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Following the success of Felix and Mother Wolf, Chef Evan Funke opened Funke in May 2023 in the highly coveted 90210 zip code. The restaurant opening was so highly anticipated that it drew a 1,500-person waitlist. Just like Mother Wolf and Felix, Evan’s star-studded clientele has been seen at Funke on a regular basis. Kim Kardashian recently celebrated her birthday there; Sofia Vergara has also been photographed quite a few times; billionaire mogul David Geffen dined there before the restaurant officially opened. Just like his other two restaurants, Funke place is a celebrity magnet.
There are quite a few Italian restaurants in Beverly Hills that are celebrity hotspots. One of them is Il Pastaio, which is on the same block as Funke. It would be interesting to know if the opening of Funke has affected them.
Unlike Mother Wolf, I went to Funke with my dad who was in town. When I went to Resy to make a reservation, it said that the earliest availability for a party of two would be the following week. A day after, I called to see if I could move the reservation to an earlier date. The agent said that there would be a private party the following day, but offered me Friday afternoon of that same week, which was a much better alternative than the original plan.
Space
Located in a 1930s Art Deco building, Funke is comprised of three stories: a main dining room on the ground floor, a private dining room with a bar on the mezzanine level, and a rooftop bar on the third floor.
A very important thing to know is that the menu on the rooftop is different from the one in the dining room downstairs. So, if you go by yourself, I suggest trying to get a table in the main dining room. The banquettes are big, but there are smaller tables that are perfect for solo diners.
We got there 10 minutes before opening time, where we were able to see through the storefront window the bustling activity of the staff applying the finishing touches before opening the door. Upon walking in, you’ll see a glass enclosed room, also known as the pasta laboratory. This is where Chef Evan Funke, dressed in his signature outfit, was doing his magic with the pasta dough.
When we went to Funke, we had just come back from Vegas. The interior reminded me of the bars at luxury casinos. There was a nice balance between modern luxury and classy decor, like the hanging light fixtures and the sumptuous banquettes.
Speaking of Vegas, Mother Wolf now has a second location at the Fontainebleau casino, which opened on December 13, 2023. It was luxury galore! The restaurant was closed because we went to the casino in the morning, but I took a peek inside. They replicated the interior of the LA location with a few minor tweaks. But I digress…
Once we finished our dinner, we perused the rest of the restaurant. To access the rooftop, you can either take the elevator or the stairs. If you choose the latter, you will see framed vintage photos of old Hollywood as you walk up the stairs. On the mezzanine level, there’s a private dining room with a bar. We tried to open the door to see it, but it was locked. This is what the space looks like.
Once we walked up the three flights of stairs, we were welcomed by a beautifully decorated arched corridor that led to the rooftop bar. This busy area was a stark contrast to the ground floor, which was more quiet and intimate.
In the dining room area, there’s an open kitchen where you can see the full-fledged staff. All of them wore caps that read “Funke”. In the restrooms, the Funkemania continued with a hand soap bottle that had a sticker of Evan’s profile, and a handmade candle dedicated to him by Flamingo Estate. It smelled really good!
If you want to know more about the inner workings of Funke, I highly suggest watching this video that Evan did with Bon Appetit. In the video, Evan goes to the Santa Monica Farmers Market at wee hours of the morning to select the produce. Then, he goes to Funke, where he preps the filling of the Agnolotti pasta and peels artichokes. He also makes a few changes to the menu for that evening. Finally, before opening the restaurant’s doors at 5 pm, he sets up a brief meeting with the staff. You can tell he’s putting his heart and soul into Funke.
Menu
If you’re not well-versed in Italian, reading the menu will be a very challenging task. I went off of the pictures I saw online, but I still had a hard time finding what I wanted. Thankfully, the waitress helped me. Her knowledge of the menu was impressive and she did a commendable job describing any dish I inquired about. Funke is also Evan’s first restaurant where you’ll be able to find special items that are off the menu. One of them was a pasta with truffle. “The truffles are grown by a family of farmers in Italy. We get the shipment straight from LAX to the restaurant,” said the waitress. The way she described the dish was incredibly appetizing. “How much is that one?” I asked. “$125,” she said. My jaw dropped. After an awkward pause, I thanked her and told her that we would stick to the menu.
Artichokes
This dish was inspired by Roman-Jewish artichokes, which were very popular in the Roman Jewish ghetto from 1555 to 1870.
The artichokes were deep-fried and provided a nice contrast between the crunchiness on the outside and the tender interior. However, the dressing of the artichokes was the most impressive part. For this dish, Evan used lemon and salsa de acciughe, which is a sauce made with anchovies. The acidic taste of the lemon, the salty punch from the salsa de acciughe, and the subtle sweetness from the artichokes with mint undertones from the leaves inside was an incredible combination. This appetizer was just a preview of the amazing flavors and textures that we were about to experience. Our taste buds were in for a treat!
Agnolotti pasta
This is the most famous pasta at Funke, so of course, we couldn’t miss it.
When I inquired about it, the waitress said that the Agnolotti was the pasta Chef Evan was making when we walked past him. The pasta is a pinched ravioli from Piemonte. There are about 19 of them and each of them is made by hand. The best part about this dish was the soft texture of the raviolis, bathed in a heavenly brown sauce that was smooth and very deep in flavor. This sauce is called sugo d’arrosto, a roast gravy that originated in the Italian regions of Piemonte and Liguria. It’s usually served with pastas like the Agnolotti or Tagliarini. It was so good that we tried to get every last bit of the sauce with the spoon.
The raviolis are filled with meat and Swiss chard, a leafy green that resembles Kale. The filling didn’t stand out to me. This dish is all about the soft texture of the raviolis and the richness of the sauce. When I got home and watched the video, Evan confirmed what I thought when I was eating the pasta. He wanted the texture of the raviolis to be the main focus. He said: “Inside of the pasta is not where I want to focus the texture. The structure and shape of the Agnolotti is where the texture is going to come in, so I want the filling inside the Agnolotti to play second fiddle to the texture of the pasta.”
The Agnolotti is $50 and it is the most expensive pasta at Funke. On the menu, you’ll see that the handmade pastas are more expensive than their bronze-cut pastas, which are made with the machine and served in larger portions.
In an interview with Resy.com, Evan said: “I’m most excited about the handmade pasta and how we present those shapes and their histories.” He shared on Eater.com: “This theatrical environment of pasta-making provides the guests with this transportive experience. I don’t think it’s good enough to just have good food or a good wine list or a nice ambience. Guests are looking to be transported to another place, and storytelling is the biggest component of that for me.”
Busiate pasta
When we ordered a second pasta, the waitress recommended the Orecchiete, but I let her know that I had already had that pasta at Felix. “Oh! Then never mind. I highly recommend the Foglie D’ulivo pasta. We only have that dish at this restaurant and the sauce is made from pistachios.” We heeded her advice.
Pasta dishes are all about balance between the pasta and the sauce, and this dish is a great example of that. The Busiate is a long macaroni, very typical in the regions of Calabria and Sicily. The bright green sauce was thick and creamy, with nutty notes from the pistachio that paired very well with the shredded cheese and basil. It was a simple pasta dish, but there was so much depth to it.
If you love pesto sauces, this one is a must-order. Otherwise, if you like sausage and haven’t had the Orecchiette pasta at Felix, I would advise getting that one instead. But regardless of which one you order, rest assured, you won’t be disappointed!
La Meringata
I don’t have a sweet tooth, but this is probably one of the best desserts I’ve had in my life. The desserts at Funke are run by Pastry Chef Shannon Swindle. To say that my dad loved it is a big understatement. The bottom of the Meringata had vanilla bean panna cotta, and it was topped with tangerine granita, tangerine peels, and dotted with Meringues.
The tangerine granita was incredibly refreshing and light. The fine particles of the granita combined with the creamy, silky vanilla bean panna cotta was an exquisite combination of textures and flavors. The vanilla bean flavor was very subtle, which allowed the sweetness and tanginess of the tangerine take center stage. According to the LA Times, the granita was made using a tangerine sorbet from the Farmers’ Market.
The Meringues were filled with candied fennel. They were stiff and a little hard to cut with the spoon, but they added a nice crunch and contributed to the overall presentation of the dessert. They were hard on the outside, but soft and airy on the inside. The texture was like a crunchy marshmallow, if you will.
I thought my dad and I were the only ones who found this dessert life-changing. When I got home that night and did some digging, I found that the Meringata was featured in the LA Times article “The best dishes of 2023, according to our food writers”, published in December 2023. If you go and the Meringata is still on the menu, I would order it without hesitation. The waitress chuckled when she saw our facial expressions as were eating. “It’s good, isn’t it?,” she said. “Delicious,” said my dad. It’s been a week since we went to Funke, and I’m still thinking about this dessert. We definitely ended our meal on a high note.
The flavors of the Meringata rotate depending on what’s in season. At one point, they had a strawberry version made with Harry’s Berries, which are like the Rolls Royce of strawberries.
Conclusion
If I had to choose between Felix, Mother Wolf and Funke, the latter is the winner for me. A few days after we went to Funke, we dined at Mother Wolf. I had only had the caccio e peppe pasta and the marguerita pizza when I went there in 2022, so I wasn’t familiar with the rest of the menu. It was my dad’s first time at Mother Wolf and unfortunately, we were disappointed. After having experienced Funke’s dazzling menu, the pasta dishes at Mother Wolf were very generic. You can find meat and tomato sauce pastas at plenty of high-end Italian restaurants in LA. At Funke and Mother Wolf, there isn’t a handmade pasta section on the menu. The bronze-cut pasta is done with the machine, which is a less laborious process, hence the bigger portions.
At Mother Wolf, you will not see Evan Funke in a glass enclosed room making your $50 pasta, nor will you find truffle shipped directly from Italy to the restaurant. At Funke, I felt like I was transported to different Italian regions as I was eating the food. It was a splurge-worthy experience, and being there felt very exclusive. The service was also impeccable.
While we were dining, a party of three sat in front of us. They spoke Russian. One guy, who looked famous, was wearing a gorgeous Gucci jacket and sat next to a blue-eyed blonde woman dressed in black. They looked like a couple. It seemed like the second guy who sat across from them, was a third wheel. On another table, a man was enjoying a glass of champagne with his scantily-clad date. When I went to the restroom, I saw that she had put his jacket on — a nice gesture of chivalry. At one point, they stood up to take pictures with Evan Funke.
People-watching at Mother Wolf wasn’t as nearly as enjoyable as Funke. At Mother Wolf, it was a more family-friendly atmosphere. I was also very surprised to see so many families with kids dining there.
My dad, who is completely indifferent to Italian food, said that Funke was by far the best meal of his trip. I was shocked to hear this because we went to really good restaurants in LA and Vegas, but the impressive quality of the dishes at Funke is what won him over.
From the off menu items that you won’t find at the sister restaurants to the carefully curated menu, it’s clear that Chef Evan is fully committed to Funke. If you want to make a reservation, I highly recommend calling the phone number listed on Google (424-279-9796) instead of booking through Resy.
Walk-ins are accepted at Bar Funke (located upstairs), but like I said above, the menu will be more limited. The best way to experience Funke is in the main dining room, where you’ll see Chef Evan Funke in action.
Address: 9388 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Hours: Monday-Thursday 5pm-10pm. Friday and Saturday 5pm-10:30pm
Make your reservation through Resy here.
Parking: There is valet, but there are plenty of 2-hour free parking lots nearby.
