[content_slider]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[/content_slider]
LOS ANGELES | Bestia was one of the hottest restaurants in town when it opened in 2013, and while its still busy and still great, it’s thankfully not as hard to get into these days as it used to be. Why all the hype? Because Bestia is one of the best examples of simple, rustic Italian food done well. If you’re looking for salumi, pasta and pizza made from scratch, Bestia is where you’ll find it done right.
The space is industrial and spacious, located amongst an assortment of empty warehouses and residential conversions on the edge of Downtown. Raw materials, meat hook chandeliers and unfinished tilework create a space that’s bold yet welcoming, fitting the Bestia (Italian for “beast”) name well.
Food wise it’s a produce driven menu, which uses locally sourced, seasonal ingredients to create dishes which respect tradition while allowing husband-and-wife chef/pastry chef team Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis flex their creative muscles. Offal graces the charcuterie menu while sweetbreads make their way onto the pasta menu. Starters include beef hearts and chicken gizzards while the house cured meats burst with silky smooth fat, meatiness and flavor.
There are more familiar items on the menu for those less inclined to be adventurous, but be adventurous and you’ll get the most reward. The roasted marrow bone with spinach gnocchetti, crispy breadcrumbs, and aged balsamic is a must order, as is the Spaghetti Rustichella, served with sea urchin, garlic, Calabrian chilies, squid ink bottarga, and thai basil.
The drinks menu at Bestia impresses too, and in fact you can quite happily grab yourself a seat at the bar and enjoy a few drinks and snacks without even sitting at the restaurant proper. There’s an impressive array of cocktails, craft beers and wines offer, and the wine list is particularly impressive, with wine steward Maxwell Leer making an effort to source interesting and hard to find wines, many of which you won’t find elsewhere in city.
The staff really know their stuff, it’s all very professional yet fun and casual, and its all very good.
Bestia
2121 E 7th Place
Los Angeles
California 90021
United States
Telephone: 213 514 5724
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://bestiala.com/
Open
Sun to Thu: 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Fri – Sat: 5:00pm to 12:00pm