A multi-regional Italian restaurant in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. Executive Chef Ori Menashe (former Chef of Angelini Osteria) and Pastry Chef Genevieve Gergis are the husband and wife team that is Bestia: A multi-regional Italian restaurant in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles.
Chef Ori maintains an aggressive house-cured meats program with over 60 different forms of charcuterie for Bestia; Bestia means Beast in Italian. Chef Ori is also responsible for raising his own yeast culture which he uses to bake Bestia’s sourdough Pain au Levain, used as toast ubiquitously on the menu, as well as for the pizza dough, which rises and falls over a 24-hour cycle prior to being composed as a Napolitana pizza and baked in the Acunto (wood-burning) oven at ~900 degrees. Bestia makes many forms of fresh pastas, of which fusilli, agnolotti, and cassarece are only a few.
On the dolci side of the menu, Chef Genevieve is preparing a plethora of desserts from scratch using the finest raw ingredients such as acquarello rice (an Italian carnaroli rice aged 18 months) for her al dente rice pudding served with perfectly ripened in-season fruit or her earthly, nutty, chestnut flour zeppole served with house-made coffee gelato and cream. In addition, Chef Genevieve was partially responsible for the design of Bestia, where she re-furbished oil drum spouts converting them into lighting fixtures and conceptualizing the floating booth system just to name one of her many aesthetic contributions.
The overall industrial feel of Bestia, coupled with the passion, hard work and talent of Chef Ori and Chef Genevieve make Bestia an honest Mom and Pop restaurant built to last.
Place Categories: Bar Dining, Counter Seating, Cuisine, Farm to Table, Features, Italian Restaurants, Outside Dining, Personal Wines Welcome and Pizza