Bestia Restaurant, Los Angeles-9/1/2022
Chef Ori Menashed opened Bestia (Italian for Beast) in downtown Los Angeles in 2012 and they are known for their bold, satisfying, and flavor-forward served in a festive, communal atmosphere.
The restaurant is rooted in the flavors and techniques of Italian regional cooking. Bestia is a multi-regional rustic Italian restaurant and focusing on a “from scratch” approach, offering house-made charcuterie, in addition to handmade pastas and pizza made in an Acunto oven which is the most famous wood-fired ovens in Naples.
The restaurant is located in a neighborhood of converted warehouses east of downtown, close to the train yards by the river, on a dead-end block that used to be famous for its concentration of artists. From the street, Bestia still looks like a warehouse whose faded sign, painted on corrugated metal, just happened to be left over from its industrial days.
Huge Patio next to the entrance.
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Stair leading inside the restaurant. To get in the main entrance you have to pass by a courtyard/patio where guests can dine outdoor.
The dining room with bar seating, a communal table and a chef's counter facing the open kitchen with a wood grill and pizza oven.
The restaurant is huge and can seat 175 guests.
Part of the chef counter.
The bar and the open kitchen are next to each other.
Our table is in the middle (you can see Hoa's back with the blue shirt on the right) against the wall with a view into the outside patio.
The decor is rustic-industrial with exposed bricks.
View of the dinning room from our table.
The restaurant requires 130 people to operate it, including 30 people on the floor, 30 in the kitchen at all times.
Chefs working...
I was told that the restaurant is really busy at all times and they can turn their tables 3 times on a single night.
The restaurant is so long that I cannot even take a picture in one shot. This is the far end of the restaurant with the main kitchen in the middle.
Servers wearing black Tee shirt with Bestia's logo in the back.
This is the 2nd outdoor patio with a view into the street.
Simple table set up.
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Dinner menu and cocktail menu
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Hoa ordered an old fashion cocktail and it was well prepared.
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Cheers.
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After cocktail Hoa ordered a bottle of red wine. Cheers!
Tomatoes an Cherries, porcini cultured cream, trout roe, fried anise seed, tarragon
Beautiful presentation!
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An incredible dish that is so flavorful and delicious.
The tomatoes are so sweet, the porcini cultured cream was rich, unctuous and very flavorful. We also love the addition of the trout roe and the crunchiness of the fried anise seeds
This a great way to start our meal.
Spicy Lamb sausage Pizza.
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This is a sweet savory balance of spicy sausage, confit tomato, red onion, and sliced chilies, all on the chewy-crispy crust that Bestia perfected long ago.
A must order Pizza!
Mussels, spicy nduja, scallion, Fennel pollen served with grilled bread.
The sauce is amazing and we could not stop dipping the grilled bread in it.
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So flavorful because of the homemade Nduja which i a spicy pork sausage from the region of Calabria in the Southern of Italy.
Squid In Chittara is coated in a citrus-heavy sauce and topped poached lobster with plenty of fragrant Thai Basil
Not only does it look incredible but it is also to die for.
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Chitarra is Italian for "Guitar" and as with so many shapes, the pasta is aptly named, in the case for the stringed tool used to form noodles.
The squid ink in the is Chitarra brings out the oceanic flavor of the poached lobster.
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Can't eat dessert without a piping hot cut of coffee.
Chef Menashe's wife, Genevieve Gergis, is a self-taught pastry chef and signature dessert is the ricotta fritters, made of a maple butter ganache and served with sour cream and huckleberry jam ice cream. Delicious and you we are in sweet heaven
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I can eat the red corn maple ricotta fritters all day and it was so delicious with the huckleberry jam ice cream.
The sour cream has the consistency of butter and was so flavorful and delicious.
Dessert menu was included in the dessert board.
By the time we our dinner, the room was completely full of people.
View of the full room from our table.
The restaurant at night when all the lights are turned on.
There is no choice but to valet park in this area.
Waiting for our car...
Considering how big the restaurant is, it is still very difficult to reserve a table here so you will need to plan way ahead if you need to dine here. Bestia in on the expensive side but if you are looking to eat incredible Italian food at a place that’s legitimately alive past 10:00pm on a Tuesday, it doesn’t get any better. We enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and the staff were incredible helpful, friendly and very attentive to our need. Will definitely be back the next time we are in the neighborhood.
Bestia
2121 E. 7th Place
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Filed under: Restaurants
