Bar di Bello Brings Milanese Glamour—and Delicious Martinis—To Silver Lake

Bar di Bello, a new bar and restaurant opening in Los Angeles’s Silver Lake neighborhood on March 27, is an Italian-inspired spot with an Italian-sounding name. But the name doesn’t exactly mean anything. “I have a friend from Italy, Davide, who designed our uniforms,” says co-owner Alex Wilmot. “When I told him what the name was, he was like, 'That really kind of makes no sense.' And I was like, 'I don't really care. It rolls off the tongue!’"

Bar di Bello very loosely translates to “bar of beauty,” and it lives up to the name. It’s right on Sunset Boulevard, in a fancy strip mall—like many of Los Angeles’s best restaurants. When you peel back the burgundy curtains at the entrance, it feels as if Carlo Mollino's spacecraft-like Il Teatro Regio di Torino mated with a luxurious steamship cabin. (You can find geometric portholes at the kitchen door.)

Wilmot—previously of the Hollywood French bistro Gigi’s and the East Village burger restaurant Whitman’s—and his partners Michael Kassar, Mike Moonves, and Kristin Olszewski, sought to emulate the energy of Milanese bars. He was particularly struck by Bar Basso, a historic cocktail bar where they serve “head-sized” negronis. “We will be featuring a Negroni di Basso, which is a double negroni in these giant, monstrous, hand blown glass goblets,” says Wilmot. There will be food, too, including breaded chicken cutlet with a soubise of guanciale and caper poured tableside, as well as a penne di bello with Normandy butter, parmigiano, and fresh basil. The menus, and general creative direction, were provided by Special Offer, Inc., whose other clients include Charli XCX and Rosalía.

The restaurant was designed by Dean Levin, founder of the L.A. firm 22RE. Levin grew up dining at classic Italian-ish restaurants in Los Angeles, like the legendary Musso & Frank Grill (home of red-jacketed waiters and ice-cold martinis) and La Scala (inventors of the chopped salad). For Bar di Bello, he looked to classic Milanese design, Italian Futurism, and mid-century icons like Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, particularly the latter’s The Grill Room at the Four Seasons in Manhattan. “The idea was to design a place where as soon as you step in, you want a martini,” says Levin.

The space is rife with thoughtful touches: walls dotted with artist Brendan Lynch’s reproductions of Morandi and Modigliani works, built-in vases from Ceramics by STAUD for fresh flowers, travertine and basalt tiles patterned on the floor to encourage a particular flow of traffic. There are works from Italy all over Bar di Bello: the sconces are designed by postmodern Italian designer Tobia Scarpa (son of Carlo Scarpa) and the 1970s chairs are by Vico Magistretti. In a nod to the mish-mash of California design, there are global touches around the restaurant. The bar is made of red travertine from Iran and the dark wood found all over Bar di Bello is American Walnut.

All of this careful work is in service to people having a good time. “We want it to feel like a party in there,” says Wilmot. There is, after all, a lot of Italo Disco on the playlist. And in case anyone was afraid of the parking situation in prime Silver Lake, know that there will be valet. La dolce vita.