Within the coronary heart of Los Angeles’s Koreatown, one may not expect to discover a restaurant the place conventional Italian classics are recreated by way of the lens of Korean components, however that distinctive culinary mash-up is precisely what you’ll find at Lapaba – a portmanteau of La Pa(sta) Ba(r). Because the brainchild of proprietor and beloved native restaurateur Robert Kim, who was impressed by Korean café tradition and Italian pasta bars to create a unifying idea that’s concurrently sudden and but acquainted.
Kim additionally had assist from the ‘Queen of Pasta’ Nancy Silverton, of Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza fame, who labored as a guide on the challenge. Extra Mozza alumni got here aboard, with husband-and-wife chef duo McKenna Lelah and Matthew Kim bringing this scrumptious Korean-Italian eatery to life.
Wallpaper* dines at Lapaba, Los Angeles
The temper: a pasta bar with a Korean soul
(Picture credit score: Photograph by Emily Ferretti)
George Kelly, founding father of Kelly Architects, started engaged on the challenge with Robert Kim in 2021, following his first go to to the deserted historic constructing, which required an entire ground-floor renovation.
The furnishings and interiors had been produced in Italy by Costagroup in collaboration with the architects. A central counter spans the room in fluted oak, topped with polished Carrara marble. Massive-format stone flooring, easy plaster partitions, and vertically-laid ceramic tiles full the palette. The lighting scheme combines sculptural pendant fixtures that spotlight the supplies and architectural geometries – together with an inside window, framed in emerald inexperienced tile, the place diners can see their pasta being made.
(Picture credit score: Photograph by Emily Ferretti)
(Picture credit score: Photograph by Emily Ferretti)
Relatively than counting on paintings, the house attracts expression from its architectural textures and customized particulars, from the bamboo-clad bar entrance to a rope-like mild fixture hanging from the ceiling. Keepsakes and ornamental objects line the cabinets, whereas a wall show of greater than 300 bottles anchors the bar on the entrance of the restaurant.
The meals: a seamless mix of two of the world’s most compelling cuisines
(Picture credit score: Photograph by Emily Ferretti)
Kim has been instrumental in bringing a collection of meals and beverage ideas to this pocket on the western fringe of Koreatown. At Lapaba, the pasta-making course of is totally on show, from sheeting and chopping to hanging.
Traditional pasta varieties the menu’s basis, however with a Korean twist. There’s orecchiette with sausage, tacky corn agnolotti, and the choice to raise dishes with an Orra caviar complement of sustainably sourced Siberian sturgeon.
(Picture credit score: Photograph by Emily Ferretti)
(Picture credit score: Photograph by Emily Ferretti)
Elsewhere, Italian staples are reworked with Korean components – supplì crammed with kimchi and Spam; rice muffins wearing cacio e pepe; and Korean fried rooster lifted with Calabrian chili warmth. To complete, go for the black truffle gentle serve or a line-up of soju-matcha cocktails, choices that exhibit Lapaba’s irreverent mix of precision and playfulness.
(Picture credit score: Photograph by Emily Ferretti)
Lapaba is situated at 558 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020, United States
Supply: Wallpaper
