The Factory Kitchen was a food destination in the Arts District long before many other trendy restaurants started opening up in the area (nearly a decade old, and y’all know that Arts District was barely recognizable 5 years ago much less 10). And while close to some of the hip and happening spots, and though the converted factory trope is fitting for an Arts District restaurant, The Factory Kitchen’s out of the way location and industrial surroundings make it still feel like a hidden gem. It feels classy yet informal, in a very nonchalant, European way. It is, dare I say, a rather underhyped restaurant in the company of many overhyped establishments.

The Factory Kitchen serves indisputably good Italian food. Like Jonathan Gold approved and Michelin Bib Gourmand recognized good food. It’s spacious but not too big, cozy but not too crowded, casual but still feels luxurious, the menu is big enough to be exciting, the food plated with finesse. You come here for the pasta, specifically the mandilli de seta (beautifully delicate and deceivingly simple pesto handkerchief pasta). But you stay for the prosciutto piled atop fluffy fried bread. The Factory Kitchen is the platonic ideal Italian restaurant in LA. It is everything you want and they don’t even make you work for it.