With pressed sushi, yakiniku, seafood pancakes, sake and freshly spinning house-made soft serve, a globally inspired izakaya pop-up lands in a permanent home in Virgil Village. Founders Eric Bedroussian and Josh Hartley laid the foundation for Budonoki as a weekly dinner party during college, but it wasn’t until a few years later when they teamed up with chef Dan Rabilwongse that the pop-up went official, appearing around L.A.
Mamma Gela, from husband-and-wife team François and Margaux Trifaro, is the first restaurant for the couple, who weave in their French heritage and upbringing as well, though the menu primarily reflects François’ parents: his mother — the restaurant’s namesake, Angela, from Sicily and his father from Calabria. “Once she passed away he always wanted to do something for her,” said Margaux Trifaro, who runs the front-of-house operations.