With few exceptions, L.A.’s recent Italian openings have fallen into two fairly boring categories: “coastal Italian,” a catch-all term for crowd-pleasing, vaguely Mediterranean fare and “red sauce joint,” a nostalgic genre intent on making people rationalize ordering two martinis at a time on a random Wednesday night. These snooze-worthy dining trends have only deepened my appreciation for Amiga Amore, a cozy husband-and-wife operation in Highland Park serving a unique “Mexitalian” menu fine-tuned after years of pop-ups. Housed inside an old denim repair shop, the pint-sized dining room and scrappy patio set-up confer a more neighborhood feel, but the delicious, extremely soulful cuisine makes Amiga Amore a worthwhile (though pricey) dining destination, even if you’re trekking across town.
Where else in the city can you find a pork chop milanese encrusted with crushed tortillas and served with a cilantro-laced arugula salad, or plump street corn agnolotti, full of zing from housemade chili lime seasoning? Nowhere but here, at least for now, and even if you could, the execution would likely be lacking without Danielle Duran Zecca, whose signature dishes draw on her years of fine dining training, including Michelin-starred Le Bernardin in New York and Pasadena’s beloved Union. In the chef’s expert hands, fried pasta dough becomes a novel and worthy substitute of masa while queso fresco and chili de arbol pair beautifully with cavatelli cooked perfectly al dente.
Across the board, every item on the menu is a delightful, slightly heady mix of both cuisines, and even those that fall somewhat short still score major points for creativity. The zucchini bread, served with a pine nut salsa macha blends sweet and salty flavors—and I wouldn’t blame you for ordering one just for yourself. The aguachile intricately layers avocado, apple and cucumber slices with an ever-changing catch of the day and delivers ample heat with serrano peppers and yuzukosho paste. Best of all, at least among starters, is the “noprese” (nopal plus caprese) salad, which combines the tart, slightly crunchy cactus pads with housemade stracciatella cheese and cherry tomatoes. You can enjoy all this with a small selection of Italian wines or a michelada. Better yet, order one of Amiga Amore’s delightful non-alcoholic options, including horchata made with Sicilian pistachios or an ever-changing agua fresca, both of which offer as much flavor as the dishes themselves.
A few of Amiga Amore’s dishes struggle to land, like the chile relleno manicotti, a bloated, deep-fried pasta tube filled with fire-roasted poblano pepper and Oaxacan cheese. The heavy dish feels cloying and overly rich. The black ink linguini with Veracruz-style lobster tastes almost identical to most spicy seafood pastas, which defeats the whole purpose of visiting a “Mexitalian” restaurant. Unless you’re a huge fan of corn smut, I’d steer you away from the huitlacoche cacio e pepe, which imparts an “earthy Mexican twist” to the classic Roman dish, as the menu states, as well as an extremely funky aftertaste.
At the end of the meal, it’s an utmost pleasure to sample Duran Zecca’s dessert program, which includes a tiramisu made with Mexican-style hot chocolate, a (vegan) horchata panna cotta and a seasonal pie. When I first visited, it was a luscious strawberry and more recently, an Elvis-inspired riff incorporating chocolate, peanut butter and bananas. Though Duran Zecca and her husband Alessandro, who runs front of house, have positioned Amiga Amore as a generally casual affair, the bill at the end of the night is likely to come in at well over $200 for two. Is it worth the money? Absolutely. Is it casual, from a cost perspective? Hell no. I’ll happily pay up for quality and a genuinely novel take on Italian cuisine, but make no mistake—this isn’t a casual meal, for a lot of people.
The vibe: Cozy and casual (even if the pricing isn’t).
The food: Elevated “Mexitalian” cuisine. Standouts include the street corn agnolotti, noprese salad and pork chop milanese.
The drink: Italian wines, micheladas and plenty of non-alcoholic options. For dessert, there’s also espresso and cafe de olla.
Time Out tip: Order the horchata, which uses condensed milk, Sicilian pistachios and canela (Mexican cinnamon, which is much milder than the kind you’ll find at the grocery store).