About Felix Trattoria
When Evan Funke opened Felix on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in 2017, he made an audacious declaration: that Los Angeles was ready for pasta made the way they make it in Bologna and Rome and Puglia — by hand, according to regional tradition, with an almost theological commitment to technique. The declaration proved correct. Felix became one of the most influential restaurant openings in the city's recent history, and it remains one of the most genuinely difficult reservations on the Westside.
The open pasta-making kitchen — positioned so that diners can watch sfogline rolling and cutting dough behind glass — is the organizing principle of the restaurant. Funke, who trained in Italy and documented his pasta obsession in the book "American Sfoglino," runs one of the most rigorous pasta programs in the country. The rigatoni all'amatriciana with guanciale and Sicilian oregano is the kind of dish that makes you understand why Roman cooking has survived two thousand years. The carbonara achieves the elusive balance between richness and restraint that most attempts at carbonara fail to find. The handmade pappardelle with braised rabbit ragu changes how you feel about pappardelle.
The sfincione — a Sicilian-style focaccia, thick and airy and topped simply with tomato and onion and anchovy — arrives at the table before your order and functions as a statement of intent: this kitchen bakes its own bread, cures its own proteins, and takes nothing for granted. The fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta are a seasonal fixture that regular diners plan visits around. The wood-fired pizza produces the blistered, charred-edge result that places Felix alongside the best Neapolitan operations on the West Coast.
The room is warm midcentury modern, not austere. The wine list is serious about southern Italian producers without being exclusionary. Service is attentive and knowledgeable about the pasta program, which staff clearly take as personal pride. Reserve two weeks ahead for weekday dinners; more for weekends. The nine bar stools and two walk-in tables maintain a democratic access to the cooking for those willing to arrive early and wait.
