Bestia is a high energy restaurant with a stellar staff and magnificent food. It’s a young people’s place, but for most of the night I thought I was the oldest person in the building by a long shot and I loved the place.
Neither Jennifer nor I are fans of the noise level that has gripped most restaurants for at least the last decade, and we had been told that Bestia was noisy. It was, but no more so than other places and we did not find the noise overly bothersome. We were able to converse throughout the meal without shouting.
So, with that out of the way, settled in for a wonderful experience.
When I say the staff was stellar, that could be an understatement. Jennifer was having all manner of health issues that restricted what she was permitted to eat. So our waitress and the floor manager took a copy of the menu into the kitchen and came back with it marked to indicate dishes she shouldn’t order. That kind of stellar.
The menu is replete with appetizers which can be shared. There are several pasta dishes, a few pizzas and a short list of mains.
I considered a few of the appetizers and settled on the veal tartare. It was a different presentation and delicious. Then I had the braised lamb neck, which was spectacular and more food than I needed for one meal. Half went home for the next night.
Jennifer had lobster crostino to start, nice chunks of Maine on slice of toasted bread with squid ink aioli with pickled red chilies. Then she had ricotta dumplings with pork sausage, black truffles and grana Padano.
Bestia is a bit remote for most of L.A. and not at all in the downtown area where I thought it was. I got into an argument with my GPS lady but she was right. The restaurant is located on what looks like a broad alley even though it’s called 7th Place. Remote or not, it’s worth the trip.
If you are really noise-averse, ask to be seated in one of the patio areas.
