2of five · Restaurants · Arts District

Bestia

Italian · $$$

The restaurant that made the Arts District a dinner destination, in a huge warehouse down an alley off 7th. Rustic Italian: house-cured salumi, wood-fired pizza, bone marrow with spinach gnocchetti. Loud, packed early and still a hard reservation. Save room for Gergis's desserts.

Reservations recommendedBooks on OpenTable up to 60 days out, and weekend prime time goes first. The bar serves the full menu to walk-ins, and tables open up in the day-or-two cancellation wave. Corkage is $50.

Good for

Special occasionsThe celebration dinner LA keeps coming back to.

Impressing out-of-townersThe meal that sold the city on the Arts District.

Group dinnersSalumi, pizza and pasta are all meant for sharing.

Save is private and adds it to your shortlist. Vouch is public: it tells the editor, but doesn't change the rank.