Fill Up on Pasta and Wine at the Best Italian Restaurants in LA

The pandemic spurred chef Chad Colby to rebrand his original Antico restaurant to Antico Nuovo, and judging from the perpetually packed dining room, the revamp was the right move at the right time. Tucked in a nondescript strip mall on the border of Koreatown and Larchmont, the restaurant now offers a more elevated menu and ambiance for diners starved for extraordinary Italian fare. You might remember Antico’s mouthwatering focaccia pizza and freshly spun ice cream during the height of COVID-19, which helped keep the lights on. While the incredible ice cream’s still available, the menu now boasts plenty of handmade pasta and wood-fired meats. Standouts, of which there are many, include creamy ribbons of Duck Liver Pate; toothy, hand-shaped Malloreddus pasta with a sauce of cockles, tomato, and Calabrian chili; and Agnello Dorato, the lamb shoulder chops smothered in Parmigiano shavings.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Evan Funke, the pasta prodigy behind Felix, one of LA’s most beloved Italian stalwarts, is also the mastermind of this plush and romantic spot in Hollywood’s upcoming Vinyl District. At Funke’s ode to Roman cuisine, you’ll find classic interpretations of Roman pizzas and pastas, like a Classica pie with buffalo mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, prosciutto, and wild arugula on top of a chewy and crispy blistered crust or Rigatoncini Alla Vaccinara with oxtail ragu, guanciale, red pepper flakes, and Pecorino Romano. On any given night, you’ll likely spot a famous face or two at the next table, perusing the lengthy Italian wine list. Bring a date or a group to this gorgeously outfitted restaurant which mixes both the old school and new—juxtaposing antique mirrors and classic Italian fixtures with a thumping playlist of hip-hop and R&B.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

The city of Rome inspires this design-driven Echo Park trattoria, which offers up crave-worthy antipasti, pizzas, and pastas in a magnificent wood-framed space with dark green banquettes. Chef Joel Stovall is an expert at preparing classics like Tonnarelli alla Carbonara—which proves that it only takes a few humble ingredients (in this case, guanciale, pecorino, and egg yolk) to create something that’s marvelously satisfying. But the menu offers a few unique surprises too, most notably the Focaccia Ebraica. Stovall’s take on Jewish pizza—a traditional specialty from Rome’s historic Jewish quarter that’s studded with nuts and dried fruit—adds currants, black olives, sea salt, and rosemary to the mix. This spring, the restaurant launched weekend brunch with a slew of brand-new dishes (think a play on amatriciana with baked eggs and warm fargo porridge with fresh fruit) and a lineup of spritzes, mimosas, and wines. Don’t sleep on the signature Maritozzi Toast, their take on the Roman sweet bun that consists of a house-baked brioche filled mascarpone and finished with pistachios and candied orange syrup.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

After attracting a cult following for his lunchtime pasta pop-up in downtown, chef Avner Levi opened his first brick-and-mortar restaurant in West Adams. Levi—who cut his teeth at Sotto, Superba Snack Bar, and Bestia—whips up regional Italian fare with unexpected (yet highly welcome) Middle Eastern touches: chicken liver smeared on grilled bread with aged balsamic; a fistful of perfectly al dente spaghetti crowned with buttery uni, burrata, and Persian saffron; rich, earthy, beet-dyed spaghetti with ricotta and brown butter; and tender, cedar-smoked salmon with pickled cabbage. Finish it all with a drink from Cento’s brand-new, Persian-inspired cocktail list, a nod to Levi’s roots. Although the spot sits on a lively stretch that includes several restaurants and a boutique hotel, there’s a sense of privacy when you step into Cento Pasta Bar’s idyllic outdoor dining patio, partially screened by a row of trees with 360-degree views of an open chef kitchen.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Situated in a boutique hotel called The Shay, Etta is a celebrated Chicago transplant (and its first outpost outside of the Windy City). The restaurant group was eager to break into the Los Angeles market and capitalize on California’s abundant produce and fresh ingredients, all of which are on full display at this Culver City hotspot. A frequently updated menu stars seasonal salads, wood-fired pizzas, and made-from-scratch pastas—like Alla Vodka, a spicy, silky-smooth sauce that clings to the striped ridges of shell-shaped lumache pasta. One of the most impressive items is a 40-ounce Bone-In Hearth-Roasted Short Rib served with pillowy bread, lettuce cups, yogurt sauce, marinated tomatoes, and all kinds of fun and delectable accompaniments. It’s the perfect dish to share with a group while drinking in Etta’s well-appointed indoor-outdoor space (and while drinking superb cocktails).
How to book: Reservations are available via SevenRooms.

Dining at this elegant oasis in downtown’s Hotel Figueroa is a transportive experience, assisted by enchanting, Mediterranean-inspired elements (think: arched entryways, a 1920s limestone fireplace, and patterned tile insets) in a light-filled, indoor-meets-outdoor space that opens up to the hotel’s pool deck. With an emphasis on sustainable and organic ingredients, Sparrow Italia's coastal Italian menu—as well as its innovative cocktails and well-edited selection of French and Italian wines—keeps pace with the resort-like surroundings. Hotel Figueroa’s first female executive chef, Joana Cruz, spearheads a menu of from-scratch pizzas, pastas, and wood-fired dishes with a made-you-think twist, like Pistachio Pesto Radiatore or Wagyu Alla Vodka pizza. Dessert lovers will appreciate the respectable sweets menu—which includes everything from Bread Pudding Panettone to Citrus Olive Oil Cake. Sip on an after-dinner amaro, and it’s easy to pretend you’re somewhere along the Amalfi Coast instead of DTLA.
How to book: Reservations are available via SevenRooms.

Situated in the lobby of the Hollywood Roosevelt, Nancy Silverton’s Italian-inspired steakhouse exhibits the renowned chef’s inclination toward California-Italian fare and highlights dry-aged steaks, fish, and poultry cooked over a wood fire. Prepare yourself for unapologetically bold flavors and contrasting textures: The Iceberg Wedge is a beautifully assembled salad tower crowned with bacon strips and hazelnuts. The subtly sweet Rigatoni arrives in a cast-iron skillet bubbling with brown butter—each noodle stuffed with squash and pungent goat cheese, then covered in vadouvan spices. The playful, deconstructed approach to Steak Tartare includes buckwheat, mustard seeds, kohlrabi, and egg, which you’ll mix vigorously before piling onto the accompanying shiso leaves. In addition to a mouthwatering menu, Silverton’s also put her stamp on the vintage-inspired decor, sourcing some of the tabletop pieces herself from European flea markets.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

This Hollywood gem is the first US outpost of the legendary Naples pizzeria, which has operated since 1870 and even made an appearance on Eat Pray Love. While the original location only serves two classic pies—marinara and margherita—its LA counterpart has significantly expanded the offering with spicy Diavola, Arugula & Prosciutto, Truffle, and more, using the same highly guarded recipe to achieve that soft, bubbly, chewy, charred, Neapolitan-style crust (which you can watch the chef tossing in a glass-walled pizza kitchen). The robust dinner lineup includes authentic pastas that would impress any Italian nonna and a slew of sublime desserts, but you’ll want to check out the a.m. menus too. The restaurant recently debuted a daily walk-up counter service called the Breakfast Bar with pastries and made-to-order sandwiches, in addition to a brand-new weekend brunch menu with an irresistible Ricotta Bruschetta piled with prosciutto and poached eggs. If you’re lucky, you’ll run into owner Francesco Zimone recommending dishes and sharing stories in L’antica’s romantic brick courtyard.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Helmed by chef and co-owner Jackson Kalb, who’s worked at prestigious kitchens like Chicago’s Alinea and New York’s Union Square Cafe, Jame Enoteca is the South Bay’s “It” Italian destination. The restaurant has expanded its space in the corner of an El Segundo strip mall, where it serves up Italian comfort food as its finest—like Warm Ciabatta you can dip into olive oil or spread with umami butter and fall-off-the-bone Crispy Braised Pork Shank glistening with lambrusco-mustard glaze. And don’t even get us started on Jame’s claim to fame: the hand-rolled pastas, which include the sensational Scarpinocc, stuffed with braised beef cheeks and bathed in brown butter, and Mandilli, a pile of glossy, handkerchief-size noodles coated in a vibrant almond-pine nut pesto. The restaurant also opened John Thomas Bar—a full liquor bar within their space that serves craft cocktails named after prominent LA chefs (Kalb’s personal favorite is the Nancy Silverton, an olive oil martini).
How to book: Reservations are available online.

This modern Italian restaurant from chefs Ori Menashe (savory) and Genevieve Gergis (sweet) was a game-changer for downtown LA’s Arts District—and it’s still going strong today. Meat hooks in the dining room might come across as macabre elsewhere, but here that accent just hints at the intentions. Salumi is made in-house, Roasted Marrow Bone is spooned over spinach gnocchetti, and a whole Slow-Roasted Lamb Neck arrives with smoked anchovy creme fraiche. Most everything is handcrafted, including the bread, pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and dessert; there are usually a handful of sweets in play, most of them seasonal, typically including tarts and fritters.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo transformed a dingy Fairfax Village pizzeria into a ray of edible sunshine. The family-friendly, Italian-American restaurant has pretty much everything an adult (or kid) could want, including pizza with crave-worthy crust, house-made pasta dishes, and Chocolate Budino and Straus soft serve ice cream for dessert. If you wake up early—a big if—you’ll also find the restaurant makes a killer breakfast pizza and BLT. The duo’s front-of-house partner/beverage director Helen Johannesen also presides over Helen’s Wines in the back of each restaurant, which focuses on organically farmed labels, small-production vineyards, and other thoughtful wines. The Beverly Hills outpost has even reimagined her shop as a full-on bar, which opens in the a.m. as a walk-up espresso counter and transitions to serving wines by the glass or bottle, champagne, and aperitivo drinks later in the day.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Gino Angelini has been a champion for his country’s cuisine since immigrating to LA from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region in 1995, often credited with helping to pioneer dishes like bone marrow and uni pasta in LA long before they were popular. Before opening his namesake Mid-City restaurant, he cooked at some of the city’s best Italian restaurants and mentored many chefs, including Bestia co-founder Ori Menashe. Regulars who frequent Angelini Osteria enjoy consistent quality and a sprawling menu that includes a parade of house-made pasta dishes, including his famed Lasagna Verde (an homage to Gino’s grandmother), and hearty secondi like Veal Chop Alla Milanese or Dover Sole finished in the wood oven. Last year, Chef Angelini opened another eponymous restaurant in Pacific Palisades, but this spot on Beverly is definitely the OG.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Nancy Silverton and Joe Bastianich created the Italian Army knife of restaurants with Osteria Mozza, which combines a high-end Italian restaurant with a lively amaro bar and a mozzarella bar, where Silverton herself can be found preparing dishes with mozzarella and burrata. This Michelin-starred institution turns out seasonal pastas that never miss, including the Calf’s Brain Ravioli, Ricotta & Egg Raviolo, and Gnocchi with duck ragu. Pastry chef Shiri Nagar makes sure the desserts—like the moist Rosemary Olive Oil Cake and Meyer Lemon Gelato Pie—keep pace. The only thing this mozza doesn’t have is pizza, but neighboring Pizzeria Mozza more than covers that territory.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

If you’re lucky enough to snag a reservation at Evan Funke’s Felix, consider fasting before you go. The restaurant, which pays homage to Italy’s most beloved culinary regions, boasts a glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled pasta lab where you can watch Funke himself (who sat down with Thrillist to talk about this very subject) roll and hand-cut delicately shaped orecchiette or round, dumpling-like strangolapreti. Though pasta’s his specialty, the rest of the menu is no afterthought, from stuffed squash blossoms to the bubbly, pillowy, profoundly delicious Sfincione—a loaf of Silician focaccia that’s beautifully dressed in sea salt and olive oil. Don’t sleep on the pizzas here either; the kitchen proudly mixes its dough by hand, which results in thin, slightly charred crusts topped with seasonal ingredients.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Top Chef contestant Antonia Lofaso’s food reflects her Italian-American heritage, making Scopa the spot for shareable small plates with an old-school Italian slant. The restaurant celebrates its tenth birthday this fall—and it’s easy to see why it’s enjoyed such longevity in the competitive Westside landscape. Hot starter offerings are all rich and excellent— lemony Fried Calamari blackened by squid ink; a fried Rice Ball stuffed with meat; Crispy Squash Blossoms oozing fresh ricotta; and Scallops Oreganata, large, plump, and sitting in brown butter. The salads, pastas, and mains (like Whole Branzino and Veal Chop Milanese) are equally memorable, but you’d be forgiven if you have a hard time getting past the antipasti menu. And since mixologist maestro Pablo Moix curated a selection of exclusive spirits, don’t leave without sipping on one of Scopa’s small-batch bourbons.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

The Bolognese-inspired menu at Rossoblu is an ode to chef Steve Samson’s childhood memories and the two places he considers home: Los Angeles and Bologna. The pastas are clearly the star of the show—from Tagliolini, long strands of pasta buried in rock shrimp and herby breadcrumbs, to Minestra Nel Sacco, which are Parmesan dumplings wrapped in cloth and released into a fragrant broth. Samson’s Superfine Pizza is also available here with pies like Salami Honey or Es-Ca-Role topped with salt-cured olives, chilies, and smoked provolone. Like so many other downtown spaces converted into restaurants, Rossoblu preserves its building’s industrial feel—all high ceilings and soaring concrete columns—but couch-like banquettes and a colorful mural that spans the full length of a wall warm up the space, which feels mercifully remote from the city’s hustle and bustle.
How to book: Reservations are available online.

Two words: cheese wheel. This perpetually lively eatery (which first opened on Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue) serves some of its pastas dalla forma—a preparation method in which the noodles are tossed in gigantic cheese wheels and arrive steaming, fragrant, and irresistibly cheesy. (Warning: The practice isn’t executed tableside, so if you want a peek, sneak over to the dining room’s back corner for a look-see.) For a simple, straightforward dish that truly showcases the perfection of Forma’s al dente noodles and the flavors of the cheese, ask for the Chitarra Cacio e Pepe—a combo of black pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, and slightly sharp, salty, melty Pecorino Romano. Don’t overlook the cheese bar either—there’s an overwhelming array of options, from pungent goat Cheddar to Caciotta al Tartufo (a nutty, sour, sweet, and truffle-flecked cheese made from cow’s milk).
How to book: Reservations are available online.

The brainchild of Sugarfish co-founders Lele Massimini and Jerry Greenberg, Uovo serves fresh pasta made in Italy—right here in LA. Using special eggs only available in Italy, which helps the noodles take on a distinctively rich flavor and deep yellow color, Uovo’s pasta is flown stateside so that the team can prepare classic dishes along with regional favorites from Rome and Bologna. This well-priced pasta bar executes every dish perfectly—like Spicy Tonnarelli Arrabiata made with exclusively imported tomatoes from Basilicata and its signature Tagliatelle al Ragu, made without cheese, milk, or cream. Since opening, Uovo has also launched tasting menus for two ranging from $34 to $37 per person, where you can nibble on several pastas with either yellowtail crudo or 100% grass-fed Wagyu Beef Tartare from First Light to start and Tiramisu for dessert.
How to book: Dining is walk-in only.