In this month’s edition of First Friday Feast, we headed over to Bottega Louie WEHO, a popular eatery in Los Angeles that’s on the Resy platform.

First Friday Feast is a monthly series debuting on the first Friday of each month and elaborates on a recent dining experience. For avoidance of doubt, this post was in no way sponsored by the restaurant.

We’ve been trying to have a date night each month this year (and post about it on the first Friday of every month). Sometimes we bring the kids along for date night and sometimes they stay at home. But that’s fine by us–the kids are more than welcome to tag along if they want. This time we had a romantic dinner (for 4) on Valentine’s Day.

Arrival to Bottega Louie WEHO (West Hollywood)

We were staying one night at the Andaz West Hollywood and needed a spot to eat dinner. So, I opened up the Resy app to figure out where might be a good place to visit. Sometimes getting reservations on Valentine’s Day can be a challenge. Luckily, there were plenty of spots open a week out at the Bottega Louie WEHO. On paper, it’s only a 5 minute drive between the hotel and here. But rush hour traffic in LA is terrible and instead took ~15 minutes.

Full disclosure: we normally hate eating out on Valentine’s Day. It’s crowded, service tends to be miserable, and there are far too many expectations. But since we were having a staycation, we needed to eat somewhere. And I had some Resy gift cards to spend.

There is some seating outside by the curb, but we made our way inside to check in and take a look at the desserts while we waited (more on that later). A short wait later, we were invited to our table.

Despite there being plenty of reservation times available a week earlier, it was pretty crowded at Bottega Louie WEHO. There also seemed to be plenty of other kids here when we showed up for our 5:15PM dinner reservation.

The menu

The Bottega Louie WEHO menu is simple enough. You have columns showing options for salads, pizza, and pasta. Towards the bottom are the small plates and entrees. One unfortunate notice is listed at the bottom of the menu, where it says that they add an extra 5% to all checks. They could just reprint the menu and add $1-$2 to all items and cover off the surcharge in a more transparent manner.

On the reverse side of the menu is where all the drinks are listed. Most of the page outlines the wines you can choose from.

Drinks

For this dinner, since it was Valentine’s Day, we decided to go for a bottle of rosé champagne. Yes, there’s always a surcharge buying a bottle of wine when eating out vs. buying it yourself. But the same can be said about any alcohol you get from a restaurant. Get over it.

The food at Bottega Louie WEHO

Bread

After we placed our orders, our server brought over some fresh bread by placing it directly onto the table. Since our kids were a bit hungry, they devoured the bread quickly. Bread is one of those things that always seems like a good idea to start the meal. We find that it just makes us feel overly stuffed at the end of the meal and becomes a regret. So, it’s fine for us that the kids eat it instead of us adults.

Salmon

There aren’t true kids meals here at Bottega Louie, but that’s perfectly fine for our kids. Char didn’t feel like pizza that evening, so we ordered some salmon for her. It had a crispy exterior, which is how she likes it and how I make it for her at home. The salmon rested atop some farro that added a little more substance to the dish. It’s good and the flavors mesh well, though Char claims the salmon I make for her at home is better. I think she just likes making hand rolls with some nori seaweed, salmon, and white rice.

Grilled Broccolini

We wanted some greens, so we ordered the grilled broccolini. Delicious with a perfect amount of crisp. The kids are still learning to enjoy vegetables, but that’s OK because it’s less for Jenn and I to share with others.

Bolognese Pasta

Alex couldn’t decide between getting pizza and pasta–a common debate for him. We obliged his desires and ordered both. First up is the Bolognese pasta, which tasted freshly made and had a good bite to it. The flavor has some complexity to it and the herbs on top add some freshness. Mixed into the dish is some braised beef and pancetta. Overall, it’s not bad at all, but is it worth $32 for pasta? You’re in Los Angeles, so the price doesn’t seem quite that out of place to us.

Sausage Pizza

If it were up to Jenn and me, we would have chosen a different pizza that looked a bit more interesting (like the burrata). However, with Alex making the call, we instead went with the sausage pizza. Put simply, it’s delicious. One thing that Bottega Louie does best is its pizzas, and this is no exception. The dough is chewy, the toppings are plentiful, and cheese has a good amount of pull. We enjoy crust that’s light and airy, which is what we got here. Perhaps next time we’ll need to get two pizzas for the table (assuming Char is up for it).

Chocolate Framboise Cake

Congrats to us in that we didn’t over-order. We still took back a slice of pizza to enjoy later, but attention turned to the dessert menu.

I think a nice like this deserves some chocolate. And the best option we had to enjoy chocolate was the chocolate framboise cake. (Yes, though this restaurant serves Italian food, there are also French influences like the word framboise for raspberry). It has a bit of sweetness from the raspberry marmalade and chocolate ganache. You won’t get that ultra dense chocolate taste if that’s what you’re looking for. But if you want some chocolate, this hits the spot.

Pastries to go

You’re not just limited to the desserts on the dessert menu. If you’d rather grab a pastry or macaron, head over to the front of the restaurant. There is a rather large selection of sweets for you to choose from.

We spent several minutes trying to figure out what we should order. Thankfully, there wasn’t much of a line, so we had time to make a good selection.

Eventually, the kids settled on three macarons each. One benefit (for me) was that I could pay separate Delta Amex credit card so that I can get another Resy credit in separate from dinner. I really don’t like giving a fistful of credit cards at the end of these meals to have the server split the bill more than two ways.

Bottega Louie does a good job with making the packaging look fancy. Presentation gets an A from us.

And inside are the six macarons we ordered in total. The kids don’t recall eating them before, and were surprised to hear that even McDonald’s serves them in Paris, France. Do I have to take them there again to refresh their memories?

Recommendation: Yes, but it can be a tad pricey

We’ve been to Bottega Louie’s other location in Downtown LA, but it was our first visit to the West Hollywood location. The food is delicious–in particular, the pizza–and service was surprisingly good for Valentine’s Day. Special occasion aside, it was part of a lovely evening. The macrons to top off the night were well-received with a delicate crunch of the exterior shells and that sweet jam interior.

Yes, the cost can be a bit prohibitive to make this an everyday meal. But, the Resy dining credits found on a collection of Amex credit cards makes the pricing not so outlandish. That’s especially the case if all you want is some pastries. If we lived closer to Bottega Louie WEHO, we might stop in monthly to use up our credits here.

Are you a Bottega Louie lover?

Suggested reading:

• Other Destinations and Restaurants We’ve Visited
• Quick Hit: Earning Amex Resy Credits
• Bestia: An Excellent Dining Option in Los Angeles