Cobi Levy Takes It Slow At New West Hollywood Hot Spot Alba

Cobi Levy, the former suit designer who became a scenester New York restaurateur when he opened ultra-exclusive destination The Charles in 2008, knows more than most about what it’s like to start off hot and then quickly fizzle.

Now with West Hollywood’s Alba, the sister restaurant of New York’s Cucina Alba, Levy is aiming to create something timeless.

The vibe and food here are described as “holiday Italian,” so this is about creating a laid-back, transporting spot where you can linger on the patio and drink spritzes and negronis before and after you enjoy chef/pasta powerhouse Adam Leonti’s eggplant Parm, pink chicories, Roman artichokes, chicken alla Diavola (a standout dish with perfectly crisp skin, juicy meat and a sauce with the right amount of kick), fettuccine Bolognese and agnolotti with black truffle fonduta.

The restaurant opened at 8451 Melrose Ave. on February 6, and Levy and Will Makris (who run Prince Street Hospitality together) are keeping things tight at the beginning. Alba has a sprawling 10,000-square-foot space, and Levy wants this to be a friendly neighborhood spot that encourages walk-ins, but it’s important to keep the early days of this restaurant manageable.

“It’s focus,” Levy says. “It’s control. We are doing exactly 150 covers every night for the first weeks. Look, I had over a thousand on the waitlist. You know, the old me would be like, ‘Oh my God,’ and then I would wonder why things were a shitshow. Like, invite 500 of my closest friends to a restaurant that can hold 100 and wonder why no one’s getting good service and it’s full pandemonium.”

Levy, whose New York portfolio also includes Little Prince and Lola Taverna, has a lot of success under his belt. But he’s just as driven by memories of his failures.

“When I think back to the first restaurant I opened, The Charles was, in truth, just a giant ego play.” he says. “There’s an addictive element. Suddenly, everyone wants to be your best friend, and there’s glitz and celebrity and a lot of people in New York. But I wasn’t ready for what that felt like. And also, it’s very ephemeral. It’s gone fast.”

Both The Charles and follow-up restaurant Nico had short lifespans.

“I realized, after having two white-hot restaurants that then faded, that being great takes time. You can be hot, and it goes away. But if you want to win this business, you have to win on the merits, whether it’s just being the best at the food or service. But for me, I thought it was going to be about the amalgam of enough vibe, enough service and design, and being in a place where people are just like, ‘Oh my God, I have to be here.’”

It’s not lost on Levy that many Los Angeles customers live in nice houses (instead of the cramped apartments in New York), so it can take a lot for them to leave home.

What Levy is building in West Hollywood is a total package, with a foundation of elegant but unfussy food from Leonti (who first made his name cooking with pasta icon Marc Vetri in Philadelphia and went on to become chef de cuisine at the eponymous Vetri). The restaurant’s bar, patio (with a retractable roof) and indoor dining area all evoke a vacation getaway. The front-of-the-house staff, in beautifully tailored threads, work efficiently in teams. Partner Julian Black came from Major Food Group. GM Greg Lee worked at Atelier Crenn when it earned three Michelin stars. Director of hospitality Kevin King’s CV includes Le Rock and Balthazar. Beverage director Truman Flanders used to pour drinks at world-beating Eleven Madison Park.

“Like, we have white tablecloths, but you can create a vibe that’s not stuffy while also layering in a level of refinement and luxury that doesn’t feel like that it’s, you know, Daniel,” Levy says.

This restaurant is an ambitious attempt to become something that’s the exact opposite of a flash in the pan.

“L.A. did hot for a very long time, and there are obviously great outlier restaurants like Giorgio Baldi and Angelini,” Levy says. “I always wanted to be part of that conversation. Those are forever restaurants. I also think that with the evolution of L.A. from a culinary standpoint, the bar keeps getting raised.”

Plus, Levy points out that many private clubs in New York are really designed to get people to have a couple more drinks after dinner. He hopes Alba can be that type of place, minus the membership element.

“I do think that can also be done in a restaurant,” he says. “And at Alba, if you’re having a great dinner and it’s a beautiful night and you don’t really want to go anywhere, you can just hang right here.”

It’s about what the Italians call Il Dolce Far Niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. Because it turns out that doing nothing is often what makes you feel everything. It makes sense to create this environment in Los Angeles, which Levy sees as “a little bit more Zen and maybe a touch more spiritual” than New York even if you’re used to seeing people simultaneously wearing plain white T-shirts and $200,000 watches

“It’s just like, ‘Hey, slow down a little bit,” Levy says, “Enjoy. Take it all in.”