Downtown LA’s Swanky New Italian Restaurant Features a Terrific Al Fresco Patio

The spacious Maguire gardens in front of Downtown LA’s historic public library hosted the venerable Cafe Pinot, part of the Patina Group , for decades before it closed in 2019. The California French restaurant once helmed by chef Kevin Meehan (now at Kali and the newly opened Koast ) has become Settecento , a posh Italian restaurant with a sprawling outdoor patio and a tightly packed bar marked by hanging musical instruments. The restaurant hosted a celebrity-riddled opening party with Jeannie Mai, Jordan Chiles, Storm Reid, and Lukas Gage in attendance on January 23 after quietly opening earlier in the month.

Settecento comes from Global Dining Group , the outfit behind La Bohème in West Hollywood and 1212 in Santa Monica , both large-scale, crowd-pleasing restaurants in bustling areas. Settecento’s placement amid numerous corporate offices should make it an easy choice for post-work hangouts and business dinners. A recent night combined the energy of a hot new restaurant with dineLA reservations, packing the relatively small dining room around the bar.



Once the weather tips into a more manageable low-60s at night, one can imagine the hanging lights and lush patio looking out to Flower Street will be a compelling al fresco situation. Walk right into the side entrance, and a busy pasta station and hot line will show behind a glass window, allowing visitors to get a first-hand look at the kitchen action. On the other side, a wood-fired pizza oven churns out thin-crust Neapolitan-style pies.

Executive chef Francesco Angri oversees the menu, which starts out with a respectable beef carpaccio with mustard, arugula, and balsamic pearls as well as a house salad with frisee, radicchio, cucumbers, hard-boiled eggs, and balsamic dressing. The pastas and pizza are split between bianca and rossa — tomato- or cheese-based. A comforting cannelloni alla Genovese comes as three meat-filled logs dressed in a light bechamel while plump spaghetti alla chitarra is prepared with zucchini (alla Nerano), clams (alla vongole), or guanciale (all’Amatriciana).

Servers are keen to remind diners that “everything is made in house.” The pizzas are slightly blistered, soft-crusted pies topped with things like mushrooms, sausage, tomato, anchovy, or salami. Entrees are also familiar, highlighted by almond-crusted salmon with zucchini sauce; whole grilled branzino with grilled vegetables and salsa verde; a 48-ounce grilled bistecca alla Fiorentina; and a wood-grilled, 24-hour marinated whole chicken with roast potatoes.

There are no pork, lamb, duck, or other protein options on the opening menu. To finish, a tiramisu goes well with a double espresso, though gelato, fruit tart, and cannolo also feature as desserts. To drink, $17 cocktails like the well-named Situationship mix mezcal, lime, honey, pineapple, and smoky bitters with an agave worm salt rim served in a wide coupé glass.

A bright, fruity glass of pinot grigio from Friuli could pair well with almost anything — except red meat. Like its cousins La Bohème and 1212, Settecento will likely be a hit with cubicle and corner office types where expense accounts rule the roost. The drinks are strong, the menu hits all the requisite beats (pizza is unimpeachable), and most of the in-between is satisfying enough for a wide audience.

Expect live music or a DJ ringing out tunes into the gardens and sidewalks most nights of the week. Settecento is located at 700 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071, and is open daily Monday to Thursday, 7 a.

m. to 10 p.m.

, until 12 a.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The restaurant is open at 11 a.m. on weekends.

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