This was a very useful review, thanks.
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We went with another couple a few weeks ago, and had every pasta. Every pasta.
There’s not too much I can add to the reviews here already, other thank Funke is still - like at Bucato, like at Rustic Canyon - working his inspired magic with pasta.
To me, best in the city (at least outside of some visiting Nonna cooking at home).
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Hi @djquinnc,
Nice report! Thanks for the pics and thoughts. 
We love the Orecchiette the most in terms of shape, texture, mouthfeel.
Were they offering the Rigatoni All’Amatriciana that night? If you see it offered, definitely give a try, pretty wonderful.
And the Budino di Nocino (fantastic). 
They did. We didn’t order it as we thought it was something that was commonly available elsewhere. I’m sure it is delicious. As is the budino. But I was waddling out the door! Next time, a little less pasta. Maybe.
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We had a disappointing meal on Friday. I found the back room to be dark, the service to be aloof and the pasta over-seasoned to the point it was almost inedible (and I love salt). Very surprising and we will chalk it up to an off night, but disappointing nonetheless.
I actually prefer the back room when on a date with my lady. A bit more room depending on the table and more “romance”. Ymmv!
Unfortunate to shell out a ton of $$ for a poor meal but likely an anomaly.
Baller badge: Achieved.
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Been to Felix 3 times… first was amazing, second was ok, and third was great but horrible service. Going this weekend for the 4th time Saturday night hoping it will be gold
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Update 3:
We had a birthday with friends and headed off to Felix to celebrate. 
However when we got seated and as we glanced towards the kitchen throughout the night, we noticed Chef Evan Funke was not there that night. I started to get a worried, sinking feeling, but held out hope that the kitchen staff was trained well enough to uphold Chef Funke’s standards.
Sfincione (Focaccia Siciliana, Sea Salt & Rosemary):
This arrived piping hot as usual and was thankfully as light, fluffy and delicious as before.
Fiori Di Zucca (Squash Blossoms, Fior Di Latte & Green Garlic):
Light, crispy and oozing with Fior di Latte Cheese. Wonderful.
Dama Bianca (Fennel, Celery, Apple & Parmigiano Reggiano 48 mo.):
This was a pretty refreshing Fennel Salad, with crispness abounding in every bite. It was a touch too piquant in parts, but generally enjoyable.
Rigatoni All’Amatriciana:
One of the best Pasta dishes we enjoyed early on, I was raving about this to our friends, and we couldn’t wait to try it.
And it turned out to be a salt bomb! 
It was extremely salty, totally different from the amazing Rigatoni All’Amatriciana we experienced with Chef Funke multiple times early on.
Pappardelle (Ragu Bolognese “Vecchia Scuola”, Parmigiano Reggiano 48 mo.):
Well surely the amazing Papardelle with the delicious Ragu Bolognese “Vecchia Scuola” would be better right?
Wrong. 
This was a salt bomb as well! It also lacked the depth and soul of long-stewed flavors that we enjoyed from Chef Funke’s Bolognese. I was devastated at this point. 
Orecchiette (Sausage Sugo, Broccoli Di Cicco, Peperoncino, Pecorino):
Perhaps my all-time favorite pasta at Felix was their Orecchiette with the meaty, extremely addicting, savory Sausage Sugo. Hopefully this would turn things around?
Salt bomb strikes again! (x3)
Seriously?! It was downright awful.
So FTC’ers, if you are wondering what happens when “Sergio” is not in the kitchen this is what happens: Mediocre, extremely over-salted Pastas, a pale imitation to Chef Funke’s magic.
(@Sgee @PorkyBelly @Ns1 @A5KOBE it’s like the Japanese Ramen Chef bait-and-switch sensation, except in an Italian restaurant…)
Rucola (Wild Arugula, Red Onion, Walnuts & Parmigiano Reggiano):
And in another signal of the kitchen misfiring this evening, our 2nd Salad showed up near the end of our meal (instead of at the beginning). This was tasty, with the freshness of the local farmers market Arugula helping to save this dish.
Rosemary Potatoes:
Their grilled and seared Rosemary Potatoes were tasty. They had a nice crisp edge on them and a soft inside.
Bistecca Alla Fiorentina (40 oz, 60 Days Dry Aged Prime Porterhouse):
First, I am going to take this Bistecca experience with a grain of salt: The birthday girl (bless her heart) loves Beef, but doesn’t do well with extremely bloody (i.e., no rare or medium-rare for her). So we ordered this Bistecca served medium, knowing it would probably not be as good, but it was her birthday. 
Even looking past that there were maybe 25% of the pieces still medium-rare (which I tried), with most being medium, but also sadly, some being medium-well!
While there was talk of it being Dry-Aged and USDA Prime, it was only slightly funky, and just too chewy and full of gristle to enjoy!
Dropping ~$260 for this Bistecca was not worth it. At all.
And seriously, it was such a far cry from the excellence, tenderness, flavor and amazing Steaks we had at CUT by Wolfgang Puck, there was no comparison. (@TheCookie and others, save your money.)
Tiramisu:
This was OK. The Coffee and Cocoa flavors came through, but the overall balance of sweetness and bitterness felt off.
Torta Della Nonna (Persimmons & Whipped Cream):
This tasted like a nice Homemade Pound Cake in a way.
Budino di Nocino (Whipped Cream, Walnut Croccante):
Thankfully their Budino di Nocino was still as amazing as before! We recently had Mozza’s legendary Butterscotch Budino, and having this Budino di Nocino again? Totally agree with @PorkyBelly: Better than Mozza’s version! 
(Mozza’s is still delicious, but this version at Felix is so stunningly silky, airy, creamy, with a hint of lusciousness without overpowering your palate, with the fragrant Candied Walnuts and that amazing Housemade Whipped Cream. SO GOOD! 
The Appetizers and Budino did not make up for the disaster that was 3 of their best Pastas being totally ruined by aggressive salting and just bad execution (flavors). Nor the terrible Bistecca at about $260.
We were so devastated and disillusioned (we really loved Felix before this), I couldn’t bring myself to write about it or go back for months. But we wanted to see if it was (hopefully) just a fluke, and hoping Chef Funke being back in the house would right the ship.
6th visit:
Walking in and peering into the kitchen, Chef Evan Funke was nowhere to be found. 
Seriously?!
We asked our server who said that Chef Funke “rarely” misses any days in the kitchen, but for today he was traveling. Sigh.
So these 2 recent visits just happened to be bad luck and Sergio was not in the kitchen both times when he’s normally always there. We were already here so we ordered.
Carciofi Alla Giudia (Anchovy, Lemon & Mint):
A beautiful plate of Fried Baby Artichokes arrives. They are shatteringly crisp, and the slight brininess from the Anchovies and brightness of the Lemon helped to offset the inherent oily qualities of Fried Artichokes. It was delicious! (Thanks @Bookwich for the recommendation.)
Bisi Pizza (English Peas, Ramps, Guanciale & Fonduta di Parmigiano):
Felix added a new Pizza to the menu since our last visit, and upon first glance of the description it sounded just like Pizzeria Mozza’s amazing (seasonal) Fresh English Peas & Guanciale Pizza that we’ve fallen in love with! We couldn’t wait to order this and see how Felix’s version might turn out.
Taking the first bite, it is rich and feels a bit heavy. Then after a couple more bites I had to stop. Looking more carefully…
It’s sitting a pool of Fat! 
There’s nothing wrong with Fat when used properly, but it was overwhelming. I got so full that I couldn’t finish my piece, it just started to overwhelm. To make matters worse, the Fonduta di Parmigiano just added even more richness and heavy creaminess to the Pizza. It completely overpowered the English Peas (couldn’t even taste it) through the mass quantities of Guanciale and just pool of grease. (@lapizzamaven and other Pizza lovers, avoid. We’d stick with their delicious Diavola next time.)
Onto the Pastas. @PorkyBelly sadly for these last 2 visits, they didn’t have the amazing Seafood Pastas you were lucky enough to try! When we asked the server, he said that they haven’t featured the ones you had for “a long time” and he didn’t think they would add it back on, except as a special once in a while.
Strangolapreti (Spinach, Burro Fuso, Sage & Parmigiano Reggiano 48 mo.):
Thanks to @Bookwich for the recommendation! This was a new Pasta added to the Northern Pastas section of the menu. These were delicious! Plump Dumplings (different from Gnocchi; these aren’t made with Potato), with a delicate Spinach and Parmigiano flavor coming through with the Melted Butter adding a bit of luxuriousness.
Orecchiette (Sausage Sugo, Broccoli Di Cicco, Peperoncino & Canestrato):
We had to see if the kitchen improved itself on one of my favorite Pastas at Felix after the last meal. They arrived on the firmer side of al dente, a substantial chew and bite to them, but still tender enough to be enjoyable. The Sausage Sugo was much better this time, without any of the salt issues that plagued our last visit. The use of Canestrato over Pecorino (from the early visits) gave this dish a bit more of a funk to it, slightly changing it, but still delicious!
We looked for the Quail that @CiaoBob heartily recommended, but sadly it was nowhere to be found. The Secondi section only had 1 new item, so we ordered that:
Granchio (Soft Shell Crab, Harry’s Berries Cherry Tomatoes, Basil):
This sounded amazing: I love great Soft Shell Crab dishes and Harry’s Berries’ Organic Cherry Tomatoes are outstanding when in season!
There is no other way to put this: The Soft Shell Crab was starting to go bad. It was super oceanic (like bad seawater), completely lacking in any of the brightness and freshness you get from great Soft Shell Crab dishes.
The Harry’s Berries Organic Cherry Tomatoes were very sweet and the highlight of the dish.
Perhaps through sheer bad luck, our last 2 visits to Felix were on the days that Chef Funke was not in the kitchen. The first of these visits was so bad that we didn’t even want to go back again. Not for a long time. The Pastas were so oversalted and the base Sauces were nothing like the versions we had on our previous visits. The $260 Bistecca was disappointing as well.
The most recent visit shows much more promise and perhaps better staff / training in the months since then: The Fried Baby Artichokes were wonderful. The Spinach & Burro Fuso Dumplings were delicious, and the Orecchiette with Sausage Sugo was very good, almost as great as the versions we had when Chef Funke was in the kitchen.
However, the oil-saturated Bisi Pizza and the starting-to-go-bad Soft Shell Crab were disappointments. Here’s hoping our next visit will be when Sergio is back in the kitchen, because he’s there, Felix is delicious.
Felix
1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
Tel: (424) 387-8622
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that’s a shame about the seafood pasta, they were by far my favorite items on the menu. i guess i’ll have to go to republique to get my fix.
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Thanks @PorkyBelly. I’ll keep trying to look for it; I really just hope to see Chef Funke back in the kitchen when we’re there, making sure the food is great.
So, so sad to hear. This, combined with recent FTC downhill Tasty Noodle report, and APL disppointment, really make me wanna go back to places which are consistently satisfying. Bulgarini, here I come…
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Hi @J_L,
For Tasty Noodle, sorry if it sounded like I was really down on it (didn’t mean for it to sound that way). I think it’s a good addition to the Westside, and definitely liked the Braised Pork & Tofu Skin, Vegetables w/ Garlic and their Sheng Jian Bao were solid. It just didn’t seem to be top of SGV level.
Yah, reading about APL and how Felix turned out for us the last 2 visits… very sad. 
Bulgarini never disappoints!
So, we famously know that JGold didn’t list Felix basically due to the extra al dente texture at Felix. I though I’d mention it here because I just kind of had a brain fart remembering Italy in November that the pastas on this trip (unlike that on the trip 2 years ago) were consiiiiiderably more al dente than what i’m used to. Way more al dente than my comfort level. Interestingly this was mostly the case in modern big cities Milan, Florence, Rome. But when we hit mostly old towns and villages 2 years ago pasta was normal al dente.
So is this some contemporary trend over there?
I was in Florence and Tuscany this past summer and I didn’t experience that.
I’m sure it has to do with the places you chose. Good thing I take a lot of pics . This penne was double al dente at what maybe my new favorite place in Florence. (not really, nobody will ever unseed Cibreo)
Trattoria Sostanza where we ate next to 2 old russian gangsters
Had a great meal at Sostanza. Didn’t think the pasta was super al dente. The butter chicken was great. Got tired of all the red meat on our trip
That penne was. I had 2 weeks to compare with and I’m kind of a pastologist. I’d say it was undercooked if there weren’t 4,5 other meals like that
FIFY
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