Reviewing Bottega Louie: An Italian restaurant, gourmet market, and French patisserie all wrapped into one magical place in Downtown Los Angeles.
When looking for somewhere special to go for dinner on Good Friday, my family decided on Bottega Louie in Downtown, L.A. Parking was a breeze since they have a valet stand right outside the entrance, which is a blessing because finding parking down there can be a nightmare at times. Upon walking into the restaurant, there are several cases of perfectly made and well-designed pastries ranging from macaroons to tarts, and even cakes. You cannot make a reservation here, so we put our name in with the hostess. Fortunately, there was no wait and we were seated right away because we were on the earlier side of the dinner hour.
A couple of minutes after sitting down at Bottega Louie we were served a rope-like bread of five knots. They placed it right on the table cloth, which I thought was kind of interesting and unique. It was warm, fresh bread with a side of homemade butter. The menu has quite a bit to choose from, so we took a bit to figure out all that we wanted to order. To start, we ordered the white truffle arancini and the portobello fries. The white truffle arancini came in a tomato sauce. This dish was popping with flavor, and the tomato sauce was the perfect touch on top of the hot, crispy arancini. This was definitely one of the best arancini I have ever tasted! The portobello fries were a favorite among our group, but I personally was not a huge fan. I thought they lacked flavor, and the dipping sauce did not make them any better.
Afterward, we got a couple of salads: the cobb and the Italian. The cobb consisted of iceberg and bibb lettuce, organic grilled chicken breast, bacon, gorgonzola, eggs, avocado, tomatoes, and red wine vinaigrette. The layering of this salad made for the perfect presentation, and it was almost too perfect to eat! All the ingredients were super fresh, and the portion size was great to share. The Italian salad consists of all my favorite salad ingredients: mixed greens, gigante beans, olives, pepperoncinis, provolone, onions, pepperoni, soppressata, and red wine vinaigrette. This salad was also extremely fresh and on the lighter side in comparison to the cobb. The portion size of the Italian salad could be good for one person.
Next, we got a pasta and a pizza. The bolognese consisted of tagliatelle pasta, braised fennel sausage beef ragu, San Marzano tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano, and fresh Italian parsley. This dish was absolutely delicious. The meat was perfectly cooked, and the dish was very nicely prepared as everything tasted fantastic together. We got the burrata pizza, which came with mozzarella, burrata, prosciutto di parma, sauteed rapini, minced garlic, pecorino romano, and extra virgin olive oil. This pizza was huge and is ideal for sharing. The crust was delicious and the most memorable part of the slice. The toppings of the pizza were fresh, paired well together, and packed with flavor, especially because of the garlic. All in all, I was immensely satisfied and impressed with what we ordered.
The staff at Bottega Louie was receptive and helpful. The service was pretty fast too considering the size of the restaurant. The staff was really diligent with clearing the table in between courses, and they frequently filled up our water glasses. The ambiance of Bottega Louie gives off chic French vibes from the white and gold colors, and the marble. Despite it being a large and busy restaurant, Bottega Louie was not that loud and is perfect for a family setting, a date night, or a night out with friends. I will definitely be going back because I am super eager to try more of their menu items. I was eyeing the cacio e pepe pasta and the tartufo pizza, so I’ll for sure order those the next time I go. I have also heard their fishes, salmon and branzino, are exceptional, so I might have to try them as well.