About Il Pastaio
Il Pastaio. "the pasta maker". Is the Drago family's flagship pasta room on Canon Drive, opened nearly three decades ago by brothers Giacomino, Celestino, and Calogero. The Sicilian-born Drago dynasty is one of the founding Italian families of modern Los Angeles dining, and Il Pastaio is their most personal room: less theatrical than the sprawling trattorias elsewhere in their portfolio, more disciplined in its focus, more confident in what it is.
The signature is the pasta. Over twenty shapes, all made on the premises that morning by a pasta cook stationed in an open alcove near the dining room. You can watch the work while you wait. Highlights include the pumpkin ravioli with brown butter and amaretti, the squid-ink risotto, the pappardelle with boar ragù, and a genuinely excellent arrabbiata that has survived every food-trend cycle of the last two decades intact.
The wine list runs to 175 bottles with real range across Italian regions and a serious commitment to Sicilian producers that reflects the family's heritage. The room itself is warm, unpretentious, and packed at lunch with the kind of clientele. Media executives, entertainment lawyers, regulars. That telegraphs the restaurant's status as a Beverly Hills institution.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date. And the Right Kind of Effortless
Il Pastaio is the first-date reservation for diners who understand that romance is rarely helped by intimidation. The food is universally loveable, the price is defensible for a first outing, the room is warm without being clamorous, and the service has the Italian quality of making everyone feel like a regular within ten minutes. Order two pastas to share. That single gesture of generosity does more for a first date than any tasting menu ever has. Explore more options on our First Date guide.
Practical Information
Address & Contact
400 North Canon Drive Beverly Hills, California 90210 (310) 205-5444Reservations via OpenTable. Lunch books up three to five days ahead; dinner wants a week. The patio is the romantic choice in fair weather.
Dining Details
Cuisine: Italian Pasta Price per Person: $$$ Dress Code: Smart Casual Avg. Duration: 90 minutes - 2 hoursReservations & Booking
Lunch is the better show here. The room fills with industry regulars, the light is California golden, and the kitchen moves at its most confident pace. For the patio in spring or fall, book a week out and ask for a table along the Canon Drive side. Dinner is quieter and better suited to conversation.
Dress Code & Atmosphere
Smart casual. Sundresses and blazers fit the room. The sound level is warm and rising, the way a good Italian room should be. The pasta cook's station near the dining room is a small theatre in its own right; request a table within sight of it on a first date and the evening has a built-in conversation starter.
The Experience
Open with the burrata, which arrives with a small pile of warm crostini and a good olive oil. Follow with two pastas to share. The pumpkin ravioli and whichever seasonal preparation the kitchen is proud of that week. The Justin Bieber pasta, despite its name, is a genuinely clever dish: angel hair, tomato, basil, and a careful hand with the cheese.
Wine by the glass is credible; wine by the bottle is where the list gets interesting. A half-bottle of Nebbiolo or a bottle of Sicilian red takes the meal into better territory than a glass each. The tiramisu is house-made and uncompromised.
Service is Italian in the best sense: warm, present, and entirely uninterested in hurrying you along. For a first date, that is the pacing you want. Continue browsing our First Date collection for the Westside's most romantic rooms.