Settecento DTLA

Settecento in Downtown LA Serves Crowd-Pleasing Italian on a Garden Patio | Eater LA

"Located in the Maguire Gardens in front of Downtown LA’s historic public library, this posh Italian restaurant occupies the long-time site of the venerable Cafe Pinot, part of the Patina Group, which closed in 2019. From Global Dining Group (the team behind La Bohème in West Hollywood and 1212 in Santa Monica), the restaurant opened quietly earlier in the month and then hosted a celebrity-riddled opening party with Jeannie Mai, Jordan Chiles, Storm Reid, and Lukas Gage in attendance on January 23. The space features a sprawling outdoor patio with hanging lights that looks out to Flower Street, a tightly packed bar marked by hanging musical instruments, a side entrance that reveals a busy pasta station and hot line behind glass, and a wood-fired pizza oven producing thin-crust Neapolitan-style pies. Executive chef Francesco Angri oversees the menu, which offers a respectable beef carpaccio with mustard, arugula, and balsamic pearls; pastas and pizza are split between bianca and rossa (cheese- or tomato-based). A comforting cannelloni alla Genovese comes as three meat-filled logs dressed in a light bechamel, while plump spaghetti alla chitarra is prepared with zucchini (alla Nerano), clams (alla vongole), or guanciale (all’Amatriciana). Servers are keen to remind diners that "everything is made in-house." The pizzas are slightly blistered, soft-crusted pies topped with mushrooms, sausage, tomato, anchovy, or salami. Entrées include almond-crusted salmon with zucchini sauce; whole grilled branzino with grilled vegetables and salsa verde; a 48-ounce grilled bistecca alla Fiorentina; and a wood-grilled, 24-hour marinated whole chicken with roast potatoes — there are no pork, lamb, duck, or other protein options on the opening menu. To finish, a tiramisu goes well with a double espresso, though gelato, fruit tart, and cannolo also feature as desserts. To drink, $17 cocktails like the well-named Situationship mix mezcal, lime, honey, pineapple, and smoky bitters with an agave worm salt rim served in a wide coupé glass. A bright, fruity glass of pinot grigio from Friuli could pair well with almost anything — except red meat. Like its cousins La Bohème and 1212, this place will likely be a hit with cubicle and corner office types where expense accounts rule the roost: the drinks are strong, the menu hits all the requisite beats (pizza is unimpeachable), and most of the in-between is satisfying enough for a wide audience. Expect live music or a DJ ringing out tunes into the gardens and sidewalks most nights of the week." - Matthew Kang