Felix Trattoria — Evan Funke's pasta room on Abbot Kinney (2017)

Evan Funke (born 1978, Santa Monica) is a sixth-generation Californian chef and restaurateur who has built a Los Angeles pasta empire centered on handmade, regional-Italian cuisine. After six weeks at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, Funke was recruited by Wolfgang Puck and became sous chef at Spago in Beverly Hills ^[1]. In 2008 he moved to Bologna to study under master sfoglina Alessandra Spisni at La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese, learning to roll sfoglia by hand with a matarello and mastering over 150 pasta shapes ^[1][4].

Funke’s first solo role was executive chef at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica (2008–2012) ^[1]. In 2013 he opened Bucato at the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City—the only US restaurant at the time to serve exclusively handmade pasta, made without machines or extruders ^[1][4]. Bucato closed in 2015, leaving Funke with $3.5 million in personal debt ^[5][6].

In 2017 Funke opened Felix Trattoria at 1023 Abbot Kinney in Venice, with a glass-walled pasta-laboratory front room where diners watch pasta being made by hand ^[1][9][10]. The menu is a three-region regional-Italian selection (Emilia-Romagna, Rome, etc.) and changes daily based on farmers’ market offerings ^[8][9]. Felix was named Esquire’s Best New Restaurant in America 2017 and won an AIA|LA People’s Choice design award ^[10]. Funke’s ethos is handmade-pasta-only with no substitutions; the menu lists dishes by region and the teacher who taught him each shape ^[6].

Funke hosted the Quibi series ‘Shape of Pasta’ (2020), traveling Italy to document traditional pasta shapes ^[1][2]. He was also the subject of the documentary Funke (2018) and an episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table: Noodles (2024) ^[1][2][7]. His cookbook American Sfoglino (2019) won an IACP Award and a James Beard photography award ^[2].

Funke’s expansion includes Mother Wolf in Hollywood (opened early 2022), focusing on Roman and Lazio cuisine, with additional locations in Las Vegas and Miami ^[1][3][7]. In January 2023 he opened Funke in Beverly Hills, a tri-level atelier with a glass-fronted pasta laboratorio and rooftop bar ^[1][9]. Funke also operates Tre Dita, a Tuscan steakhouse at the St. Regis Chicago (2024) ^[1][2].