LOS ANGELES -- The French cuisine at Melisse in Santa Monica received top honors for food while Spago was named most popular eatery in the 2008 Zagat Los Angeles/Southern California restaurant guide released Monday.

Zagat Survey Online

The 2008 guide covers 2,187 restaurants and its ratings are based on the experiences of 8,859 area residents who eat out or take out more than half of their meals.

"Few cities offer more variety than Los Angeles' dining scene," said Tim Zagat, co-founder of Zagat Survey. "The people of Paris can only dream of having as many top quality Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Mexican and Cal-Med style restaurants from which to choose."

Hotel Bel-Air won top honors for decor and service, while Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton took the Top Newcomer prize for their Hollywood eatery Pizzeria Mozza.

Other Top Newcomers on the Zagat list include Batali's Osteria Mozza, Tom Colicchio's Craft, Eric Greenspan's Foundry on Melrose, Jason and Miho Travi's Fraiche and Larkin Mackey's Larkin's.

The survey again found Santa Monica as the pick for the area with the best restaurants, followed by West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Culver City and downtown Los Angeles also found homes on the list.

Overall, the Los Angeles dining scene received a rating of 21 -- out of a possible 30 -- for culinary creativity, and a 25 score for diversity. But hospitality received just a 14 rating, and table availability was rated 15. According to the survey, 72 percent of complaints about restaurants were about the service, while food quality accounted for just 5 percent and prices made up 4 percent of customers' beefs.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Los Angeles-area diners tip slightly less than their counterparts across the country -- tipping an average of 18.4 percent. The national average was 18.9 percent.

The survey also found that many local diners were willing to pay more for organic or sustainably raised food, while 61 percent said they prefer food that is locally grown or raised.

Steakhouses are also seeing a jump in popularity, evidenced by new steakhouses like Wolfgang Puck's Cut and the Prime Grill. Wine bars are also seeing a surge, with new locations such as Lou in Hollywood, Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, Upstairs 2 in West Los Angeles and Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena.