Evan Funke Chases Pasta Perfection at Felix in Venice

Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

If there’s a more compelling Italian restaurant in Los Angeles than Felix at the moment, good luck finding it. This is chef Evan Funke’s long-awaited return to the noodle game, situated on white-hot Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Felix is, frankly, a game-changer for the modern Italian movement in Los Angeles. Funke has been out of the consistent day-to-day restaurant game for two years since departing Bucato. His comeback tour now includes a standalone temperature-controlled pasta laboratory that acts as a focal point for the entire primary dining room. The tools of the trade and the work it takes to bring such simple Italian favorites to life will be on full display.

Funke himself will be inside, manning the station with plenty of hand-rolled noodle prowess. Otherwise you can expect to find him around the corner in the open kitchen, working the wood-fired oven, turning pizzas and making the rest of the menu shine. Over by the bar is Brandyn Tepper, the longtime cocktail maestro running the drinks show.

But enough about the food: Felix is one seriously pretty restaurant. Occupying a corner slot that formerly belonged to the beloved Joe’s, this wraparound design effort is the work of Gusto 54 owner Janet Zuccarini, Wendy Haworth, and Funke himself, and was built by Shawmut. The team not only collaborated on bringing the restaurant to fruition, but also all of its stylistic choices.

The eclectic, bright space is a mix of old world touches and modern charm, from the tight and lively bar to the booth you can tuck into with a group. The back room is perfect for private dining or as an expansion of the usual dining area, with lush green wallpaper and a pitch-perfect “nonna” vibe.

Felix opens this week (the exact day is still TBD) on Abbot Kinney, keeping hours Sunday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., with an extension to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Felix
1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA