In the middle of COVID, Toronto-based chef Rob Gentile received a phone call from fellow Canadian Janet Zuccarini, CEO and founder of the Gusto 54 Restaurant Group (behind Venice favorite Felix Trattoria).
“She says, ‘I want you to consider coming to California,’” recalled Gentile to a crowd of diners on Friday, Nov. 17. Born in Canada to Italian parents, Gentile previously served as chef director and partner of King Street Food Company — whose Buca restaurants ranked among the best in the country. He was hesitant about moving with his wife and daughter until he flew to Los Angeles. “I legit fell in love,” he said. “A beautiful city, incredible weather, the ingredients are out of this world — especially if you’re a chef.”
Gentile and Zuccarini had known each other from Toronto, where Zuccarini has 14 restaurants — including Italian eateries Trattoria Nervosa (now 27 years old) and Gusto 101. While Toronto has the most Italian immigrants outside of Italy, Zuccarini told Los Angeles magazine, when she came to L.A., she detected a gap in the market. “Where are all the Italian restaurants?” she wondered, noticing there were no pizza joints and newer places alongside the 20-year-old old-school establishments. The restaurateur (who’s half Italian and lived in Italy) opened Felix Trattoria in 2017 with chef Evan Funke to serve food that was still authentically Italian but a little bit more relevant.
Zuccarini had been looking to open a second restaurant in Los Angeles, and said Gentile is known as one of the most talented Italian chefs from Canada. He was looking to make a change and the timing was perfect.
The pair began searching for locations and considered it a stroke of luck when the Beverly Boulevard space occupied by starry Italian restaurant Madeo for over 30 years became available. “So it’s under construction, we’ll be open in January,” announced Gentile of Stella West Hollywood, an 8,000-square-foot, bilevel eatery that will occupy the downstairs of the new 8899 Beverly residential complex. Designed by Olson Kundig, the luxury building with a 24-hour concierge, pool and fitness studio houses 40 private residences and eight custom homes in West Hollywood — selling for $5 to over $20 million.
“We’re doing a coursed-out menu here, but downstairs it’ll be a lot more family style, however you want to eat,” said Gentile, who gave guests a sneak peak at Stella’s menu from the building’s dazzling penthouse with help from chef di cucina Sarah Fiore and wine director Alejandro Marchesini. “You can come in for a pizza, some pasta, you can have six courses if you want, have great wine.”
The menu will showcase Gentile’s strength with seafood, as well as some Italian staples that he previewed. “One of my favorites — and going to be a signature dish on our menu — is a burrata that’s flown in from Italy, and we finish it with caviar and a very special olive oil from Canada,” said Gentile, who sources the coveted oil grown on an island from The Olive Farm and served the dish with warm Jyan Isaac Bread.
“Another special dish — one of our signatures in the restaurant — is su filindeu,” Gentile continued. “It’s confusing when I say it’s pasta, because it’s actually kind of like a soup. It’s considered the world’s rarest pasta. There are very few people in the world that know how to make it. I was fortunate enough to learn — I went to Sardinia, I spent time with the ladies who know how to make it. It’s a pasta that’s stretched by hand and it’s woven. We cook it in a broth, and we’re serving it with a young pecorino. It’s more of a complex, mouth-feel experience of a soup, more so than a pasta that’s served al dente.”
Other dishes presented included bluefin tuna carpaccio with capered sea grapes and Westholme wagyu with pine mushrooms and piccata sauce.
The meal finished on a sweet note with Gentile’s take on tiramisu, with cookies soaked in maple syrup.
“It’s going to be my vision of Italian — closest you can get to Italy, with California ingredients,” said Gentile.
Added Zuccarini: “I’m from Toronto, Rob’s from Toronto. This is from Canada with love.”
