Felix

Felix started life in 2017 as a big-deal Westside restaurant—a serious Italian place on the quiet end of Abbot Kinney with a climate-controlled pasta-making room, a buzzy space, and impossible-to-snag reservations. These days, Felix is one of three LA restaurants from the same chef (Funke in Beverly Hills and Mother Wolf in Hollywood, which also has another location in Vegas), and has ended up somewhat overshadowed by its flashier siblings. But Felix, now more laid back, has quietly become the overachiever of the family, and easily the best restaurant of the group.

It’s now possible to get a reservation a couple of days ahead, especially on a weeknight, or just walk in and have a meal at the bar—a pre-pandemic hack we’re thrilled they’ve reinstated. Unlike Mother Wolf or Funke, which can feel packed with out-of-towners or groups having a Big Night Out, the tables at Felix are full of locals stopping in for an early dinner with the kids or a relatively relaxed date night. And the food is as excellent as ever, including the bread we’ve written numerous odes to and handmade pasta that lives up to the (air-conditioned) temple it was made in.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

It’s worth mentioning that while the restaurant has transformed into something closer to a neighborhood spot, don’t expect neighborhood prices. Most of the pastas are around $30 and entrees are in the $70 range. So unless you sold those Snap shares at the right time, becoming a regular might be out of the question. 

This has always been a confident restaurant, sure that you’ll have a good night whether you’re here once a year for a fancy dinner, or just popping in for an incredible bowl of pasta at the bar. Now that Felix has left the spotlight, that’s only become more true. 

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Sfincione

If bread is something you think about with regularity, you must—must—order this. And then send us a text with the deep feelings it evokes. It’s a salty, round focaccia that arrives soaked in the absolute correct amount of olive oil, and we’ve been known to get an extra order to “have with our eggs the next morning” (eat in the car on the way home as dessert).

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Polpette della Maestra Allessandra

These meatballs are perfect. They are crispy (yes, they are fried), there’s prosciutto and mortadella involved, and the salsa verde underneath cuts through all that salty richness.

Gamberi

These head-on shrimp also come with a delicious green sauce, and are also a great way to kick off your meal.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Rigatoni all’Amatriciana

We’ve never had a bad pasta at Felix, so our advice is to go with whatever sounds the best to you. If we’re going to push one in particular though, it’s the amatriciana. The guanciale is crispy and tastes like the essence of pork, and al dente rigatoni is the ideal showcase for the perfection coming from the dedicated pasta room.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe

Also extremely good (and also on almost every table). Just know that, unlike other renditions around town, they don’t skimp on fresh, sinus-clearing black pepper.

Tagliatelle

This is what we think about when we’re thinking about bolognese, and if we had the budget, we’d eat it once a week.

Tagliata di Manzo

Every time we’re at Felix, we debate ordering something from the Secondi section. And when we do, we almost always wish we would have invested our money elsewhere. This sliced rib-eye is well-cooked, a little oversalted, and perfectly fine—it’s just that the $70 price leaves us thinking we could have ordered two more pastas instead.