The best Italian restaurants in L.A.

Since opening its doors in 2007, Nancy Silverton’s Melrose-and-Highland Italian bistro has grown into a multiplex that spans a pizzeria and a steakhouse (both on this list), as well as a to-go corner and retail shop. The fine-dining star, Osteria, continues to pack tables and churn out some of the city’s best Italian food (and an encyclopedic wine list), not to mention the mozzarella bar showcasing the handcrafted varieties of specialty cheese. Load up on antipasti to share, then pace yourself through courses of delicate pastas—Osteria's specialty. Don’t even think about skipping dessert, which always includes at least a few rotating flavors of the chef’s famous gelato and sorbet.

Few restaurants can accomplish what Nancy Silverton's ode to Italian flame-grilled meats does on a daily basis. With one of the best charcuterie programs in the city and a stunning open kitchen, Osteria/Pizzeria Mozza's younger sibling flame-grills tomahawk porkchops, cures fennel salami and dry-ages massive Flannery Beef steaks so big they almost feel like they rock the table when they land. This is a rustic Italian steakhouse that’s worth the meat sweats, and it’s worth the splurge; you may be spending $200 on steak, but don’t think about skipping the sides of roasted sustainable veggies—nor that delicious focaccia di recco, which oozes stracchino cheese (the dish lives in our hearts, no matter what else we try). Whatever you order, you’ll be in good hands.

From the glass-encased pasta workshop to the priceless works of art on the walls, Evan Funke’s newest eponymous multi-level restaurant has spared no expense for the glitzy-borderline-gaudy 90210 crowd. We’d extend this characterization to the menu itself, which introduces a brand-new section of hand-rolled pastas (“fatta a mano”), each named in part for the women who taught the chef how to roll these intricate, regionally specific pasta shapes. The prices here are sky-high, but Funke manages to deliver a show-stopping Italian meal in a similar vein to Felix and Mother Wolf, albeit in much, much fancier digs. While there isn’t a bad dish on the menu, we’d recommend skipping the $50 agnolotti. If you can’t snag a reservation—which are released seven days in advance—you can always try your luck upstairs at Bar Funke, the glittering pink marble bar that only takes walk-ins on the weekends but does serve the full menu on weekdays.

Over a decade later, Ori Menashe's original restaurant in the Arts District still sets the standard for modern Italian dining in Los Angeles. Perfectly crafted cocktails, a condensed selection of lesser-known wines and not-too-fussy plates of pasta, pizza and other items still wow in Bestia's industrial-chic setting. The house-cured salumi is a reason alone to visit, but the open kitchen nails preparations from light (house salad and crudo are a balance in flavors) to soul-satisfying (everything that comes out of the wood-burning oven and the outstanding pastas). Highlights include chestnut and mushroom agnolotti, pork ragu tagliatelle, and Bestia's famous spinach gnochetti topped with roasted bone marrow, which you'll find among the antipasti.

Evan Funke lives his restaurant life with a few key beliefs, and the most irreverent might just be “Fuck your pasta machine.” The Italy-trained chef holds such a reverence for tradition that at Felix, his bungalow trattoria, all pasta is made by hand behind a large window so you can marvel at the method as you dine. Of course the pasta isn’t the only draw here, and how could it be? The fluffy sfincione (Sicilian focaccia) has its own cult following, while antipasti such as the stuffed-and-fried squash blossoms can be spotted on practically every table. Note: Years in and you’re still going to need a reservation here.

After weathering the pandemic, Chad Colby’s first restaurant has turned over a new leaf—hence the addition of “Nuovo.” The tightly curated menu of panes antipasti, pastas, wood-fired mains and vegetables feels more focused than ever; the delicate housemade pastas sit in pools of carefully prepared sauces; and there is, of course, Antico Nuovo's silky ice cream, made famous during lockdown, and still available by the pint if you ask nicely and the kitchen's not too busy. Every dish is excellent, but you’d be hard-pressed not to order at least one order of Colby's thick focaccia, whether your tastes veer towards briny anchovies or creamy burrata in scallion oil. Ragu lovers will rue the day they try the beef check and veal tongue version offered here—the dish will probably be ruined for them anywhere else.

For over two decades, this Beverly Grove osteria has been our favorite place in L.A. for an unfussy, unflaggingly delicious Italian meal. Every night, the no-frills space packs in diners devoted to the soulful, homestyle cooking of Emilia-Romagna–born chef Gino Angelini. Praises abound for branzino that’s salt-crusted and roasted whole, and weekly specials like Saturday-only porchetta stuffed with garlic and herbs and finished in the wood-burning oven. The pastas have cult followings here—try the signature lasagna verde “Omaggio Nonna Elvira,” which pays tribute to the Old World with beef and veal ragu and handmade pasta layers all topped with wilted spinach.

Within her larger Hancock Park Mozzaplex, local celebrity Nancy chef Silverton's unapologetically Californian pizzas remain in a class of their own. Doughy, chewy and lightly charred, Silverton’s pizzas feature cheffy, farmers’ market toppings like squash blossoms and fennel sausage. Show-stopping meatballs and seasonal desserts, including the rotating flavors of house-made gelato, guarantee that Silverton's first sitdown restaurant—Osteria is her second—is still an excellent sitdown pizza experience and all-around gold standard pie in the city's diverse and growing pizza scene. 

This West Adams restaurant has made it to the brick-and-mortar big leagues, and the city’s carb lovers are richer for it. Here, you’ll find former Bestia chef Avner Lavi’s memorable beet spaghetti, plus seasonal antipasti, secondi and dolci with Middle Eastern flourishes that work unexpectedly well: a sprouted cauliflower with plump golden raisins, beef osso bucco with Persian lemon, saffron panna cotta with pink peppercorns and blood orange. Inside, you’ll find a marble-topped chef’s counter and larger-than-life themed piece of pasta art, while an expanded, string-lit outdoor patio with olive trees hosts romantic dinners well past golden hour.

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s first namesake restaurant harkens back to the food both chefs grew up with: Italian-American comfort food that conjures up images of red-checkered tablecloths and bubbling tomato sauce. No, the decor isn’t quite there—the whole restaurant is sleek and awash in white oak that evokes more of a Scandinavian feel—but there’s still plenty of tomato sauce. It’s served best over large meatballs, exceptionally seasoned and flanked by ricotta and some fantastic slices of garlic bread, plus. Of course you’ll need an order of the spicy vodka fusilli pasta, and you’re definitely going to need a reservation, regardless of which location (Fairfax, Brentwood, Slauson, Beverly Hills) you’re stopping by.

Does L.A. need another glitzy Italian restaurant? If you ask any developer within a two-mile radius of Beverly Hills, the answer is always yes. Fortunately for those of us without bottomless expense accounts, the Italian fine-dining at Stella is actually worth ponying up for. Chef Rob Gentile and his design-oriented business partner, Janet Zuccarini (who also masterminded Evan Funke’s Felix) have created a dinner destination on par with L.A.’s best Italian restaurants. The moody subterranean level feels like a modern supper club, while the brighter first-floor dining room imparts a slightly more formal ambience. Gentile’s take on the oft-tired genre of Cal-Italian dazzles with standouts like burrata drizzled in Canadian olive oil (and caviar, if you like), branzino crudo carved tableside and su filindeu, one of the world’s rarest pastas. For dessert, splurge on the cassata siciliana—a symphony of cake, ricotta, pistachio, chocolate and amarena cherries.

Dan Tana’s is hardly about the cooking. It’s not that the simple, old-fashioned Italian-American fare is bad: it’s more that the Old Hollywood atmosphere is wonderfully thick. Long-time servers can tell you what L.A. was like back when this red-sauce joint was cutting-edge, a time when they were much younger but Dan Tana’s looked the same. When you do manage to peel your eyes from the checkered tablecloths and the hanging bottles of chianti and take a look at the menu, you’ll find some of our favorite indulgences in town: Baskets brimming with slabs of cheesy garlic bread; chicken parm swimming in a plate of marinara; piles of chopped salad; breaded-and-smothered veal piccata; and massive steaks, with entrées served with a side of pasta (always go aglio olio) and best accompanied by a bracing martini or three.

Reservations available via phone at 310-275-9444.

“We’ve come a long way, baby,” is probably what a plate of Uovo’s handmade pasta might say to you if it could talk. From the minds of Sugarfish comes Uovo, a quick-and-casual Italian restaurant (with Santa Monica, Mid-Wilshire, Marina del Rey and Studio City outposts) that only serves fresh pasta that’s been overnighted from Uovo’s own kitchen in Bologna, Italy. Sure, they could have just made the pasta here, but why do that when they can bring us all fresh noodles made in the world’s pasta epicenter? Look for classic pasta dishes from Rome and Bologna, among other locales, all under $20. With vegetable sides at $8 and $10–$16 wines by the glass, this is one of the most affordable ways to dine Italiano—and it’s definitely cheaper than a flight to Bologna.

Now with two locations on Montana Avenue and Venice’s Main Street, Forma is a Westside dining destination with two major reasons on the menu to visit: their beautifully plated cheese and charcuterie boards, and their pasta dishes tossed in giant wheels of Parmesan, pecorino romano and other types of hard Italian cheese. In the sea of Montana Avenue’s so-so chain restaurants and the countless mediocre Italian eateries dotting the Westside, Forma stands out as a go-to upscale neighborhood spot for a date, get-together with friends or any other special-ish occasion.

This California-inspired bakery and restaurant isn't the first place you might think when you think “Italian cuisine,” but Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan's wood-fired pizzas, housemade pastas and seriously delicious garlic knot have made Milo + Olive an all-day Westside mainstay. The thin crusted pizzas here are some of the best in the city, and there’s a wickedly good bolognese on the menu that rivals some of the more authentic-leaning options around town. Lighter options like chopped salad and a citrus-y kale salad appeal for those dining in for lunch, and there's also, of course, a marvelous pastry assortment during brunch hours.

Nestled into a little side street in Old Town Pasadena is one of L.A.’s neighborhood-restaurant gems—and a date night destination if you live anywhere near Northeast L.A. Union is a charming, romantic and California-influenced ode to Northern Italian cuisine, the kind of place where handmade pastas only slightly steal the spotlight from humanely raised meats and fish served as the likes of salmon tartare and rabbit porchetta. The ingredients are local, the wine is flowing and the vibe is always intimate, relaxed and centered on the food—and how could it not be, with signatures such as the lobster-laden squid ink lumache in truffle butter?

Not too far from Alimento, Zach Pollack's modern red-sauce joint in Echo Park is a fun and saucy delight. Cosa Buona celebrates Italian-American cuisine with expertly crafted antipasti, salads and pizza, as well as what could very well be the best mozzarella sticks in town (smoked, of course, and perfectly crunchy). While Alimento is intimate and slightly more upscale, Cosa Buona is a pizza party: all done casually and even cheekily but with local ingredients. That’s not to say it’s just dressed-up classics here—Pollack and the Cosa team have a lot of fun with more modern combos such as BBQ chicken with house BBQ sauce and a jalapeño-topped take on Hawaiian pizza.

This casual, family-friendly Italian restaurant in Larchmont Village is as much of a place for dinner and date nights as it is for a lazy Sunday brunch or some burrata with a glass of wine with friends. Sleek but casual and always humming with diners, it’s a neighborhood spot that’s become beloved by the whole city since its debut back in 2005—and with good reason. The kitchen uses seasonal, local ingredients to create classic Italian dishes: pizza, pasta, dry-aged rib eye, seafood and more. On weekends diners flock here for polenta-ricotta skillet cakes and the Maria Verde, Osteria La Buca’s modern take on the classic Bloody Mary, but you can never go wrong—day or night—with La Buca’s decadent, egg-topped bucatini carbonara.

At the Factory Kitchen the pasta might be exceptional, but so is everything else. Matteo Ferdinandi and chef Angelo Auriana built one of Downtown's most consistent and beloved Italian restaurants that’s home to iconic, traditional dishes left and right (the handkerchief pasta in Ligurian almond pesto, for instance, deserves its own Instagram account). The focaccia di Recco is some of the finest in the city, ditto the porchetta, and the daily specials are always—always—worth a gander.

If you’ve made it this far on the list, you know that L.A. is chock full of great Italian restaurants. Make room in your heart for a few more, because Jackson Kalb’s hand-rolled pastas and weekday-only chicken parm are excellent additions to anyone’s Italian dining arsenal. With partner Melissa Kalb running front of house, all four of their restaurants (Jame Enoteca, Venice’s Ospi, Brentwood's Jemma di Mare and Hollywood's Jemma) offer warm hospitality and memorable southern Italian cuisine, including a pomodoro sauce that takes a painstaking 36 hours to prepare. You’ll find a breezy locals’ crowd at Jame and Jemma di Mare while more tourists and “will drive for food” types populate Ospi and Jemma, but all of the Kalbs’ restaurants offer pasta, crunchy arancini and big plates of meat, plus thin crust pizza and fett’unta (giant Tuscan toasts) at their boardwalk-adjacent Venice trattoria.

Located in the heart of Hollywood, Mother Wolf is pasta maestro Evan Funke’s ode to hyper-regional Roman cuisine. The Hollywood restaurant’s all-around glamorous dining room, complete with red banquette seats, mirrored columns and chandeliers conjures up visions of grand old New York City dining rooms. While the quality has dipped in recent months, we’d still recommend Mother Wolf if you’re in the area. Regulars at Venice’s Felix might recognize a few dishes, but the elevated approach to service and standouts like the rigatoni all’amatriciana make Mother Wolf a solid option for anyone who finds themselves in Hollywood.