Stella

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.