Felix Trattoria

"This Venice pasta spot is one of the toughest reservations in town. But there’s a workaround: They keep some bar seats open for walk-ins, and if you show up when they open, you can just walk in and sit down. Strolling past all those people who booked a table months ago will make you feel like Henry Ford driving down the street when everyone else was still riding horses. And you’ll still feel like a genius when you sit down, and order some red wine and the rigatoni all’amatriciana. The hardest part of this night is deciding if you want the budino or the torta alla nonna for dessert. But don’t worry, there’s no wrong answer." - brett keating

"A Saturday night reservation at Felix used to be the second hardest thing to find in Los Angeles (second to maybe a dog without an Instagram). That may not be the case anymore, but Felix is just as good as ever. It's essentially a pasta church (from the same chef as Mother Wolf and Funke) where you can watch your orecchiette being handmade in a climate-controlled room in the middle of the restaurant. Get the rigatoni all’amatriciana and the pesto trofie, and as many orders of the sfincione as you deem acceptable. For us, that’s two." - brant cox, sylvio martins

"Restaurants don’t open all that often on Abbot Kinney. So the entire neighborhood was lined up in advance when Italian spot Felix showed up at the beach end of the street in 2017. Fast forward to now and Felix is still consistently packed and still very good. It’s essentially a temple of flour and water, complete with a climate-controlled pasta-making space in the middle of the dining room. This is pasta and focaccia worth crossing the city for. " - brant cox, sylvio martins, nikko duren

"Once the sun has set, head to Abbot Kinney to share some of the best pasta in LA. Felix is the kind of restaurant that works for most situations, including whatever number date you’re on. The dining room is usually packed (don’t come here without a reservation), but you can also hear the people across from you, the pasta is excellent, and the space is like a fancy beach house that happens to come with a refrigerated pasta-making room." - jess basser sanders, amy clark, brant cox

"Some restaurants take a minute to figure things out, but not Felix. This upscale Italian place on Abbot Kinney has had it together from the minute they opened in April, and is confident in a way most restaurants (and, come to think of it, people) will never be. They serve a big menu, but they’re booked solid every night of the week for one reason: the incredible pasta. The 10+ daily offerings are made in a climate-controlled room in the middle of the restaurant, and while they’re excellent across the board, we’d eat the rigatoni all’Amatriciana every day if our bodies and wallets could take it. If you want to reaffirm that going out to eat is the best hobby you’ve got, have dinner at Felix." - jess basser sanders, brant cox