Beethoven Market
Restaurant · Mar Vista ·
Handmade pastas, pizzas, rotisserie chicken, wine & cocktails
Handmade pastas, pizzas, rotisserie chicken, wine & cocktails
"Perched on the corner of Beethoven Street and Palms Boulevard, this months-old neighborhood restaurant has evolved from a former Mar Vista grocery into one of the Westside’s vibiest dining rooms, with a please-all menu of pizzas, pastas, pristine seafood, and trebuchet‑fired rotisserie chicken. Inside, an ornate wraparound bar frames the room, pouring drinks that don’t disappoint and offering panoramic views of the indoor space and the outdoor patio shaded by sage green umbrellas; everything emits a creamy, calming energy reminiscent of a mountain spa. The crowd skews well-heeled Westsiders from the area, Venice, and Santa Monica, with date‑nighters at the bar and families outside or closer to the kitchen. I’d start with citrusy prawns atop salsa verde brightened by an unexpected herb medley, and the charred but tender octopus in a lima bean and escarole stew threaded with preserved lemon, a nod to Mar Vista’s farmland past; each table should add a seasonal citrus‑and‑fennel salad or the crunchy green bean salad with cheese‑flecked almond pesto. While most tables carry pastas and crisp pizzas, my focus remained on entrees like the rotisserie chicken, spun on a trebuchet‑like rotisserie reminiscent of a Lyon farmers market, and a grilled snapper bedded on tarragon salmoriglio. Jeremy Adler purchased the space in 2023 and brought on chef Michael Leonard, whose California‑meets‑Italian menu also runs to focaccia, crispy artichokes, and goat‑cheese‑filled zucchini blossoms; the pizza dough was a months‑long project that now yields a blistered, puffy crust with toppings like mushrooms, pepperoni, zucchini, and ricotta. A fiery oven is the restaurant’s centerpiece and the primary cooking method for proteins like snapper, hanger steak, and pork collar, and cocktails from former Cassia bartender Nicole Mitchell — notably the Vesper Dream with olive‑oil‑infused vodka — make ideal pairings. Save room for homey, interactive desserts: tiramisu scooped tableside from a party tray, and gelato mounds drizzled with chocolate that hardens into a rich matte shell before your eyes." - Nicole Fellah
"There’s something comforting about twirling bucatini solo in a busy neighborhood restaurant like Beethoven Market. At this candle lit Italian spot in Mar Vista, you're surrounded by families and dates talking over excellent homemade pastas. It's great for eavesdropping, but also for eating al dente pasta, like the carbonara with a perfect egg to cheese ratio that makes its sauce silky and golden. And if you want to buy a bottle of that zesty verdeca the bartender just poured you, Beethoven doubles as a wine shop. Reservations are released a month in advance. Plan two weeks ahead for prime time tables, but late-night reservations are usually available day-of on weekdays." - jess basser sanders, sylvio martins
"This corner-store-turned Cal-Italian spot is the neighborhood restaurant other neighborhood restaurants aspire to be. Beethoven Market is filled with enough chatter and buzz to power a fun date or family reunion, and has a straightforward menu of dishes that float under $30 . Beethoven’s three-day fermented pizza dough makes light, airy pies, the bright salads and grilled vegetables are well-spritzed with lemon, and all of the housemade pastas are al dente, including a golden carbonara with marshmallow-sized pieces of guanciale. Reservations are released a month in advance. Plan two weeks ahead for prime time tables, but late-night reservations are usually available day-of on weekdays." - jess basser sanders, brant cox, sylvio martins, arden shore
"A Westside Cal-Italian spot with tuna carpaccio, cacio e pepe, and product managers drinking orange wine on a patio. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. This Mar Vista restaurant follows a familiar formula, but it also makes a damn good case for it. Nothing on the menu is over $30 (not a typo), and every dish is simple and well-done. Green bean and celery salad springs to life with lemony vinaigrette, and the charred pork collar tastes like it was lip-locked with the grill seconds prior. The buzzy candlelit space—a converted corner market flanked by citrus trees—feels lived-in, and that’s because it is. Half of the neighborhood has moved in already, and we can't imagine them leaving anytime soon. Reservations are released a month in advance. Plan two weeks ahead for prime time tables, but late-night reservations are usually available day-of on weekdays." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, garrett snyder, cathy park, cathy park, cathy park, brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, brant cox, brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, brant cox, sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park, brant cox, brant cox, sylvio martins, garrett snyder, sylvio martins, cathy park
"A Cal-Italian spot with tuna carpaccio, cacio e pepe, and product managers drinking orange wine on a gorgeous patio. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. This buzzy Mar Vista restaurant follows a familiar formula, but also makes a damn good case for it. Nothing on the menu is over $30 (not a typo), and every dish is fantastically simple. Half of the neighborhood is eating al fresco here on any given night, and we can't imagine them leaving anytime soon." - brant cox, cathy park, sylvio martins, jess basser sanders