The entrance to Pura Vita is relatively unassuming for a notable in the LA vegan dining scene. That is to say there are no pampas grass arrangements in hand-crafted clay vases, boho-chic tapestries, or cascading walls of succulents kept alive through witchcraft and spray bottles. Sure there’s some greenery in the foyer and windows, but what self-respecting Angeleno doesn’t have a few hanging planters?
Inside, perfectly equidistant wine bottles line the wall on the pizzeria side of the restaurant, and blood red backlighting emanates from behind the bar. On a window facing the street their translucent logo is fully backlit like a stained glass window – – a chef’s knife impaling a dripping tomato. The ambience is gothic industrial minimalism meets informal east coast Italian dining. Edison bulbs in wrought iron pendant lamps, brick facades, lovely geometric tiling and crystal skull sconces. Trattoria meets ristorante meets turn-of-the-century vampire nightclub. Incidentally, there are no decorative braids of garlic in sight.
The soundtrack is straight from the K-Earth 101 playbook, comfort food spanning from motown to classic pop. Billy Joel is feeling his oats around verse three of “The Longest Time” as we review our options. The menu is also playing the hits, and a peek around clarifies the restaurant’s crossover appeal. A sharply-dressed young man with a tattoo sleeve and his well-coiffed partner give first date energy over at the bar, while to our right an extremely white teenager sulks under his durag while his mother coaxes him into ordering the eggplant parmigiana. I get the sense that it’s a popular spot for vegans to dine with the like-minded or baptize unwitting carnivores, so without overthinking the menu my wife and I settle on the Linguine Di Mare and the Capricciosa pizza.
The Linguini Di Mare is a spicy scallop pasta with a white wine sauce. The garlic packs a bite, and the king oyster mushroom scallops are an extremely cheeky reproduction. The briny flavor is right on, and confidently holds the dish together. Was it braised with a sheet of kombu? The waitstaff aren’t giving anything up.
The Capricciosa is a red pie laden with clumps of cashew mozzarella, artichoke heart, sliced crimini, and halved kalamata olives. A ‘shiitake bacon’ that comes out closer in consistency to a tender tapenade rounds out the lineup. The marinara is fresh and sweet. The cremini mushrooms are shaved thin, and like the shiitake bacon they lend a subtle pop to each bite without adding too much body. Conversely, the artichoke hearts are roughly quartered and retain their delicate flavor through the bake. Judiciously-spaced kalamata olives deliver a salty kick that wakes up the palate to the rest of the pie’s subtler toppings. The cashew mozzarella is a showstopper, its richness rounding the other punchier notes into shape. The crust is a dish unto itself. The char is even and light; the touch of bitterness complements the jammy marinara remains on the side of the crust, and there’s a gentle crackle to the finish that belies the chewy interior.
Other dishes to try include the excellent charred broccolini, served on a bed of ricotta drizzled with a vegan honey, and a fiery and bold spaghetti puttanesca. If the image of a pasta puttanesca in your mind’s eye resembles an anemic nest of angel hair with a shake of chili flakes and a handful of jarred olives and capers, you ought to treat yourself to a fresh perspective. Perhaps I’ve had some singularly weak pastas in my life, but my wife also found this example revelatory. If you catch their tagliatelle al funghi special it’s a must-have. The carbonara and lasagna from their year-round menu are equally wonderful – – in particular, the strong note of lemon zest in the carbonara offsets the nutty and funky base quite spectacularly. However, make no mistake that the pizza is what will keep you up at night staring at the ceiling and reflecting on life’s great mysteries.
The most unexpected thing about going vegan has been the re-construction of not just my palate but my overall relationship with food. The special-occasion foods were meant to be difficult to give up, and the workday fare should have been easy. Sometimes comfort foods only present as such when they cease to be a part of your life, but it wasn’t until a truly special pie came back into mine that I realized how much pizza meant to me. This was the most emotional meal I’ve had in a long time.
Though the ambience walks the line between classic and kitsch it does so purposefully and on its own terms, and it’s clear that this restaurant is deeply secure. By nailing the classics with some novel plant-based interpretations, Pura Vita offers a timeless experience for vegans and omnivores alike.
