After a couple years on his own, chef Raphael Lunetta has succeeded in hoisting JiRaffe into the restricted club of respected Santa Monica restaurants. In 2004, the restaurant got a fresh new look with celery green and brass accents, overhanging beams and new dark wood furnishings.

The meticulous Lunetta shops at local farmer's markets and scoops up the best of the best for his Cal-French fare; his chef de cuisine is perfectly in tune with the owners' vision and prepares seasonal fare with Mediterranean and Asian influences. The menu changes regularly, but some favorites are the caramelized pork chop with wild rice, smoked bacon and apple chutney, or the Australian rack of lamb with curried-vegetable moussaka and jasmine rice in a thyme-scented lamb jus. The wine list is pretty but pricey, the service swift and efficient. Beware: it gets noisy upstairs. Bistro Monday nights are one of the more playful nights of the week. A three-course, prix fixe menu is offered ($26-$29) with carafes of interesting wines ($12-$14), all served on butcher paper-lined tables.