clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Inside Bacetti, Echo Park’s Showy New Italian Palace

This Roman-influenced stunner is all nice marble, good light, and great times.

A hand reaching in to shave cheese over a bowl of pasta in a starkly lit room.
Rigatoni all’Amatriciana.
Dylan + Jeni
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.

The good light has found Bacetti in Echo Park. The Italian newcomer, focused on (but not limited to) the wide Roman culinary playbook, is sure to be an instant smash with the colorful-cool neighborhood when it opens formally on Tuesday, November 16, thanks in no small part to the build-out by Stayner Architects. Let’s take a look inside the 1928-era bow-truss building that’s already glowing with promise.

Here rich golden wood plays against rust-toned tile and more vibrant touches like deeper reds and darker greens, all interspersed with plants and shadows for a bit of pop and splash. Really, though, the pared-back rooms next door to Tilda glow because of the late-fall light that streams in from above, exposing the open ceiling and extensive glasswork that leads eyeballs towards the kitchen. A thick marble countertop, streaked in ink blacks and grays, buffers the separate-but-touching spaces, with chef Joel Stovall and his team working the stoves just beyond.

A tall corner shot of a new restaurant with lots of wood and green wooden booth seating.
Heavy wooden seats and tables play against a pink banquette with gold artistry beyond at a new restaurant.

Stovall, who previously cooked at Orsa & Winston, has drafted a dynamic opening menu that freewheels from focaccia with black olives and soppressata and artichoke pizzes to a wide array of pastas, whole steak and fish plates, and more. There’s octopus, plated delicately inside vintage dishware; lamb shanks arrive glistening and crowded with a flurry of sides and salads; and desserts like bombolini and tiramisu hit the table as the night winds down. Christian Clarke is on to oversee the drinks, which include a vast array of natural wines (including magnums for the celebratory crowd) from Italy and beyond, while Bryan Carter (previously of Night + Market and Kismet) is in as general manager. The opening menu is below.

The new Bacetti, stuffed with soft light, housemade al dente pasta, and artwork from Matt Lipps, opens to the general public on Tuesday, November 16, keeping dinner hours only from Tuesday through Sunday. Find reservations for the restaurant at 1509 Echo Park Avenue on Resy.

A deep marble counter inside of a bow truss building with other sunny seating areas beyond.
Different areas to dine.
A heavy marble table up against a wall that leads into a new kitchen.
A peek into the kitchen.
A tall room with exposed wooden ceiling and plants in a restaurant at midday.
The airy main dining room.
An overhead shot of thick Italian noodles with cheese on a wooden table.
Cacio e pepe.
An overhead shot of a bowl of pasta with mushrooms on a black marble surface in light.
Campanelle with chanterelle mushrooms.
A dimly light, shadowy bowl of salad with leaves and fig and red table behind.
Fig salad.
A vintage bowl holds grilled octopus tendrils in shadowy light at a restaurant.
Grilled octopus with romano beans.
A marble table, tan plate and thick ring of focaccia studded with olives.
Focaccia with black olives.
An overhead shot of a light yellow plate with split fish and grilled lemon.
Whole branzino.
An overhead shot of a light green table with vintage plates that hold steak, persimmons, and a glass of wine.
Dry-aged ribeye.
A brightly lit overhead shot of bowls of pasta on a marble restaurant counter.
Pastas at the ready.
Overhead shot of a full marble table with octopus, salad, lamb shank with bone in, and more.
Lamb shank with couscous.

Bacetti

1509 Echo Park Avenue, , CA 90026 (213) 995-6090 Visit Website
Now Trending

LA’s New Wine Bar Moment Looks (and Drinks) Different

AM Intel

This New Hand-Pulled Noodle Shop in West Hollywood Is a Gamechanger

LA Restaurant Openings

A Former Award-Winning Cocktail Bar Settles Into a Relaxed Watering Hole in Historic Filipinotown