July 29, 2016: Bestia

Bestia has been on the top of my shortlist of restaurants that I've wanted to try since Ryan Yamashiro and I went to a Test Kitchen dinner at Bestia with chefs Sang Yoon and Ori Menashe before they had opened back in 2012. The restaurant is located in the Arts District of Downtown LA in a brick and metal industrial building. The place has been packed ever since they opened and every time I tried to make reservations for a smaller group they were always completely booked. Since Christal was taking her last test of med school we decided to have a date night after and Opentable happened to have a reservation available right when Bestia opened so I snatched it up.

LB patiently waiting to dive in while I take a picture

All the dishes at Bestia are meant to be shared so they pretty much all came out as they were ready. The first dish we were served was a veal tartare crostino with shallots, parsley, lemon and tonnato sauce. It was really well balanced overall and each individual element complimented everything else. The grilled bread was nice a crispy with a crunchy, chewy crust and a hint of sourness. The veal was minced into perfect tiny cubes, which suggested that it was all cut by hand, and the texture was tender but with enough chew that it didn't just melt away. The tonnato sauce, which is basically like a tuna mayo (described in my Alimento "review"), was rich and smooth with a good balance of salt and lemon to brighten the dish. Luke even like his broccoli and cauliflower dipped into it! I thought it was a very clever play on the classic Piedmontese dish vitello tonnato and an excellent start to our meal.

Veal Tartare Crostino w Shallots, Parsley, Lemon & Tonnato Sauce

The smoked branzino with lentils, fennel soffritto, cherry tomatoes, chili oil and preserved lemon butter toast came next. It was basically a tomatoey lentil stew with generous chunks of the smoked branzino. The branzino had a strong smokey flavor that provided a wonderful savoriness, which was balanced by the sweet cherry tomatoes. The fennel soffritto was too subtle for me to taste, but the chili oil added a nice kick to the back of the throat. The preserved lemon butter on the toast was a perfect compliment to the stew adding a salty, citrusy flavor that toned down the fish. There was also a little lemon zest sprinkled on the toast as well that added a fresh lemony kick too.

Smoked Branzino w Lentils, Fennel Soffritto, Cherry Tomatoes, Chili Oil & Preserved Lemon Butter Toast

Our pasta dishes all came out together and the first one that I took a picture of was the cavatelli alla norcina with ricotta dumplings, housemade pork sausage, black truffles and Grana Padano. The only criticism I had with this dish is that ours was either missing the ricotta dumplings or they had dissolved into nothing. Other than that the entire dish was perfection. The cavatelli was al dente and chewy, but still tender enough that it was easy to eat. The sausage was well seasoned, but you could still taste the pork and it complimented the pasta well. There was plenty of black truffle scattered throughout the pasta, which made the whole thing earthy and really luxurious. Luke especially loved his broccoli dipped in the sauce and truffles. The sauce itself was creamy, but not heavy tasting and the sausage gave it a pleasant meat flavor. It was really interesting because the sauce clung to the pasta really well, which made it easy to get everything in each bite. I think they used quite a bit of the pasta water in the sauce to emulsify and provide more body, which took it over the top in my opinion.

Cavatelli Alla Norcina w Ricotta Dumplings, Housemade Pork Sausage, Black Truffles & Grana Padano

The second pasta we had was the roasted marrow bone w spinach gnocchetti, crispy breadcrumbs and aged balsamic. We were instructed to scoop out the marrow and mix it in with the gnocchetti and then eat it. The gnocchetti had a subtle spinach flavor and a vibrant green color. The breadcrumbs and balsamic were on top of the bone marrow and broiled till they formed a crisp crust that provided a pleasant textural contrast for the dish as well as a sweetness that complimented the marrow. The marrow was cooked perfectly and had the signature soft texture and when mixed with the gnocchetti it provided a rich counterpoint to the light spinach gnocchetti.

Roasted Marrow Bone w Spinach Gnocchetti, Crispy Breadcrumbs & Aged Balsamic

Our last pasta dish was the agnolotti all'agnello saffron pasta parcels with braised lamb, burro fuso, Grana Padano, pine nuts and currants. The pasta for the agnolotti was very thin and had a pleasant saffron flavor and the braised lamb stuffing was meaty and delicious. The burro fuso, or melted butter sauce, with the pine nuts and currants was very sweet and it complimented both the saffron in the pasta and the savory lamb filling. The only problem with this dish was that it didn't include enough agnolotti in my opinion.

Agnolotti all'Agnello Saffron Pasta Parcels w Braised Lamb, Burro Fuso, Grana Padano, Pine Nuts & Currants

For dessert I ordered the butterscotch coconut tart with fresh coconut sorbetto. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but since it was coconut I had to get it and I definitely wasn't disappointed. The crust was buttery and rich and not too dense like some crusts can be. The filling was soft and chewy in the center and the top was surprisingly crispy. Texturally it was unlike anything I've had before. The butterscotch had a smooth caramelly flavor and the coconut flavor was pronounced enough to satisfy even my dad. The sorbetto was really refreshing and amplified the coconut flavor of the whole dessert. It was probably one of the top three or five coconut desserts that I've had in my life.

Butterscotch Coconut Tart w Fresh Coconut Sorbetto

Christal ordered the crème fraîche panna cotta with mara des bois strawberries and whole wheat butter cookies. The panna cotta had the perfect texture and was just barely set in the jar and the flavor of the crème fraîche was subtle. The subtlety of the panna cotta helped to highlight the sweetness and flavor of the strawberries. The butter cookies, in my opinion, were the most average component we had all night. They seemed a little bit tough and kind of plain when all was said and done. Luckily the panna cotta definitely outshined the shortcomings of the cookies. Christal was such a big fan that she thought it was the best panna cotta she has had.

Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta w Mara des Bois Strawberries & Whole Wheat Butter Cookies

The entire meal at Bestia definitely lived up to my expectations, which is saying something, because they were pretty high to begin with. All of the pastas were cooked perfectly so that the texture really came through and the sauces were in harmony with the pastas and they all seemed to meld together. Even though the desserts that we ordered seemed simple on the menu they both blew us away with how flavorful they were and I think their simplicity helped to highlight those flavors. On the drive home Christal and I agreed that it was probably in the top three for our favorite Los Angeles restaurants.

Luke's First Taste of Truffle

Food 5/5

Service 4/5

Christal's Rating 5/5

http://bestiala.com/