Popular New York Italian Restaurant Alba Opens in West Hollywood

It seems like New York City’s latest hot new restaurant cluster may actually be in Los Angeles. On February 6, acclaimed New York Italian restaurant Alba Cucina opens its Los Angeles outpost in a former West Hollywood art gallery. The new location drops “cucina” from its name, operating as just Alba. The restaurant is the latest in a lineup of New York restaurants, including Marea and Cipriani, that have recently made the cross-country trek to open on the West Coast.

Business partners Cobi Levy and Julian Black started development for Alba two years ago after Catch Hospitality Group co-founder Mark Birnbaum pointed out a neighboring space on the market. The duo was drawn in by the allure of Los Angeles’s year-round outdoor dining and access to produce, plus the opportunities that come with a larger restaurant space. Levy, raised in San Francisco, and Black, raised in Los Angeles, both have familiarity with California’s restaurant scene but had to find a way to translate Alba Cucina’s “holiday Italian” menu that plays in New York to something more in line with what West Hollywood diners want to eat.

A cozy banquette.

Levy and Black brought along chef Adam Leonti, who has worked at Alba Cucina since its opening in 2022, to lead the kitchen at the sister restaurant. “My first step was just coming here and spending time,” Leonti says. “Really just bringing myself here to start to look around and see what it’s like.” He hadn’t spent a lot of time in Los Angeles before the expansion, so there was a learning curve in navigating the way the city dines. He hopes his time spent doing ambient research in Los Angeles’s varied dining neighborhoods helps him be able to “speak both languages.”

“Angelenos have a very specific way they like to eat,” Black says. “And I think a lot of New York restaurants that have come to LA have failed because they haven’t catered to that exactly.”

Meals at Alba may begin with fluffy golden focaccia, served straight out of the oven, with whipped ricotta or crescenza on the side or plates of baked ravioli drizzled with balsamic. To share, the restaurant offers dishes like a balloon of burrata with sweet persimmons, a rich meatball in pomodoro sauce, crisp pink chicories with hazelnuts and dates, and Calabrian-chile-flecked tuna tartare with pistachios.

Leonti takes cues from what he finds at the farmers market for the garden section of the menu; right now, diners will find things like spring peas with cipollini onions, squash blossoms in a lemon potato mousse, grilled zucchini aglio e olio, and white beans with broccoli rabe. “There’s a farmers market right on Melrose Place, and honestly, it’s nicer than the Union Square market is right now,” Leonti says. He pursues simplicity in the vegetable dishes at Alba, ensuring that peak-season produce is the main focus and finding ways to build around its flavor.

“There’s a farmers market right on Melrose Place, and honestly, it’s nicer than the Union Square market is right now.”

Pastas on the menu include a rigatoni primavera, agnolotti in a black truffle fonduta (a favorite from New York), gnocchi in sage butter, and orecchiette in arrabbiata sauce served with burrata. Branzino comes with yellow pepper crema, while a local red rockfish stews with tomatoes resembles a preparation from Livorno; chicken gets topped with a spicy diavola sauce, and lamb scottadito is cooked with rosemary and mustard. Sides of roasted potatoes and broccolini can be added on to round out the meal.

Truman Flanders (Eleven Madison Park) leads the beverage program, offering cocktails, wine, after-dinner amari, and straight spirits. Martini fans can indulge in a classic version of the cocktail with vodka, a “not quite dirty” iteration with gin, or an espresso martini, while those more in the mood for a Negroni can sip on preparations with chartreuse elixir, herbaceous portofino gin, or a nontraditional version with bourbon. Wine is sourced from across the globe, with bottles from Tuscany, Napa, Friuli, and Sicily on the menu.

Entrance to Alba.

Levy designed Alba alongside GRT Architects, pulling references from the New York City location, like the light wood interiors and midcentury modern chairs. What used to be a parking lot just outside was transformed into a patio for al fresco dining with brick-laden floors and curved trellises on the wall. The main dining room is gently lit with uplighting hidden behind curved butter-colored banquettes; a marble statue rests on a wood pedestal at the center of the room. Tables are draped with white tablecloths, offering a touch of elegance without the stuffiness. A private dining room sits on the second floor and plans to add a rooftop garden are in the works.

Levy hopes that Alba will be able to connect with Los Angeles and the local community. “What we are trying to do, desperately, is to avoid the hubris of believing that just because we’re coming from New York, that everyone should sort of like, kneel before us,” he says. He sees Los Angeles’s dining scene as the birthplace of national dining habits, and hopes to honor the work of chefs like Jonathan Waxman — an executive chef at Michael’s in Santa Monica early in his career — who have made an impact on the city.

Alongside Leonti, a handful of other Alba Cucina employees will be moving to Los Angeles to help open in West Hollywood. As the team prepared to open the doors, Levy says he’s feeling butterflies. “It’s a big project,” he says. “It’s an incredible project. When you step foot in here you see the grandeur and the scope of it.”

Alba is located at 8451 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90048, and is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

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8451 Melrose Ave, , 90069