Bestia - Arts District

Great review. Keep up the great posts!

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hi @jc_eats,
love your tasting notes. that mussel dish has great qpr. and you’re spot on, it’s very similar to la ciccia’s octopus stew.
i would say the cavatelli alla norcina is bestia’s other signature dish besides the bone marrow.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/rkfir2/bestia_and_bavel_closed_due_to_covid_outbreak

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that’s gotta hurt economically but it’s nice seeing restaurant owners being responsible.

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Had a great fucking meal at bestia! Bestia has always been one of my favorite restaurants in the city and their food consistency over so many years speaks volumes about the chef and the team. Coursing was precise and timely. Service was actually some of the best I’ve ever had at bestia which at times has been lacking in the past. Servers were consistently present, somm was helpful, and runners changed plates often and refilled waters and folded napkins.

Not going to go over all the dishes since they have been covered extensively. But will provide some notes.

Peruvian scallop was new but highly refreshing and woke the palate. Mussels were not as good as before but still very tasty I feel like they changed their recipe.
They used to use much thicker bread which is unfortunate that the bread is so thin. No chicken liver mousse made me sad. I have never understood the bone marrow dish but we were with out of towners. Olives on pizza were some of the best I’ve ever had, I do not generally like olives. Unfortunately we could not get desserts because one of our party felt unwell from all the gluttony/drink.

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6 posts were merged into an existing topic: Are you still dining indoors during the latest Covid surge?

Is that one dish white beans with Burgundy truffles?

cavatelli

Ah. Menu says black truffles but that’s not what’s in the photo.

Just not a very good restaurant in my opinion. Pasta is consistently overcooked. Execution more generally leaves much to be desired. Below in the middle is a good pictorial example - side by side pizzas with the same toppings and very different widths / thicknesses.

More pictures:






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what are must have’s to get here? Heard the Bone Marrow and pasta w truffles? Anything else??

I don’t like the bone marrow as much as some I feel like it’s more for show but it’s still tasty.

My personal faves are the cavetelli norcina, spicy lamb pizza, duck liver mousse, beef tartar, lamb neck, spicy mussels with nduja.

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thank you! how are the desserts? I heard the budino is good but the cider donuts look great to me as well…

The desserts are top notch budino tart is great! Ori’s wife Genevieve is in charge of all the desserts. Honestly looking at the dessert menu the cider donuts would probably be lowest on my list but I’m sure they are still delicious and very fall!

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Here’s a photo menu of the various dishes: Bestia Los Angeles Restaurant Picture Menu | Plaza. I agree with @hungryhungryhippos list-- for me the spicy lamb pizza is a must, but you really can’t go wrong…

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I haven’t been here in a long time but I still remember how good the mussels were. Leaving some bread to sop up the leftover sauce/soup is a move I learned from way back when, probably in this thread. :drooling_face:

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One thing not to order is the pasta. Never al dente. Feed it to the dogs.

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thanks! does anyone know how it compares to Osteria Mozza in terms of food and style?

You both have very strong opinions. Hasn’t been my experience and I would not feed pasta to my dog.

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@ebethsdad Your dog is very cute. I’ll share anything tasty with him/her l, as long as the food is safe for him/her! Never tried this restaurant but the tomato dish looks good.

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