Best Restaurants in Downtown Los Angeles: Brera Ristorante

“A multi-regional Italian Osteria by Chef Angelo Auriana & Matteo Ferdinandi, BRERA Ristorante is a hybrid of an informal osteria with rather formal cooking in an elegant setting. A concept influenced by the artsy-cool BRERA neighborhood in Milan Italy, it displays Chef Angelo’s personal culinary identity that emphasizes on the importance of the highest quality fresh ingredients and the use of cooking techniques that are meant to highlight their true flavors and presented in a minimalistic way.” Brera website

 Brera Ristorante was opened in the arts district in DTLA in 2016 so it’s been around for awhile. This is probably my fourth visit to the restaurant; each time the food has been outstanding, the cocktails superb and the setting is lovely. Typically we talk about newer restaurants, but I thought it was time to highlight Officine Brera.

Start with Cocktails!

I met a dear friend at Brera for a wonderful dinner last Thursday. She got there early so already discovered that the bartender, Taylor, was an amazing mixologist. There are certainly signature cocktails, but I had to try my favorite, an Old Fashion. It was perfect so definitely try a cocktail! And if you are in the mood for wine, peruse their terrific wine list. It’s tight but has some good selections. I had the Gavi which was lovely.

Brera Ristorante Interior

As I mentioned, the interior of Brera is really beautiful. Exposed brick, industrial ceiling and a beautiful bar certainly enhance the experience. It was much too cold for the patio, but in spring and summer it is a lovely experience.

Now on to the food. As I may have mentioned previously, I don’t typically eat meat so our menu was all vegetarian. We started with the squash blossoms ( previously I have had the zucchini blossoms) which are a Brera staple; I would definitely recommend them. We moved on to a simple butter lettuce salad then enjoyed the bucatini with zucchini, english pea and broccoli coulis. But I don’t want to give the impression that Brera food is one dimensional. I personally prefer the pasta and pizzas; however there fantastic mains such as swordfish or lamb chops, plus there are several steak offerings for the meat eaters.

The Apps, Pizza and Pasta Offerings

The menu is subject to change but an example of the Brera menu

Just for fun, I am showing a few pics of some of the Brera dishes. I am fairly certain you will become a fan of Brera Ristorante

Tagliatelle

Bufalina Pizza

Lamb Chops

XOXO

Wendy