Yes, I agree with that too.
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Just out of curiosity - obviously prices have gone up over the last 2-3 years and pasta at Funke is made by hand etc. but seeing prices of some of these pasta dishes reaching $50 (which I would call on the very high end compared to many, many other places) I am just wondering is his pasta so much better than anywhere else or is it just good quality and additional hype/PR.
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Gotta make that Beverly Hills rent.
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the latter and also the beverly hills premium.
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The agnolotti dal plin are labor intensive so I can see why they’d want to charge a premium. But now the prices of the other pastas have increased. Not sure why.
The why is quite simple. Because he can.
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funke still killing it. highlight was the off-menu anchovy pasta, light but with a deep savory flavor. hope it sticks around.
condimento di accuighe - fennel, onion, garlic, anchovy, tomato, marjoram
funke in the funkehouse
sfincione palermitano - focaccia siciliana, sugo di pomodoro, acciughe, caciocavallo stravecchio, mollica
gamberi in salsa verde - south pacific blue prawns, salsa verdge, lemon
frisella pugliese - ricotta fresca, english peas, fava beans, asparagus, market tomatoes, erbe aromatiche
fusilli all’arrabbiata - sugo di pomodoro, aglio, olio santo, diavolicchio, pecorino romano dop
orecchiette - salsiccia, broccoleti, sugo di pomodoro, 'nduja, pecorino pugliese
meringata - tangerine granita, finocchio candito, creme fraiche panna cotta
torta di ricotta - harry’s strawberries, pistachios, sorbetto di rabarbaro
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Loved that “bagel” with spring veg!
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We disagree slightly on this restaurant.
Funke vs Leopardo. Peony: Leopardo. Warrior: Leopardo.
Funke vs Osteria Mozza. Peony: Funke. Warrior: Osteria Mozza
Funke vs Mother Wolf. Peony: Funke. Warrior: Mother Wolf. But we both agree this is very close.
Best dishes tonight: tomato salad, prosciutto and fig pizza, and (Peony only) linguine with clam sauce.
Warrior’s thoughts on the linguine: too starchy. I think the concept of adding the pasta liquid to the sauce is overplayed. Sometimes it works, but sometimes I don’t want a gluey sauce that combines everything together.
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Overall really delicious meal here. Sorry for the dim pics.
Highlights were the squash blossoms, sficione, and the Weiser Farms melon and sea salt sorbet. Just perfect bites.
Nitpicking but I want to say the $48 agnolotti’s plating wasn’t the best presentation - just 10 pieces, so perhaps use a different plate so it doesn’t look half-eaten already? (on that note, Rosenthal is fine but how about some Richard Ginori porcelain, maybe even vintage, to keep it Italian and a little bit seasonal/colorful?) Also, my impression was that the pastas’ texture was a little bit better on the previous visit. A little more bounce back and liveliness…but just going off memory, so I could be wrong.
Service is very efficient - they must have like 7 plus runners just waiting at the pass and an empty plate or glass never stays on the table for more than like 10 seconds.
I love the Art Deco building, but I think the interior furnishing is relatively weak and a missed opportunity design wise.
Battuta di manzo - beef tartare: hand-cut filet mignon, egg yolk, parmigiano, fried artichoke leaves. Good texture and with the parmigiano, the dish tasted kind of like carpaccio, which is a nice way to make this dish Italian and not some contemporary steakhouse dish. Also, it wasn’t very acidic. Good with the accompanying sficione.
Gamberi in salsa verde - consistently good dish across Funke’s restaurants. I wouldn’t mind the salsa verde a bit less liquidy, but it does make for a good sauce to sop up with scarpetta. Are these done in the wood oven? They’re quite fragrant.
Fiori di zucca - fried squash blossoms with ricotta. Excellent. Fried very nicely, not too oily, firm enough to grip but light enough to let the squash flavor and ricotta shine through.
Agnolotti al antica - agnolotti filled with ribola, in a sage and brown butter. Fragrant sage. Just 10 pieces to an order, which felt a bit precious. Delicious nonetheless but the plating looked a bit sparse for $48. For that price, I wouldn’t mind paying for a tortellini en brodo or something. Pictured is the full order as it arrived - it almost seemed like a half order, but then again the brown butter sauce is a bit rich.
Tagliatelle Bolognese. Excellent. I do remember the pasta’s texture being a little bit better before. Also, I do believe that the tagliatelle bolognese at Pasta Base by chef Funke’s friend is quite a bit better in texture, but Funke’s sauce is better.
Tagliata di manzo - ribeye cap, aged 6 days I think. This was a bit more medium than the medium-rare specified. Delicious nonetheless. Last time, the lamb chops came out medium as well. I would order the meats rare next time.
Sorbets - Weiser Farms melon with sea salt. Raspberry and fig. Melon sorbet was super. One of the best sorbets I’ve had in memory. Smooth in texture, with prominent pure melon flavor, and nicely judged sea salt to bring out a little extra sweetness. In my opinion, the dessert portions are a little bit big here.
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Went for a work event food was solid but def did not get the whole funke experience. If their pizzas are anything like what they normally crank out that would be a bit disappointing though
Bar Funke was almost empty last night.
The food was great as always. Chicory salad, prawns, lemon pizza, branzino, negroni — all great. The branzino competes with Mother Wolf’s for best in LA.
Funke gets the slight nod over Stella for my favorite LA Italian.
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How to walk in without a reservation? Stroll in shortly after opening at 5PM on a Tuesday.
The team let us know they needed the table back around 7:15PM and we said we’d be okay with them moving us to the bar or whatever would make it easy for them. And we were off to the races.
This is a high energy team. Carmine and Cynthia made sure we had a good time…something super easy when you’re sharing the restaurant with like 4 other tables at opening. Seeing the kitchen team lined up at the window waiting for the action to start was fun. By 6:30PM, the place was packed and bustling.
Worth mentioning is that the menu is pretty similar in the Funke-verse. There are connecting dishes from restaurant to restaurant…the main difference is the style and feel of the dining room. Funke seems to be more fun of the group.
Sfincione - I was with someone who had never had the focaccia before so we went plain. It remains a highlight.
Pesche e burrata - tasty, but I wouldn’t order again
Fiori de zucca - I didn’t get to order this at Felix so I had to get it here. I can see how this is a highlight. It’s so delicate and crispy!
Battuta di manzo - tartare with crispy fried artichokes…highly recommended by Carmine and I thought it was just okay. Bazaar Meat still wins,
Rucola - requisite vegetable dish…solid, but I prefer the misticanza
Linguine al limone - I was with a sucker for lemon pasta. It remains a winner.
Tonnarelli cacio e pepe - because I missed it at Felix…fantastic
Orecchiette bari vecchia, Puglia/Nunza - the single best pasta I think I have ever had. The pasta texture is splendid. The sausage sugo has some kick in it and is a little more than I like, but I’ll eat it anytime. Excellent!
Sorbet & gelato - peach sorbet and blueberry/sour cream gelato…loved both of them. The frozen treat game is strong here. There was a chocolate cake bite as a surprise and that was just great.
Mignardises
There were cocktails, mocktails and wine. Loved the cocktails. The glass of wine was only so so. If I can find my receipt I’d be able to tell you what was ordered.
We had a great time. The team could not have been more fun or nicer. There’s always a kind of joy when everyone has the same energy. Service was on point. Plates and serviceware changed out frequently and water glasses refilled without prompting. Bonus is that we were there until 7:45PM and didn’t have to be moved.
The team tells us the upstairs bar is beautiful, but they were hosting a private party and it was off limits. I should have gone upstairs to see what that space looks like.
Had a great night!
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Crews with the Beverly Hills Fire Department were seen rapidly handling the fire around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at 9388 S. Santa Monica Boulevard. Smoke was not visible in footage provided by Citizen.com, but firefighters were seen urgently going into offense mode, piling into the second floor of the restaurant.
The statement also let guests know that if they had reservations for this week, the Funke team would reach out personally to arrange alternative accommodations at Evan Funke’s other restaurants, Mother Wolf in Hollywood and Felix Trattoria in Venice.
Funke, known for its handcrafted pasta, posted an announcement on its website and social media accounts to let customers know of the temporary closure.
“Thanks to the calm cooperation of everyone present, our staff and guests were evacuated swiftly and safely,” wrote the owner, Evan Funke, who has been described as Los Angeles’ best pasta maker. “We’re relieved to share that all building safety systems functioned exactly as designed.”
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They’re a block and a half from the BH fire station, I wonder if they set an internal record for response time 
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Any word on when they’re supposed to reopen? Pretty brutal to be out of commission for this long.
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I made a res for tonight. It’ll be my first time.
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My understanding is real estate (agent) mogul Kurt Rappaport both owns the building and is a partner in the restaurant. I believe he hounded Evan to open a restaurant together, and he either already owned the building or bought it for that express purpose. While undoubtedly brutal to be out of commission this long, there’s enough money behind it to keep it afloat.
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