As a celebratory meal for winning a competition, my team decided to have dinner at Bestia! We were very excited for the meal. We had looked up a lot of different restaurants before deciding on Bestia.
When we arrived at the location, we parked at an open spot, which we learned later was valet parking. We walked towards the restaurant, and the entrance was quite hidden. The door was at the top of these steps, and the restaurant name was partially covered by plants!
We had made a reservation and were seated inside the restaurant. The table was very small, with one of our teammates sitting at the head of the table where everyone walks by. We asked if there was another table available, and luckily, we were able to grab a table in the outside area which was much brighter and more spacious!
We started off with drinks. I ordered the Citrus Sage Lemonade because I wanted something refreshing.
The dishes came out one by one. For my appetizer, I got the Mussels and my teammates got the Salumi and Roasted Marrow Bone. I had also considered getting the Roasted Marrow Bone, but after trying a bite of my teammate’s order, I was happy I stuck with the mussels – I was not a fan of the spinach gnocchetti texture.
Mussels – spicy ‘nduja, scallions, fennel pollen, grilled bread – The mussels came with four slices of bread and a pretty big portion of mussels. The sauce was pretty good and went well with the bread.
Roasted Marrow Bone – spinach gnocchetti, smoked breadcrumbs, aged balsamic
Salumi – chef’s section of cured meats
One person at our table ordered the Margherita Pizza. The rest of us wanted to try some of the other items on the menu that we wouldn’t usually eat.
Margherita – san marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil, sea salt
Next up was the pasta. We each ordered our own pasta – I decided to get the Squid Ink Chitarra. I really liked it! The texture of the pasta was good, and it also came with a generous amount of lobster. I wish there was just one more bite of pasta! The waiter came by to tell us that the pasta was cut from a box with strings, which is also how the dish got its name.
Squid Ink Chitarra – poached lobster, citrus, calabrian chili, basil
Ricotta Gnocchi – tomato sugo, saffron, basil, marjoram, grana padano
Saffron Pici – lamb ragu, cherry tomato, taggiasca olives, morita chili oil
Cavatelli alla Norcina – ricotta dumplings, Australian black truffles, pork sausage, grana padano
The meal is not over yet – we also ordered some meat! I got the Charred Branzino alla Plancha and the Slow Roasted Lamb Neck.
Charred Branzino alla Plancha – crispy seeds, shallots, fresno chili, parsley, lime – The Branzino was better than what I had expected. There were not a lot of bones, so every bite was a bite of meat. The flavor was good, although the sauce was a little oily.
Slow Roasted Lamb Neck – smoked anchovy crème fraîche, gem lettuce, herbs – The lamb was very soft and fell right off the bone. The meat was slow roasted for 48 hours! Although the lamb was good, it was a bit plain eating it with just the gem lettuce and sauce.
It’s finally time for dessert. We only got two desserts: Coconut Macadamia Caramel Tart and Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta.
Coconut Macadamia Caramel Tart – chocolate sorbet, soft whipped cream
Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta – gaviota strawberries, blood orange honey syrup, whole wheat butter cookies – The butter cookies were delicious with the panna cotta! The cookies were very thin and snapped easily. The panna cotta was more fluid than I had expected, almost like the texture of yogurt.
Overall, the food was good, but it was not what I was expecting and there weren’t any dishes that really stood out to me and had a “wow” factor. I liked the Squid Ink Chitarra the most, followed by the Charred Branzino alla Plancha. Will you find me here again? Maybe after I’ve tried some other new restaurants!