La Ve Lee: Where It's At in Studio City
by Heidi Matz
It’s 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Weak sunlight illuminates the stained burgundy carpet and long mahogany bar, which is peppered with last night’s dirty wine glasses, martini shakers, cocktail straws and napkins. The air is still, unnerving, human, filled with old perfumes, frustrated pheromones and sweat. A lone waiter dressed in regulation whites and blacks hurries around, arranging his tables for tonight’s patrons.
The place is Studio City’s La Ve Lee—dark, lattice-ceilinged, velvet-interioried restaurant-cum-jazz club. But how did the place get the name La Ve Lee? I don’t know, but perhaps it’s a fitting franco-euphemism for this quaint metropolis, as the club has stood as a signpost to the Valley at the corner of Whitsett and Ventura for more than 12 years.
Owned by the diminutive, bespectacled 60-something Eddie Arbi, the restaurant has always been known for its Mediterranean cuisine served in an intimate atmosphere. Five years ago, the place brought in singer Sonia Santos to entertain its diners and received acclaim for introducing fine Brazilian jazz to the Valley. Today, La Ve Lee is undergoing another transformation by showcasing an eclectic mix of music performed by local artists and studio wizards—jazz, R&B and funk. Cool, cheap (there is no cover charge on weeknights and a small fee of $5 on weekends) and always unpredictable, La Ve Lee is arguably the best place to hear live music in the city.
On any given night you might see Dionne Warwick, Sheila E., Huey Lewis, Al Jarreau, Stanley Clarke, among others sitting in with the scheduled talent. And that talent is just as diverse and exciting as whoever’s sitting in—from Latin/funk with engaging frontman Marco Mendoza and renowned drummer Joey Heredia, to R&B with R-Mondo band, to sophisticated vocal stylings by Brazilian chanteuse Eleana Estavo.
The ostensible reason for La Ve Lee’s regeneration (ask any nearby waiter, customer, artist) is new manager/booker/wearer of many hats, Olivier Vabois, known just as Olivier. “Olivier knows everyone who’s anyone in this town,” one musician said recently, “they all love him.” Tall, dark, 30 and terribly French, Olivier was busy opening press kits and other sundry mail from hopeful bands when I talked with him. “There’s a definite scene happening here,” he said, rolling a cigarette, “Everyone is coming in to drink and hear music, but less and less are ordering dinner,” he remarked.
As far as the musical repertoire goes, Olivier admits there is no comparison to his club. “L.A. is totally amazing as far as music,” he explained, “the studio work, jingles and scoring is here, so there are great musicians, but no place to jam. These guys come and play here for fun, for peanuts, for the price of cartage.” “But you don’t have to be a musician to have a good time here; there’s no cover, so people come in to hang,” he said.
The crowd hanging here can change drastically on any given night. On Saturdays, it’s a date-night vibe, with sedate couples ordering wine and exotic foods such as Humus ($4.95), stuffed grape leaves ($5.95), Shish Kebab ($15.95), Kibee ($15.95), and Niyyeh (raw ground lamb, $15.95).
On a weeknight, the mood is elevated, hormone-enriched, and long hair reigns. At about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Ventura Blvd. is quiet and the Valley is going to sleep. However, La Ve Lee is rocking; smoky, loud, filled to capacity as Marco Mendoza and band take off on a long and very, very groove-y version of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground. The elbow-to-elbow audience consists of scantily clad blondes, biker-looking fellows, Musicians Institute scholars and white-collar males in their mandatory evening attire of pony-tails and Tony Lama boots. Nobody cares much about the menu, and everybody’s loving the music.
Olivier seemed pleased as we communicated above the din. “We’re not selling too many dinners, tonight, but every table is taken; you’ll just have to wait,” he shouted.
La Ve Lee is located at 12514 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Open Tues.–Sun. 6 p.m.–1:30 a.m. Dinner for two goes for about $25–$35 before wine. Reservations recommended: 818-980-8158.♦