One of the best Italian places I have been. This is my second time and tonight is my dear friend's birthday! Happy Birthday!!! I am very happy that I found the perfect excuse to come back to this place. We reserved this place a month ago because it is hard to get a table with 5-6 people. Bestia is located in the art district of LA. You might know that it is not a very nice neighborhood, but I have found a couple good restaurants around this area and I love them! One thing I like about this place is that it was an abandoned building, and they renovate the inside of the it to a very nice restaurant but kept the outlook of the building. I just have a thing for the decadent beauty.
We are a group of 5 girls, and we do not eat much, so we decided to share everything! (The way I like it!) We ordered 3 appetizers, 1 pizza, 2 pastas and 1 dessert. This is what we ordered:
Appetizer
Whitefish Crostino - I really like the homemade bread, and it tastes like a really good version of a tuna sandwich. (That's everybody's conclusion lol)
Grilled Octopus & Calamari - Fresh seafood, and I couldn't taste too much of the salad dressing.
Roasted Market Vegetables - I don't know whether it's on purpose or what, they looked a little burnt to me.
* For some reason, the appetizers that day were a little heavy on the salt, but overall good. As I mentioned before, I have been here before, and last time, I ordered the Roasted Bone Marrow and Butter Poached Lobster, and in my opinion, those are better choices than the appetizers we ordered this time. And I have heard really good things about the Foie Gras Terrine and Chicken Liver Crostino.
Pizza
Burrata. San Marzano tomatoes. Castelvetrano Olives. Oregano. Fermented Chillies.
- The pizza was piping hot when it got on the table and so delicious! We actually had to wait for a couple minutes before we can cut the pizza. The crust was crispy but just thick enough. The Burrata cheese was so smooth, and the fermented chilles gave the pizza a little kick at the end of the bite. Absolutely recommended.
Pasta
Quadretti alla Carota. Mushroom Ragu. Fried Jerusalem Artichokes. Carrot Puree. Grana Padano. Carrot tops.
- My absolute favorite in this place. I had it last time and again this time, and if I go there again, I will order it next time! This is how good this pasta is! One of the best Ragu I have ever tasted. It is a vegetarian pasta, and everything just goes so well together, yet you can taste individual ingredients. Very well seasoned.
Spaghetti Rustichella. Sea Urchin. Quid Ink Bottarga. Garlic. Calabrian Chilles. Breadcrumbs.
- The sea urchin was definitely fresh. Very tasty. The pasta was cooked al dente for both pasta dish. A very tiny teeny bit fishy, but for me, I actually like a little taste of the sea.
* Last time I was here, I had the Grilled Branzino, and it was amazing. The fish was cooked and seasoned perfectly. It might seem like a simple dish, but it was very well done.
Dessert
Ricotta Fritters. Maple Butter. Huckleberry Jam Ice-cream.
- One of us are not thrilled about this dessert when we order it, but turned out everybody loves it. It only has a hint of sweetness from the maple butter, which by the way, was awesome. Although it is fried, it does not feel greasy at all. This pairs very well with the ice cream. Highly recommended.
*Last time, I ordered the Bittersweet Chocolate Budino Tart, and I normally don't like chocolate dessert, but that was really good. It is not too sweet at all, and the tart crust was also made with a rich dark chocolate, in which the chocolate flavor was highlighted rather than the sweetness.
