Terroni’s Little Sister Restaurant Is a Cute Italian Pasta and Cocktail Spot | Eater LA

"Fresh and timeless, I found this small neighborhood Italian to have packed tables, high ceilings, a sleek bar with striking lights, and white tablecloths inside the former Vernetti space, plus a lovely sidewalk dining area that juts into the street yet remains protected for a terrific al fresco experience. Bettola (meaning tavern or dive) is run by chef Costantino Gusso, whose menu layers Sicilian flavors onto a mostly pan-Italian lineup: appetizers such as hamachi crudo, smoked swordfish carpaccio, vitello tonnato, and millefoglio di melanzane (eggplant layered with mozzarella and tomato sauce) join a caprese and the less common funghi assoluti (a warm oyster mushroom salad with bread crumbs and arugula). Pizzas lean neither Neapolitan nor New York — the mortazza comes with mortadella, toasted pistachios, and burrata, while a spicy calabrese salami, mushroom, and mozzarella pie is also available. The largest section is pasta, including black truffle- and egg-filled ravioli, tagliatelle Bolognese, tonnarelli alla norcia, and a Sicilian-style spaghetti pistachio e colatura di alici with anchovy, pistachios, bread crumbs, and candied lemon. Shareable mains include branzino with potato and cherry tomato and a costata di manzo — a 12-ounce seared grass-fed ribeye — and the drinks list offers a diverse selection of Italian bottles and wines by the glass plus cocktails shaken at the welcoming bar. The restaurant is part of a large Toronto-based group and is open nightly at 225 N. Larchmont Avenue (hours vary by day)." - Matthew Kang