Exiting the 405 freeway onto Moraga, I noticed a striking two-story glass bougainvillea window in the front of the Bel Air Bar + Grill. I had been invited to a tasting dinner  by the owner of the restaurant, Susan Disney Lord, the granddaughter of Roy O. Disney and one of Roy E. and Patricia Disney’s daughters. Her grandfather Roy and great-uncle Walt co-founded The Walt Disney Company.

A trio of appetizers plated pureed gazpacho next to a tapenade topped with a poached egg and a delicious salad of duck prosciutto and burrata cheese. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

Lord is a true California girl who grew up in Toluca Lake. She is the President of the Roy Disney Family Foundation, participates on the Cal Arts CAP council and serves on the board of directors for the Alzheimer’s Association. She is also a wife and the mother of five children including two sets of twins.

She bought the landmark Bel Air Bar + Grill a few years ago and renovated the building.

Walking up the stairs into the private dining room, Lord was the first person to welcome me. When I remarked about the flowers on glass, she enthusiastically told me its story.

She commissioned an artist whom she has known for 30 years, Amanda Weil, to create the glass entry, which makes a dazzling first impression.

Seeking ideas for the design of the entrance, Lord and Weil walked the property. They spotted a magnificent bougainvillea growing freely, and that became the inspiration for this spectacular piece of art on glass.

Walt and Roy Disney created California Institue of the Arts (Cal Arts) in 1964, and Lord has always had an affinity for the school and the arts.

Disney staffed the school with an array of talented artists. Many of Disney’s movies, including “Frozen,” “Tarzan,” and “Pocahontas” were all made by many Cal Arts students.

Lord displays Cal Art students’ work on the walls throughout the restaurant. They rotate a few times a year or when a piece is sold, and the money goes to the student.

New to the restaurant is executive chef Chris Emerling. Born in Springville NY, Emerling said he didn’t dream of being a chef as a young boy. “I wanted to be a snowplow driver because it looked so cool.” However, after graduating high school, he enrolled in the Pittsburgh Culinary School and soon worked in mostly private clubs and high-end French restaurants, including one in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He is a kind chef with a beautiful smile, and he is a perfect fit to work at Lord’s restaurant, because he seems to add a little “pixie dust” to each dish.

Trays of fish and braised short rib tacos were passed. The fish tacos had cold, house-cured salmon with a crunchy jicama ginger slaw. The short rib tacos were accentuated with a carrot poblano salsa, chipotle and avocado.

As we sat at a long, elegantly decorated dining room table, I felt as if I was in a scene from “Beauty and the Beast.” Many servers paraded into the room carrying white plates with three appetizers including a burnt orange pureed gazpacho with dill weed. A four-minute poached egg was topped with a delicious tapenade made with a classic tomato, oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. A luscious burrata was topped with Emerling’s housemade duck prosciutto, herb poached mushrooms and sprigs of arugula.

Our next course was a colorful salad sampler trio, including the restaurant’s classic chopped salad that first appeared on the menu back in 1997. Since it’s a Bel Air community favorite, Lord and Emerling kept it on the menu and just heightened it with carrots, corn, garbanzos, Parmigiano-Reggiano and a sprinkling of honey balsamic. It was a real crowd pleaser the night I dined.

Another favorite was the Waldorf “Escoffier” salad. Don’t visualize a chunky mayonnaise salad. This one is pure elegance. Emerling’s Waldorf salad is mounded on the plate with sliced apples and celeriac, the heart and soul of celery, adding a delicate and vibrant flavor to this fine dining dish. California walnuts are sprinkled around and then glistened with a delicate and vibrant Escoffier secret sauce.

Grilled salmon is par cooked and boosted with lemon, lovage  and a dash of cream. It’s served with a potato and fennel sauté.

The scallops were served with four root vegetables that included carrots, kohlrabi, onion and celery. The roots change based on what chef selects at the markets. He makes a divine pickled pineapple to complement the scallops and drizzles an orange citrus emulsion before dusting it with a cilantro and red pepper. Emerling also creates this same sauce for the market fish of the day.

A juicy, pan roasted chicken with preserved cranberries comes with a delightful rosemary hash with chicken gastrique. His tender, slow braised pork cheeks were served with sweet potato gnocchi and peas, while his red wine braised short ribs are cooked for hours and served with roasted rainbow carrots and garlic mashed potatoes with charred poblano chilies to intensify the flavors.

For dessert, a must-order is the lemon tart with an Italian meringue. I didn’t care for the coconut-infused chia pudding, however I know chia is the new ingredient to upgrade desserts. I expect to see more chia seed dishes on menus across Los Angeles, because they are high in fiber, high in omega-3’s, and plump up in liquid giving diners a satisfying fullness.

The Bel Air Bar and Grill is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Happy Hour is available those same days from 4 to 6 p.m. Brunch is on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner is served nightly at 5 p.m.  $$- $$$ 662 N. Sepulveda Boulevard. (310)440-5544.