It’s truffle season! The annual harvest of the rare and uber-expensive white truffles of Italy arrive every autumn and adorn a bevy of dishes from decadent pastas to sizzling hot pizzas. Truffles are famous for their siren-esque aroma and subtle flavors that elevate dishes from mere mortals to Roman gods.
Around Los Angeles, diners will find Italian restaurants showing off their imaginative truffle presentations with tableside shavings or meticulously hidden placements that surprise and wow their palates in ways they didn’t know possible.
Here is where you can find some of the best truffles in Los Angeles and the dishes that put them on their proper pedestal.
Grá
Known for its fermented, tangy, sourdough pizzas, Grá decided to double down on its fungi by adorning its cremini and oyster mushroom pizza with a mix of truffle oil and shaved black truffles from Piedmont. It takes what might be the most interesting pizza in LA to a level that will have fungus fanatics foaming at the mouth.
(ph credit Ross Laurence)
Eataly
Under hanging lights and perfectly clear night skies, the atmosphere at Terra, the rooftop restaurant atop Eataly’s sprawling Los Angeles space, is enough to wow guests before a single dish is delivered. But when the Pappardelle ai Funghi arrives, you’ll be elevated even higher. The colorful spinach pasta is garnished with mouthwatering mushrooms, 18-month Parmigiano Reggiano® DOP, and then doused with a healthy dose of Urbani white truffles that simply scintillate all your senses.
(ph credit Eataly)
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele
While this famous Napolitano transplant is known for their pizza, it would be a huge mistake to sleep on Da Michele’s pastas – especially during truffle season. This year, the stunning outdoor patio spot has a new fan favorite in their white truffle tagliatelle. Homemade noodles are creamed up with butter and aged Parmigiano and then topped with thinly sliced shavings of white truffles that just melt with every savory bite. Come for the pizza, save room for the truffles.
(ph credit Rosella Pisano)
Ospi
The newest west side Italian joint from chef Jackson Kalb and Melissa Saka is filled with southern Italian classics and a bevy of Roman favorites. For truffle season, the Ospi team has a menu filled with Alba white truffles, but the standout is the thin crust tonda-style Pizza Bianca with taleggio and fior di latte, topped with a Parmigiano Reggiano fonduta (creamy heaven), and enhanced with loads of white truffle shavings. That sentence should make you drool.
(ph credit Melissa Saka)
Uovo
The Italian geniuses who fly their perfected pasta straight from Bologna take immense pride in every dish they deliver. It stands to reason that Uovo would take truffle season just as seriously; and do they ever. The standout seasonal specialty is their Tagliatelle al Tartufo Bianco d’Alba. Translation: insanely good pasta, topped with the world’s best white truffles, served at the exact time and temperature that is meant to explode your mind.
(ph credit UOVO)
Angelini Osteria
One could argue that Angelini Osteria is the best Italian restaurant in Los Angeles (I might argue that), and when they bring truffles onto the menu, it makes it that much harder to stay away. The must-have is the house-made Spaghetti Chitarra alla Norcina, which mixes sausage, aged Parmigiano Reggiano, and a very healthy portion of black truffles on top.
(ph credit Angelini Osteria)
Felix Trattoria
Evan Funke’s ode to pasta is a west side favorite that rivals its cousins on the streets of Rome. During truffle season, Funke takes things up a few notches at Felix with his Tortelloni “fior dell’emilia” con tartufo bianco. To make things perfectly clear, the tortelloni are filled with Mortadella di Bologna, Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, and grated white truffles from Appennino Tosco-Emiliano. To make things even more decadent, a generous 8g of the same truffles are shaved on top to ensure the food coma you always dreamed about.
(ph credit Joy Limanon)
Olivetta
Currently taking up residency inside the La Peer hotel in West Hollywood, Marissa Hermer’s Olivetta is a Mediterranean hub that truly shines in the pasta department. And if you’re sitting poolside on a brisk Fall night in LA, open your wallet and get the White Truffle Bucatini. This cacio e pepe-esque delight is covered in Parmigiano Reggiano, infused with black pepper, and then littered with the best Alba white truffles on the planet. Seems unfair.
(ph credit Courtney Northrop)
Mora Italiano
A staple for San Fernando Valley Italian food lovers, Mora recently opened a second location on West Third Street serving the same reliably enticing pastas and pizzas. And if you’re looking for truffles, make it a point of ordering their Funghi Pizza, which is filled with Fior di latte mozzarella, fontina, sottocenere al tartufo, maitake mushrooms, shallots, and watercress. Yes, you’re reading that correctly – it’s truffle cheese, and it’s amazing.
(ph credit Jim Sullivan)
BRERA Ristorante
From the creative genius of chef Angelo Auriana comes a truffle masterpiece that’s not to be missed. At BRERA Ristorante, Auriana and team offer up tuber magnatum pico white truffles shaved atop a choice of risotto, gnocchi, or tagliolini. Not. To. Be. Missed.
(ph credit Jennifer Chaput)