Had a great time here last night. The place was 75% full when we arrived and completely full by the end of our 6:15 res. Our server was on point and really added to the meal instead of detracted from it which is usually the case.
Here’s what we ordered:
Sfincione - phenomenal bite
Shrimp in Salsa Verde - perfectly cooked big boys in an excellent sauce perfect for dipping the sfincione in
Funghi Pizza - good bite but Pizzana does a better funghi pie
Duck Ragu Papardelle - excellent sauce with very al dente fresh pasta. A touch too firm for my wife but I really liked the noodle texture.
Sausage Orechiette - sausage was very good and the spice level was just right for me but the whole dish wasn’t nearly as good as the other pasta we ordered.
Donuts - lovely texture and the sweetened mascarpone and jam were a nice addition to the donuts.
Dinner for 2 w/ 6 cocktails was $450ish before tip.
From what I’ve read, all the pastas at Mother Wolf are house made. They just don’t have egg in the dough, so they taste more al dente / less soft (to my tastes). Conversely, I think Funke uses some dried, imported pastas and some house made pastas. Anyone should feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
“I had no budget — and I exceeded it,” explains Rappaport — the CEO of Westside Estate Agency and luxury real estate agent who has brokered home sales for the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Larry Ellison and Tom Kruise — of his carte-blanche spend (he doesn’t provide a dollar figure, but a high-end restaurant build can cost $5 million and up). Rappaport hopes Funke becomes a dealmaking, scene-shaking “modern-day Cheers,” in the vein of the late Morton’s.
The pastas probably are house-made but there’s no reason they need to be made fresh. In fact for most of them the texture’s not quite right if they aren’t dried a bit. Though given Funke’s preference for ultra-al-dente maybe it helps if they’re fresher.
Anyway (except maybe the tonnarelli) at Mother Wolf the pastas are what Italians would classify as “pasta secca” (extruded semolina), versus the “pasta fresca” (egg noodles, preferably hand-rolled, often filled).that Funke’s other places feature.
+1 to this, I believe all or almost all of the pastas at Mother Wolf are extruded (through bronze dies), likely without egg as you say as a pasta secca. Felix has almost all hand made pastas (I seem to recall it was all handmade at the start). Funke is an even split between the two methods. As far as I could tell there is no handmade pasta at station Mother Wolf unlike Felix and Funke. This is probably by design so the concept can be replicated and scaled in other cities. It must be way easier to get consistent results with extruded pasta.
Went last night for the first (and last) time. One of the worst meals I have ever had and certainly the worst at that price point.
Years ago I stumbled into Bucato in Culver City (Evan Funke’s original restaurant) not knowing anything and was blown away by the pastas, but now judging by Funke his empire has become basically “hotel” or “Disneyland” food (and bad versions of it).
Nothing was good other than the persimmons (which came from the Farmer’s Market, not their kitchen). The persimmons were served with ricotta which was beyond mediocre. A special artichoke appetizer verged on inedible and we did not finish it. The focaccia tasted like nothing except salt – I’m not saying it was too salty, but rather it was just so undercooked and unappetizing that the only note that stood out was salt. Salad boring. Pastas – all three of them – mediocre.
And the place is so noisy that it was virtually impossible to hear the detailed spiel that the server gave on the entire menu.
The bill for three was close to $600 with tax and tip, which included a bottle of very mediocre wine for $135 that we let the somm pick. Now for $135, it’s not like I’m expecting a revelatory bottle of wine, but I have been to fine dining restaurants where they are able to offer a few interesting bottles at that point point.
Gosh — sorry to hear you had such a bad experience.
We went in the past month and had a good, albeit not great meal. No issues with noise level that day.
I don’t agree with my comment above that Funke is the best Italian in LA; I think that honor still goes to Osteria Mozza by a substantial margin. But I would put Funke in the running for #2.
We were on the second floor. I don’t know if that area is noisier. It was so noisy that I felt sorry for the young servers to the point that I wondering if their hearing would be effected when they were older, just like people who spent their youth being bombarded by loud rock music.
I was going to ask if you were on the second floor. The ground floor is almost completely acoustically treated, including under the tables, and is not noisy when full. Second floor, with the lower ceilings and more open seating is louder, but not Mother Wolf loud IMO.
A shame the food was not up to par. I do wonder if he’s spreading himself too thin, or doesn’t have appropriate systems in place for the scale of restaurant empire he’s building.
second floor has low ceilings, low light, noisier, and perhaps “lounge” like feel than the first floor which has high ceilings, more space, and generally better service. First floor feels like a serious restaurant.