EVAN FUNKE HAS necessarily funneled his attention into Mother Wolf, his new Roman restaurant in Hollywood, and his hands are deep into planning future projects. Felix, though? Paradoxically or not, it’s better than ever. The Venice pasta laboratory he started five years ago with Janet Zuccarini has mellowed in temperament; it reached a contented midpoint between the trattoria Funke wanted for us and the one we hoped for from him. The cocktails spiked with citrus and amaro; the sharp chicory salad and roasted meats; and the Sicilian focaccia called sfincione are, under the nightly leadership of chef de cuisine Viktoriya Campos, as splendid as ever. Still, we know why we’re here — for spaghettoni ensnaring anchovies and herbs, for linguine so light with lemon it’s always the first empty plate, for the chew and snap of orecchiette bumping against the textures of sausage and spigarello. The tagliatelle with ragù that Funke studied at La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese has crept up to $45 a bowl. Even in times of inflation and crippling labor costs that’s an extreme sum. If I’m being honest, it was also the single most enjoyable pasta I had in Los Angeles this year.

• 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Los Angeles, (424) 387-8622, felixla.com