The 20 best Italian restaurants in L.A.

Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’s Arts District spot sets the standard for what dining out can mean in Los Angeles: perfectly crafted cocktails and a condensed selection of great, lesser-known wines meet not-too-fussy plates that wow in a setting that’s cool and casual but not too relaxed. The house-cured salumi is a reason alone to visit, but the open kitchen nails preparations from light (house salad and crudo are a balance in flavors) to soul-satisfying (everything that comes out of the wood-burning oven and the outstanding pastas). Highlights include braised beef cheek-filled agnolotti and spaghetti rustichella, pomodoro sauced with buttery uni or crab.

Evan Funke lives his restaurant life with a few key beliefs, and the most irreverent might just be “Fuck your pasta machine.” The Italy-trained chef holds such a reverence for tradition that at Felix, his Venice bungalow trattoria, all pasta is made by hand behind a large window so you can marvel at the method as you dine. Of course the pasta isn’t the only draw here, and how could it be? The fluffy sfincione (Sicilian focaccia) has its own cult following, while antipasti such as the stuffed-and-fried squash blossoms can be spotted on practically every table. Note: Years in and you’re still going to need a reservation here.

Within her larger Hancock Park Mozzaplex, local celebrity Nancy chef Silverton's unapologetically Californian pizzas are in a class of their own. Doughy, chewy and lightly charred, Silverton’s pizzas feature cheffy, farmers’ market toppings like squash blossoms and fennel sausage. Show-stopping meatballs and seasonal desserts, including the rotating flavors of house-made gelato, guarantee that Silverton's first sitdown restaurant—Osteria is her second—is still an excellent sitdown pizza experience and all-around gold standard pie in the city's diverse and growing pizza scene. 

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s first namesake restaurant harkens back to the food both chefs grew up with: Italian-American comfort food that conjures up images of red-checkered tablecloths and bubbling tomato sauce. No, the decor isn’t quite there—the whole restaurant is sleek and awash in white oak that evokes more of a Scandinavian feel—but there’s still plenty of tomato sauce. It’s served best over large meatballs, exceptionally seasoned and flanked by ricotta and some fantastic slices of garlic bread, plus. Of course you’ll need an order of the spicy vodka fusilli pasta, and you’re definitely going to need a reservation, regardless of which location you’re stopping by.

Angelini Osteria is going nearly two decades strong as a top Italian institution. What’s not to love at this no-frills space that packs in diners devoted to the cooking of Emilia-Romagna–born chef Gino Angelini? Praises abound for branzino that’s salt-crusted and roasted whole, and weekly specials like Saturday-only porchetta stuffed with garlic and herbs and finished in the wood-burning oven. The pastas have cult followings here—try the signature lasagna verde “Omaggio Nonna Elvira,” which pays tribute to the Old World with beef and veal ragu and handmade pasta layers all topped with wilted spinach.

Since opening its doors in 2007, Nancy Silverton’s Melrose-and-Highland Italian bistro has grown into a multiplex that spans a pizzeria and a steakhouse (both on this list), as well as a to-go corner and retail shop. The fine-dining star, Osteria, continues to pack tables and churn out some of the city’s best Italian food (and an encyclopedic wine list), not to mention the mozzarella bar showcasing the handcrafted varieties of specialty cheese. Load up on antipasti to share, then pace yourself through courses of delicate pastas—Osteria's specialty. Don’t even think about skipping dessert, which always includes at least a few rotating flavors of the chef’s famous “Nancy’s Fancy” gelato and sorbet.

If you’ve made it this far on the list, you know that L.A. is chock full of great Italian restaurants. Make room in your heart for a few more, because Jackson Kalb’s hand-rolled pastas and weekday-only chicken parm are excellent additions to anyone’s Italian dining arsenal. With partner Melissa Kalb running front of house, both of their restaurants, Jame Enoteca and Venice’s Ospi, offer warm hospitality and memorable southern Italian cuisine, including a pomodoro sauce that takes a painstaking 36 hours to prepare. You’ll find a breezy local crowd at Jame while more tourists and “will drive for food” types populate Ospi, but both of the Kalbs’ restaurants offer pasta, crunchy arancini and big plates of meat, plus thin crust pizza and fett’unta (giant Tuscan toasts) at their boardwalk-adjacent Venice trattoria.

Having weathered its first year of existence in the pandemic, Chad Colby’s first restaurant is brand-new—hence the addition of “Nuovo.” The Koreatown trattoria has completely retooled its menu since its 2019 opening, but the chi SPACCA alum’s Italian cuisine is as focused as ever. Every dish is excellent, but you’d be hard-pressed not to order their thick focaccia, uni spaghetti and housemade ice cream. Ragu lovers will rue the day they try the beef check and veal tongue version offered at Antico Nuovo—since the dish will probably be ruined for them anywhere else.

Located in the heart of Hollywood, Mother Wolf is pasta maestro Evan Funke’s ode to hyper-regional Roman cuisine. The Hollywood restaurant’s all-around glamorous dining room, complete with red banquette seats, mirrored columns and chandeliers, might conjure up visions of grand old New York City dining rooms, but the sprawling menu of pane, pasta, pizza and more feel more of-the-moment than anything else. Regulars at Funke’s other restaurant, Felix, might recognize a few dishes, but the elegant dining room, elevated approach to service and standouts like the bruschetta di porchetta and rigatoni all’amatriciana make Mother Wolf a must-visit for large groups, longtime fans of the chef and anyone else who loves a damn good cacio e pepe.

Now a fully realized West Adams restaurant, this longtime pasta pop-up has made it to the brick-and-mortar big leagues, and the city’s carb lovers are richer for it. Here, you’ll find former Bestia chef Avner Lavi’s memorable beet spaghetti, plus seasonal antipasti, secondi and dolci with Middle Eastern flourishes that work unexpectedly well: a sprouted cauliflower with plump golden raisins, beef osso bucco with Persian lemon, saffron panna cotta with pink peppercorns and blood orange. Inside, you’ll find a marble-topped chef’s counter and larger-than-life themed piece of pasta art, while an expanded, string-lit outdoor patio with olive trees hosts romantic dinners well past golden hour.

Located next to Osteria and Pizzeria Mozza, Nancy Silverton’s Italian salumeria and steakhouse is one of a kind in a city filled with both steakhouses and alluring Italian restaurants. It’s cozy and uncomplicated, serving classic salads and house-cured meats as well as porcini-rubbed short ribs, a gargantuan bistecca Fiorentina, spiced lamb ribs, 50-day–dry-aged steaks and other hearty, meaty fare fit for a king and all artfully helmed by chef Ryan DeNicola. Stop by for a bite or a true splurge-worthy meal. 

At the Factory Kitchen the pasta might be exceptional, but so is everything else. Matteo Ferdinandi and chef Angelo Auriana built one of L.A.’s most consistent and beloved Italian restaurants that’s home to iconic, traditional dishes left and right (the handkerchief pasta in Ligurian almond pesto, for instance, deserves its own Instagram account). The focaccia di Recco is some of the finest in the city, ditto the porchetta, and the daily specials are always—always—worth a gander.

Nestled into a little side street in Old Town Pasadena is one of L.A.’s neighborhood-restaurant gems—and a destination for a date night even if you live far from Pasadena, if you ask us. Union is a charming, romantic and California-influenced ode to Northern Italian cuisine, the kind of place where handmade pastas only slightly steal the spotlight from humanely raised meats and fish served as the likes of salmon tartare and rabbit porchetta. The ingredients are local, the wine is flowing and the vibe is always intimate, relaxed and centered on the food—and how could it not be, with signatures such as the lobster-laden squid ink lumache in truffle butter?

“We’ve come a long way, baby,” is probably what a plate of Uovo’s handmade pasta might say to you if, of course, it could talk. From the minds of Sugarfish comes Uovo, a quick-and-casual Italian restaurant (with Santa Monica, Mid-Wilshire and Marina del Rey outposts) that only serves fresh pasta that’s been overnighted from Uovo’s own kitchen in Bologna, Italy. Sure, they could have just made the pasta here, but why do that when they can bring us all fresh noodles made in the world’s pasta epicenter? Look for classic pasta dishes from Rome and Bologna, among other locales, all under $20. With vegetable sides at $7 and $10–$13 red wines by the glass, this is one of the most affordable ways to dine Italiano—and it’s definitely cheaper than a flight to Bologna.

Dan Tana’s is hardly about the cooking. It’s not that the simple, old-fashioned Italian-American fare is bad: it’s more that the Old Hollywood atmosphere is wonderfully thick. Long-time servers can tell you what L.A. was like back when this red-sauce joint was cutting-edge, a time when they were much younger but Dan Tana’s looked the same. When you do manage to peel your eyes from the checkered tablecloths and the hanging bottles of chianti and take a look at the menu, you’ll find some of our favorite indulgences in town: Baskets brimming with slabs of cheesy garlic bread; chicken parm swimming in a plate of marinara; piles of chopped salad; breaded-and-smothered veal piccata; and massive steaks, with entrées served with a side of pasta (always go aglio olio) and best accompanied by a bracing martini or three.

Reservations available via phone at 310-275-9444.

Zach Pollack’s refined Italian restaurant in Silver Lake serves up versions of classic dishes with unique twists thanks to the former Sotto chef’s creative blend of techniques and influences. Delicate pastas and hearty lunch fare (such as that massive, now-iconic chicken Milanese sandwich) leave you expecting one thing and tasting something entirely different, in the best way imaginable. If there is one dish to especially come here for it’s the tortellini in brodo, executed perfectly under Pollack’s detail-oriented eye.

Now with two locations on Montana Avenue and Venice’s Main Street, Forma is a neighborhood Italian dinner spot with two major reasons on the menu to visit: their beautifully plated cheese and charcuterie boards, and their pasta dishes tossed in giant wheels of Parmesan, pecorino romano and other types of hard Italian cheese. In the sea of Montana Avenue’s so-so chain restaurants and Santa Monica’s countless Italian eateries, Forma stands out as a go-to dinnertime spot for a date, get-together with friends or somewhat upscale family reunion.

The most fancy-pants of Celestino Drago’s roster of Italian restaurants, this Downtown concept is a go-to spot for L.A. power lunches. Those on an expense account should splurge on the tasting menu with optional wine pairing, while those who aren’t can find exquisite and more affordable à la carte options. (Truffle-crusted chicken with truffle cream sauce, anyone?) The kitchen rolls out freshly made pastas of different shapes and sizes, from pillowy ravioli filled with mushroom and ricotta to toothsome pappardelle adorned with morels and tender pieces of pheasant. The molto modern dining room isn’t especially scenic, but the dead-on view of the architecturally stunning L.A. Public Library more than makes up for it—and besides, you’re really just looking at the food, anyway.

Chef Zach Pollack’s modern red-sauce joint is a fun and saucy delight. Cosa Buona celebrates Italian-American cuisine with expertly crafted antipasti, salads and pizza, as well as what could very well be the best mozzarella sticks in town (smoked, of course, and perfectly crunchy). While Alimento is intimate and slightly more upscale, Cosa Buona is a pizza party: all done casually and even cheekily but with local ingredients. That’s not to say it’s just dressed-up classics here—Pollack and the Cosa team have a lot of fun with more modern combos such as BBQ chicken with house BBQ sauce and a jalapeño-topped take on Hawaiian pizza.

This casual, family-friendly Italian restaurant in Larchmont Village is as much of a place for dinner and date nights as it is for a lazy Sunday brunch or some burrata with a glass of wine with friends. Sleek but casual and always humming with diners, it’s a neighborhood spot that’s become beloved by the whole city since its 2005 launch—and with good reason. The kitchen uses seasonal, local ingredients to create classic Italian dishes: pizza, pasta, dry-aged rib eye, seafood and more. On weekends diners flock here for polenta-ricotta skillet cakes and the Maria Verde, Osteria La Buca’s modern take on the classic Bloody Mary, but you can never go wrong—day or night—with La Buca’s decadent, egg-topped bucatini carbonara.