Can Bestia be done vegetarian? Yes it can, but it’s not quite as fun. I had a bit of a panic attack on arrival when I realised I had not thought to check out the vego options but they came through for me. One of the things to be wary of a a veggie at Bestia: let your server know, some of their salads have fish in the dressing.
I tried Bestia last August and it was AMAZING! So with @anshulraja in town I secured one of their elusive bookings. We headed down for a late mid week seating (something I think you have to be prepared for trying to get a table here).
The good thing about going with a vegetarian is that you end up with different dishes to your normal. we basically ended up order every single on of the veggie options.
Marinated olives: well you can’t go past good olives, can you?
Genevieve’s little gem: one of the few salads that is actually vegetarian! A walnut vinaigrette with ricotta. I think we got this one last time as well.
Parpadella di ortica: green, pasta goodness with stinging nettles, oyster mushroom, fennel pollen and a poached egg. It was a light dish which weirdly did not really taste like mushroom
Casarecce al Pomodoro: This was a winner! A super simple tomato sauce bursting with flavour topped with ricotta. Yum. The pasta was fat home made semolina noodles that were amazing.
Burrata Pizza: I Bestia make some of the best pizza in LA. The base is like a proper pizzeria base. The actual toppings are good too- good quality ingredients that complement the awesome base.
Veal tartare crostino: OK this is probably the opposite of vegetarian but I couldn’t leave Al with no meat whatsoever. It was nice but I only had a little.
Mussels & clams: Hands down my favourite dish on the menu. The nduja in this is divine. The mussels & clam are super fat and flavoursome too. Plus I then like dipping my pizza in the sauce after.
So yeah, you can do Bestia as a vegetarian, you can have some decent options with more choice than you get in a London restaurant. Though you definitely do not get to taste the full skill of the restaurant.
Jilltopia 