We finally made it to Bestia! Another place that we’ve been wanting to try for the longest time. It was really hard getting a reservation at this popular LA restaurant. We went on a Monday night before heading over to Sara Bareilles’s (love her!!) concert at the Greek Theatre. We loved all 4 dishes we ordered here and will definitely be coming back!
The restaurant is located in the warehouse/industrial area of Downtown LA.
We really liked the industrial decor with high ceiling, hardwood floor, exposed brick walls and pipes, and very unique light fixtures. We also loved the energetic and casual vibe.
The restaurant features an open kitchen and we saw the kitchen staff and servers gather together for a chant before starting the night’s work.
Our first appetizer: The Salumi – chef’s selection of house-cured meats with pickles, mostarda (sweet and spicy fruit condiment), and grilled bread. The meats are quite delicious, especially the Pancetta (the one on the bottom right). We also really liked the pickled baby carrots. That spread on the bread was a little too fatty though ^^”. 
Next up is the peach and burrata salad with cherry tomatoes, pickled banana peppers, pea tendrils, and mint. Very light and refreshing, and the peaches were super delicious. Who knew a salad could be this good?!
The next appetizer is Grilled Octopus & Calamari, with fennel, mixed mushrooms, arugula, aged balsamic and chili lemon vinaigrette. Loved it (loved the calamari more than the octopus)!
Finally, their signature dish, Cavatelli alla Norcina, and the only entree we ordered for the night because we were going to be stuffed. This dish features ricotta dumplings + housemade pork sausage + black truffles + grana padano. We saw some pictures of this dish beforehand but did not know what to expect. This really is some amazing pasta and we’ve never had anything quite like it before. It was soooooooooo good but also quite rich, so it was perfect that we shared this dish that was fairly small in portion for an entree. A must-have if you have never tried it before.
Overall, loved this meal and we already want to go back! There are quite a few dishes that we wanted to try: Chicken Liver Crostino, Grilled Beef Meatballs, Chicken Gizzards, Marrow Bone, another famous dish “Tagliatelle alla Zafferano,” Margherita pizza, and Panna Cotta. I guess that means we’ll need to make more than one trip back soon!!