May 8

May 8 Bestia

Waiting for our table with the most incredible Granita Applebum cocktail. — Waiting for our table with the most incredible Granita Applebum cocktail.

Nightly packed to the gills from opening to closing, Bestia is a haven of multi-regional Italian cuisine run by culinary genius husband and wife duo Executive Chef Ori Menashe and Pastry Chef Genevieve Gergis. A delightful mixture of industrial warmth, the restaurant sits just west of the LA River in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles.

Chef Ori’s beautiful Salumi plate is crafted from the restaurant’s impeccable house-cured meats, accompanied by gorgeous pickled carrots, a radish-based mostarda, creamy lardo, and three pieces of house-made grilled sourdough Pain au Levain that will have you gladly throw caution to the no-carb wind.

Mix your Roasted Bone Marrow with its co-plated spinach gnocchetti, crispy breadcrumbs, and aged balsamic for an extravagantly rich, epically perfect dish. The Grilled Octopus & Calamari, served with arugula, mushrooms, and fennel is a deliciously light reprieve, followed by what I can only call a truly “life changing” ricotta Cavatelli alla Norcina. The house-made pasta is paired with pork sausage (house-made too, of course), black truffles, and semi-aged, beautifully mild grana padano cheese. For a typically non-pasta eater, this dish made a believer out of me.

To finish, your full-to-bursting stomach will gladly have room for Gergis’s Sour Cherry Jam Crostata, with its deadly combination of a delicately buttery crème fraîche crust, frangipane almond filling, and tart cherry jam, served à la mode.

Make a reservation for Bestia right this second – when you finally get there a month from now (if you’re lucky!), you’ll realize it was well worth the long, salivating wait.

Kate Spade Black Jillian Polka Dot Dress

Bonlook Bonnie & Clyde Glasses

Lips: MAC Pro Longwear Lipcolour in Lasting Lust