We’re lucky to enjoy some of the best cuisine from around the globe here in L.A., but Italian food is a true staple for casual restaurantgoers and hardcore L.A. foodies alike. We’ve dived into the best Italian restaurants Los Angeles has to offer, from coveted casual sandwich stops to refined steakhouses and everything in between. Whether you’re seeking mouthwatering authentic pizza or a show-stopping salumi platter, we’re sure you’ll find some of the best Italian food in the city at these popular eateries, listed in no particular order.
1. All’Antico Vinaio
The Mazzanti family opened Italy’s most famous sandwich shop in Florence in 1991. Their towering sandwiches quickly gained popularity and they opened additional locations throughout the country before spreading all the way overseas to New York City. At the end of 2023 we were lucky to gain an outpost of our own here in Los Angeles, and people line up in droves for a chance to savor such a globally-recognized, authentic Italian sandwich. Perhaps the most popular order is La Paradiso, which is stacked high with mortadella, stracciatella, pistachio cream, and pistachio nuts.
đź“ŤLocations:
- 1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice
- 3925 W 6th Street, Los Angeles (coming soon)
2. Gucci Osteria Beverly Hills
If you’re not paying attention on your walk down Rodeo Drive, you might miss the gorgeous Italian restaurant housed on the top floor of the Gucci Boutique. The Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria in Beverly Hills welcomes you into an intimate, refined dining room with plush red velvet banquettes, Italian mosaic floors, and a sunny covered terrace. Decorated chef Massimo Bottura entrusted Chef Mattia Agazzi to showcase a creative menu that takes you through the best of Italian cuisine, perfectly marrying fine imported Italian goods with fresh Californian ingredients. Whether you come for the exquisite four-course Sunday brunch or the carefully orchestrated 7-course tasting menu, this is a must-try for those seeking a glamorous dining experience.
đź“ŤLocation: 347 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills
3. Angelini Osteria
Gino and Elizabeth Angelini opened Angelini Osteria in 2001, later expanding to a second location in Pacific Palisades, plus some catering and retail ventures. This celebrated Italian restaurant is renowned in Los Angeles for famous dishes like the flavorful Linguine Sea Urchin with garlic and chives, and the popular Spaghetti Chitarra alla Norcina with black truffles, sausage, and parmigiano reggiano. The comfy dining room has a familiar, modest design that truly lets the food speak for itself, with clean bare wooden beams and lots of ambient lighting to set a relaxed mood.
đź“ŤLocation: 7313 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles
4. Bestia
Bestia is a stylish restaurant situated in a converted L.A. warehouse, helmed by Chef Ori Menashe and his wife Genevieve Gergis. They designed the space with a mindful juxtaposition of exposed brick and steel beams alongside modern light fixtures and warm-toned wooden tables. For good reason, Bestia is one of the most popular Italian restaurants in Los Angeles, thanks to its top-notch ambiance, service, and unbeatable seasonal menu. They specialize in beautifully prepared wood-fired pizzas and rich savory pasta dishes, such as the Cavatelli alla Norcina, which has ricotta dumplings, black truffles, and pork sausage. But don’t skim too quickly through the antipasti section, because the smokey Roasted Marrow Bone with spinach gnocchetti is an absolute showstopper.
đź“ŤLocation: 2121 E 7th Pl, Los Angeles
5. Chi Spacca
Chef Nancy Silverton’s Chi Spacca is a haven for Italian meats and salumi culture that caught the attention of Anthony Bourdain himself. Savor tender oxtail with caraway pickled onions; “costata alla fiorentina,” a 36oz. bone-in New York steak; and the beef and bone marrow savory pie with cippolini onions and mushrooms. Take a seat in the intimate, candlelit dining room and experience the best of Italian cooking techniques, paired beautifully with caramelized vegetables from local farmers markets.
đź“ŤLocation: 6610 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles
6. Felix
Esteemed pasta maker Evan Funke is the mastermind behind Felix Trattoria, a well-known Italian restaurant in Los Angeles’ Venice neighborhood where you’ll see chefs form enticing pasta varieties by hand right before your eyes. Choose from dishes like the exquisite heirloom spinach gnudi, ribbed malloreddus with Santa Barbara uni, and leafy foglie di ulivo with pesto. Many diners will also find it hard to pass up the eye-catching fiori di zucca, crispy squash blossoms stuffed with fresh ricotta. The dining room’s colorful wallpaper and quaint Roman shades are the perfect familiar touches to evoke a home-cooked meal in the Italian countryside.
đź“ŤLocation: 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice
7. Funke
In the wake of Felix’s success, Evan Funke opened another Italian restaurant, this time in Beverly Hills. Funke is dedicated to old-school pasta making and traditional Italian cooking techniques, a mission that flourishes in a beautifully restored 1930s Art Deco building. You won’t be able to tear your eyes away from the 20-foot-tall pasta laboratorio, an enclosed glass and chrome workspace where chefs are hard at work creating thousands of pasta pieces by hand. The menu centers around twelve distinct pasta dishes, each an ode to the Italian nonna who taught Funke how to make it.
đź“ŤLocation: 9388 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills
8. Antico Nuovo
Escape to the Tuscan countryside at Antico Nuovo, a popular destination for authentically prepared Italian food in Los Angeles. The team here is dedicated to preserving ancient culinary techniques and traditions through a menu of ingredient-focused dishes based on seasonality. Slide into a communal table at the Koreatown restaurant and enjoy an unpretentious presentation of handmade pasta dishes, expertly-roasted meats, and a respectable gourmet ice cream selection for dessert. Some head-turning menu items include the rosticciana, or Tuscan grilled pork ribs with fennel pollen; and the towering pollo e crostone, a roasted chicken served atop fresh focaccia drenched with pan drippings and salsa verde.
đź“ŤLocation: 4653 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles
9. Cento
Cento Pasta Bar began as a lunchtime pop-up at Mignon, but it now inhabits a larger space in West Adams where you can pull up a seat at the bar or relax on the romantic low-lit patio. Pasta is still a showstopper here with delicacies like the squid ink mafaldine with spicy Calabrian ‘nduja sausage, prawns, and jalapenos; and gnocchi finocchio with braised Swiss chard and fennel pollen. But the menu has since expanded to reflect Chef Avner Levi’s culinary journey, balancing fresh perspectives with traditional Mediterranean techniques. Try rotating seasonal dishes such as the hamachi crudo with coconut milk, pear, and elderflower; the radicchio salad with persimmons and dates; and the brown butter duck confit served atop a rich bed of polenta.
đź“ŤLocation: 4921 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles
10. Dan Tana’s
Even non-Italians will feel like they’re coming home to Dan Tana’s, whose rich red-boothed dining room with checkered tablecloths and kitschy wall decor holds an inherent nostalgia. The mythical restaurant has been in business for nearly 6 decades, managing to retain an oldschool authenticity that trendier, newer restaurants can’t always replicate. Pile into the crowded dining room and choose from a mighty menu with dozens of appetizers; pasta dishes; meat, fish, and chicken entrees; and gorgeous cuts of prime steaks. You can tell that Dan Tana’s has perfected these classic dishes over generations, serving them on these same tables since the 1960s.
đź“ŤLocation: 9071 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood