Pura Vita

"This vegan Italian restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood does tremendous pastas like shiitake bacon-filled carbonara, and a “Black Magic Lasagna” with cashew ricotta, bechamel sauce, spinach, mushroom, pesto, and black truffle cream (which ties the dish together without overpowering). Beyond the plant-based food, Pura Vita works for a casual night out with excellent people-watching and potentially too much wine." - sylvio martins, garrett snyder

"Vegan pastas The menu at Pura Vita in West Hollywood has eight different pastas on the menu, but we went with the carbonara and black magic lasagna and ate them both with reckless abandon. The carbonara comes topped with avocado, egg, macadamia romano cream, and shiitake bacon, giving it an earthy saltiness. Plus, there was enough natural creaminess to make us forget we weren’t actually eating cheese. As for the lasagna, we tend to be wary of truffle-infused dishes as it’s a pretty powerful ingredient that’s often misused, but that was not the case for the black truffle cream. The actual truffle flavor itself was quite mild which allowed it to bring out the other flavors (mushroom, cashew ricotta, and pesto) without completely overpowering them." - the infatuation los angeles crew

"Vegan family members do exist (and we celebrate them, of course), so instead of taking them to a steakhouse where they can “just find something to eat,” bring them to Pura Vita. This all-vegan Italian spot in West Hollywood has incredible pastas like macadamia Romano cream, lasagnas made with cashew ricotta, and shiitake bacon-filled carbonara that we still dream about on a daily basis." - kat hong

"West Hollywood is overflowing with vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants, and many of them are great. But the most exciting one is Pura Vida. The all-vegan Italian spot on Santa Monica Blvd. has dishes like a macadamia romano cream, shiitake bacon-filled carbonara, and a “Black Magic Lasagna,” that’s made with cashew ricotta, bechamel sauce, spinach, mushroom, pesto, and a black truffle cream that ties the dish together without overpowering the rest of the flavors. Beyond what you’re going to eat though, Pura Vita is just a fun, casual place to hang out, drink way too much wine, and take in a neighborhood that’s never scarce on quality people-watching. " - brant cox, nikko duren

"It is the best vegan Italian place that I have been to. The pizzas are wonderful. They do an arrabbiata: it's spicy and it's garlicky and it's just all the things you want it to be. But the best thing is their tiramisu. I had friends over yesterday and I ordered about 10 of them and I thought people would take a bite each, but everyone wanted a whole tiramisu. They get the cream so right. It's rich and indulgent. They get the right amount of coffee in there, too. It is a dream." - brennan carley