LocalBook 101

Overview

Gourmet Magazine calls il Pastaio "a taste of heaven," and says" the cooks in il Pastaio's kitchen have angel's hands." Los Angeles Magazine critic's choice ranked it "one of the top ten new restaurants." It's no wonder this friendly neighborhood trattoria has been a favorite meeting place, satisfying locals and visiting customers with its mouthwatering pasta since opening in 1994. Handmade on the premises, pasta is the star of this restaurant. Master chef Celestino Drago and his brother, Executive Chef/Partner Giacomino Drago have designed the menu around pasta as the main course. "We want the customers to feel comfortable like their at home," says Giacomino. And many guests take him at his word, showing up daily for some of the best risottos and pasta dishes in town. Try the rich pheasant and mushroom ragu over spinach pappardelle ribbons or the black squid ink risotto that L.A. Weekly says "looks like gravel and tastes like heaven".