to meet this minimum. We tried the blini, both with cheese and with caviar. The blini themselves were nondescript pancakes filled with a bland fresh-curd cheese and salmon eggs. The cured fish platter had some rather tired smoked salmon, some very salty but tasty smoked whitefish and more salmon eggs, this time on dry little bread rounds with butter.

Chicken shashlik was well-spiced and juicy and quite delicious. Mostly, the food reminded me of banquet food: bland, easy to mass-produce and not-so-hot for the simple reason that it didn’t have to be. It seems that for the moment, the El Rey isn’t concerned with serving great Russian food. Rather, it wants to provide a hall for L.A.’s Russian community to assemble and celebrate with gusto, which is exactly what goes on.

* El Rey, 5517 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 930-0516. Dinner Wednesday through Sunday. MasterCard and Visa accepted. Full bar. Dinner for two, food only $30 to $50. ($15 minimum per person on weeknights, $25 minimum per person on weekend nights.)