Hippo

My son took me here for dinner and it was awesome. Food , Drink, Desert and Service all were great. The chicken thighs were amazing.

I have always got food to go, but the atmosphere never misses- forever greeted with a smile. I am in love with everything they produce and cannot be swayed. Try desserts, it is a whole different playground. Side note, they even have a happy hour menu.

One of the best pastas in LA. The broccolini ravioli with the Vongole sauce is my favorite. The cauliflower with capers and the Tandori influenced chicken is also excellent. Can’t forget about the Hippo rolls neither. Drinks are top notch and so is just about everything here. Highly recommend Hippo for dinner and hitting the bars along The Fig in Highland park. Good way to spend a Friday or Saturday night

Morgan was a wonderful waitress!! The food was absolutely amazing, I usually have leftovers no matter what I order at a restaurant but I ate everything and we shared a desert! Definitely reccomend! The prosciutto appetizer, taglietelle and hazelnut cake are delicious. I'm gluten free and there was a good amount of options and the waitstaff was very kind and knowledgeable about the options for me!

Totally hipster little restaurant. Fun decor. Staff was very attentive and friendly. Food was wonderfully seasoned , fresh, and perfectly seasonal. Dessert was a great end to a great meal.

South Figueroa is historical landmarks and events this restaurant also one of our favorite spot you should come and try they’re delicious dishes .

Hippo is one of the best restaurants in Highland Park. It one of the few restaurants on the Michelin guide and for good reason! The food here is inspired by italian classics and the drink menu is curated to perfection for a sit down restaurant. I would suggest ordering a few plates and sharing everything with the people at your table. They serve complimentary focaccia when you’re seated, so make sure you factor that in when ordering. I’ve been here a few times and a MUST order item are the hippo rolls with cinnamon honey butter. It is a perfect brioche that pairs perfect with their house whipped butter. The burrata is served with their house grilled bread. I think the bread is grilled in garlicky olive oil and topped with a healthy amount of salt. The pasta options here are great as well. The pork and duck ragu dishes are rich in flavor and the pasta has a nice bite to it. Same goes with their bucatini and rigatoni dishes - they do a great red sauce here! Don’t sleep on their meat/fish/game menu. The cedar smoked trout is probably my favorite thing on this menu. It’s served with corn and an addicting green goddess sauce. The fish is perfectly flaky and delicious. Lastly dessert! There’s usually a seasonal rotating option that I always order. Always a good way to end a meal. TLDR: Hippo is a great restaurant for any occasion. You really can’t go wrong with anything on their menu and the service is top tier.

Very delicious hand made daily food. The pastas are unmissable and also the desert Bottini!

What a great place to discover on Figueroa. This is truly a gem on the street. I walked in and waited for the rest of the party at the bar. It was about 6 p.m. on a Monday evening. The bar area was busy with people sitting and having an after-work drink. The dining area was not yet filled up but did have people there enjoying their food. When the rest of our party showed up we were Seated on the patio outside. It is next to a parking lot but it was nice and quaint. We ordered appetizers at the suggestion of the waitress and her choices were excellent. The Bufula Mozzarella, shaved brussel sprouts, steak tartare... For the entrees Sweet Corn Cappellacci, Bacon wrapped Scallops, and Duck Ragu. We all shared and enjoyed. Parking on the street or a small lot next door. Great dining experience. Good food with excellent service... You can't do better! By the way, when we left the place was packed and there was a waiting list ....very understandable. Make a reservation and enjoy yourself!

This place has been on the list for some time now and it did not disappoint. The food could stand on its own, but the service we had honestly served as the icing on the cake. I didn’t catch the name of our waiter but he (tallish with about chin length hair) was fantastic. We wanted a few suggestions off the menu and he did not lead us astray. Before arriving we had our mind set on the duck ragú tagliolini (it was a popular in reviews), the hamachi crudo, and the butternut squash ravioli, but the list of ‘firsts’ (their appetizers) threw us. Everything sounded delicious and we decided to ask our waiter so we could observe his initial reactions and the way he described the food. We ended up adding the burrata with prosciutto, grilled cauliflower, and a bonus entree - grilled chicken thigh to the order. I gotta say that I was not that thrilled about the chicken thigh but boy did that turn out to be surprise of the evening. It was seasoned so well and grilled to perfection. Thank goodness the portions were not stingy. They also give you huge chunks of focaccia seasoned with salt as something to nibble on while you wait for the food to arrive. By the end of the meal it was hard to make a call on which dish was a favorite. I suppose if I would say the hamachi crudo and grilled cauliflower stood out the most for the unique flavors the dish had. While this would make for a nice date, I think you’ll have a more comprehensive dining experience if you go as at least a party of 4 so that you can order family style.

Cute place with great food! Everything we ordered was very tasty. Staff was friendly and I loved being able to see the whole kitchen staff working as we dined.

Our server Adam was very enthusiastic, which made dining here more enjoyable. We sat near the kitchen and had fun watching our meal being prepared. I am vegan and enjoyed the options Adam recommended. In fact the cauliflower and green bean sides were rich and creamy and the best I've had. The bread that came with the meal, with charred bubbles and large squares of Maldon salt was amazing. (Keep in mind that the owner worked for Nancy Silverton, who created La Brea bakery bread and Pizzeria Mozza.) The pasta I ordered, the bucatini cooked vegan, was a bonus but I could have left happy with just my firsts. And the orange wine. Oh and the chocolate sorbet and coconut stracciatella. Delizioso!

Pasta dish was exceptional. Robust yet balanced flavor (i.e. not overly buttery and had depth) and I appreciated that it wasn’t an overwhelming portion. The mezcal-based cocktail I got was also on point, ordered a second! Staff super friendly. Enjoyable and spacious atmosphere.

Delightful handmade pasta delicious bread. A true carb lover is paradise. hell of a wine selection and great craft cocktails. or if you're feeling you want more selection on your wine, there's a wine shop next door and I believe a free corkage fee the restaurant.

Lovely place with amazing food in a very nice area. Our favorite was the green beans starter!

Great food and great service. We came for late Sunday lunch and were seated promptly. There were two or three vegan options on the menu. It's a blend of Italian and Californian dishes with pastas, burgers and huevos rancheros! Everyone was very warm and friendly. It's not cheap but the prices are reasonable.

Great service and excellent food made for a really nice evening. The pastas were delicious!

Very good happy hour with a varied menu I would like to explore more!

One of the coolest spots in town with absolutely incredible food. Great mixed drinks as well. My girl and I love it. Well worth the drive from the Studio City to the east side.

We absolutely love coming here. Although we've only been twice, both times we had the same waiter Alejandro and he was awesome. Great service, great food, honestly on our top list of places to eat

Vibes, food, drinks, aaaaand dessert 💯 I hardly ever rate spots, but this meal was exceptionally good. (great for a date spot, wouldn’t suggest big groups)

We had a lot of fun here. It felt relaxed and sophisticated at the same time. The waiter was very nice and the food was great generally although personally I felt the balance of acid and fats was a little unbalanced in all dishes - but maybe it was an off day as the food really was excellent apart from some minor tweaking. (The pastas needed a bit of something acid like lemon to lift at the end but the lentils had a touch too much vinegar for my palate for instance) - I was being picky however as i REALLY enjoyed the meal and even those dishes were still fantastic and the burrata was exquisite. I will definitely be back to hopefully amend this review! - great bread also!

Exceptional. Now one of my favorites in LA. Some of the best pastas you'll have anywhere, all of the dishes and drinks were great.

We had an absolutely incredible time here. The food was great, you could taste the rich flavors and freshness. It has a great ambience and the staff really made the whole experience amazing. Chelsea went above and beyond to make us comfortable and help us choose our food and drink. She made it feel like we were at a friends house learning about new dishes. I highly recommend this place and I will return soon.

Food was excellent and reasonably priced. Service was rather slow, but not slow enough to negatively affect our enjoyment of the food and vibe.

What a gem of a spot! We ordered the butternut squash cappellacci, semolina bucatini, and griddled sea scallops and I swear, it’s like someone’s nonna went to culinary school, discovered restraint, and decided to flex. Everything was seasoned like the chef has taste buds and feelings. Cozy food with an education. None of the waiters hovered and no one vanished. They could sense when the table collectively thought, “I could use another drink,” and BOOM... someone appeared. Honestly shocked this place doesn’t have a Michelin star. I’ll definitely be back!!

Hello, this restaurant Is not only impeccably delicious without exception (the vegetarian pasta options are always incredibly luxurious and special tasting) but the service is excellent. I had a gift card that I couldn’t locate and the restaurant manager Lesley was incredibly patient and helpful In assisting me with that also. Thank you Hippo for the wonderful service, food and overall five star hospitality.

The place was loud and busy but our food was served at a nice pace. We munched on burrata and fett’unta bread and hamachi crudo while waiting for the main dishes. The spaghetti with clams and jalapeño pesto as well as the sweet corn cappellacci were amazing. I think the pastas are the restaurant’s star dishes . The grilled scallops and chicken were burnt. The latter came with a very salty aji panca sauce. The desserts were a sweet finish and we loved our drinks.

+6

Totally enjoyed dinner with my mom last night. As much as I wanted to give a perfect rating, I must say that the inside of the resto can get very, very loud. It was somewhat difficult to have a conversation without asking them to repeat what they were saying. Regardless of that, the service was decent and the food is AMAZING. At first, my mom and I thought the pasta serving was too tiny but we got full eventually and left the place with happy bellies.

+3

Great food & drinks. The 4% added to the bill ( which can be taken off, if requested ) for employee benefits makes it hard to tip the 20% that I ordinarily leave...it now makes it 24%. Most restaurants don't do this...wondering why the owner puts the responsibility on the customer and does not pay it themselves...like other restaurants.

Excellent food. Service and options could be better. We really enjoyed the freshly made pasta. And fact they offer vegan options for some menu items is a plus. But not having iced tea is a little ridiculous in this day and age. The burrata from Lazio, Italy was disappointing. I suspect burrata is a cheese that doesn't travel well. We've had much better burrata made here in California. At first, we were going to skip dessert; but we didn't, and that was a good choice. Both the passion fruit tart and the blood orange panna cotta were excellent. The place was busy and loud, so service was perhaps understandably slow. We were there about two hours. So, not recommended if you're in a hurry or want a quiet romantic evening. But if you want excellent freshly made pasta, this is the place to go.

Great service and yummy food. Not a huge beer selection but the outdoor patio set up is pretty sweet. Ok came back 3 years later, Nov 2023 and food was amazing. Hippo rolls YUM

We had a very nice dinner here. I would describe it as a neighborhood kind of place, rather than a destination restaurant. The vibe is casual, and the wait staff attentive. The decor is very bright and colorful, and they have a nice selection of pastas in particular. And they start you out with bags of focaccia, which is quite good. I started with the Yes and? cocktail. It was a nice bright Collins style drink with gin, vermouth, grapefruit, anise, lemon, and bubbles. Very light and balanced. They have a nice selection of mocktails also. We started with two vegetable dishes. Both are excellent. The wax beans are served with an almost creamy vinaigrette; the hazelnuts make a nice addition. The cauliflower is grilled and topped with a mildly spicy walnut raisin caper relish. The cauliflower was a bit overcooked, but it was tasty nonetheless. We each had pasta. The butternut squash capellacci is served with a brown butter sauce topped with crispy sage leaves. This is a classic preparation. The pasta was properly cooked, but they were swimming in way too much brown butter. The "sea shell" pasta with clams were really good, with crispy bread crumbs and lemon. Also good was the buccatini with guanicale, tomato, red onion, and chili. It is a bit spicy. They also will do a kid pasta with butter and Parmesan. The "basque" cheesecake was okay, but most certainly not basque cheesecake. It was way too spongy, and was served literally with 6 blueberries in the side. In summary, the pastas and vegetable starters were all good. They run about $25 a plate. The cocktails are good, but I would avoid that cheesecake.

I had high expectations perhaps they were too high. I found the service average for the price you're paying. Parking is painful. Food was okay, different and nice but not amazing. Ambiance, at least outside, was also average. Maybe you have to sit inside to get the vibe. Not sure that I'd be back for another visit. The cornbread was very memorable, I will say that.

The food here is good. The service was attentive and friendly. The pasta especially stood out as worth going for, as well as some of the cocktails. This place would be a solid 4-5 stars and recommended, except for some unfortunate pricing practices. There is 4% bogus fee added to the check. To their credit, it says it can be removed but that kind of thing always feels nickel and dime-y and leaves a bad taste. Sad thing is the fee doesn't even go to the server. On a similar note, we came during happy hour but were not presented a happy hour menu or charged happy hour prices which is also kinda lame. The bread we paid $14 when advertised as $6. Chicken thigh charged $29 when advertised as $14 as examples.

Parking can be difficult,only street parking either free or meter. However check street signs meter maybe free as well. Hostess was kind, professional, and helpful. We were a group of 6 with an 8:30 reservation ( reservations highly recommended) arrived approximately 30 min early, and waisted for our 8:30 seating. Table was ready by 8:30 , give +/- 10 min. Server was also kind and professional. Ordered drinks, mixed review from group regarding the cocktails ordered, one ordered Sábado Picante, too sweet, mai tai no flavor ( according guest). Food: reviewers dish- herbed ricotta tortelloni, was disappointed, no wow factor, portion was small as well ( didn't expect a mountain of pasta, but just felt small portion) Wife ordered the fish dish, said it was good but again nothing special, other guests ordered pastas and grilled chicken thighs dishes they commented they liked their dishes. Server, though kind was not as attentive as one would expect, we had to remind the server several times regarding missing drink order, and other items. Atmosphere was nice vibe, mai.g dinning area is noisy, if you prefer quieter dinning, they do have covered outside seating. Open kitchen concept. May return to try different dishes, however probably not soon.

My friend and I drank over 2 liters of water over the course of this meal. Some dishes were just SO salty. I'll start with the good: - Hippo bread with the honey butter was so fluffy and delicious. It's like Texas Roadhouse rolls but better - Celery root pasta has great flavor. The cream can make this a very heavy dish. - Cauliflower dish was tasty though a bit salty. Enjoyed the relish on top. The dishes that could use work: - Wax bean salad was drenched in a mustard dressing. Loved the mustard flavor but because there was so much dressing, the flavor stuck to my mouth during the entire meal. - Chicken thigh was way too salty! We barely touched this since the predominant flavor was SALT. The gelato was great. We enjoyed both the coconut stracciatella and Meyer lemon flavors.

Booked a resi for a dear friends bday who specifically wanted to try the Hippo rolls. We were told they were out of hippo rolls which is insane. It was Saturday night at 8p. How do you run out of bread? Our waiter was also extremely strange. Very short with us and banged a water carafe multiple times on our table. He also never warned us that we didn’t order enough food. Left the night starving. Overall would not come again. There’s better Italian spots with better service and plenty of rolls.

I really wanted to like Hippo, I really did. I debated on whether to give two or three stars to this place. You see, I found it to be a profoundly disappointing and underwhelming experience, but I also concluded that this was partially due to the enormous expectations that I had for this place and its numerous recommendations and stellar reviews that it had received. That being said, I simply felt it was an average restaurant in the upscale trendy dining category, and the only 'wow' factors were things that detracted from the experience for me. Hippo is a solid, upscale restaurant. It has your (now) typical trendiness that is required of a trendy, upscale LA restaurant - the dimly lit interior, wooden floors, industrial ceiling, communal bar counters and thick, oaky looking tables. There's the pizza, the pasta, some "creative" takes on salad, and of course the bar! Everything that a millennial could possibly want! Except that in all the ways that it tries to go beyond this typical sort of trendy appeal, it simply fell flat for me. The wait was incredibly long, which is understandable, since it's a very popular dining destination and we didn't have a reservation. Once seated, it was hard to see even see the menu in the dimly lit interior. But alas, the trendiness! As for the food, I ordered the "butternut squash cappellacci". Let me just say that it...did not impress. For a pasta that cost over $20, I was left feeling as if I had not only not eaten anything, but also that what I had eaten was some poorly made meal that a child had put together for you and you ate it out of the kindness of your heart. Allow me to explain: the pasta was small, and terrible. There were maybe three, four pieces of pasta, doused in some hideous looking, blackish-ooze looking sort of sauce. My boyfriend remarked that it had the appearance of diarrhea! As for the taste, the butternut squash gave it a horridly sweet taste that clashed with that ugly aforementioned sauce and pasta. It was an all around disgusting dish, with hardly any actual pasta, and left me profoundly disappointed. I then turned to my wax bean salad to fill me up, having been left *still* famished and hungry by my "entree" Cappellacci that was really more of a pile of diarrhea pasta strips. The wax bean salad was even worse. It had a strange, incredibly unappealing taste to it, one that I could only describe as both tangy AND bitter at the same time. It burned my mouth and left it with a strange aftertaste and was a very unpleasant experience all around. After these two very displeasing and disappointing dishes, we went home and prepared some homemade pasta of our own to *actually* fill ourselves up with, having left this place still feeling completely famished, and which tasted a million times better than the overrated, strangely tasting dishes that Hippo had to offer. The creatively-named fruity cocktail that I ordered was lovely, however. So points for that, I suppose! An overhyped, typically styled upscale trendy LA restaurant with dishes where the actual taste is secondhand to how gimmicky and flashy you can make it. I left with a burning sensation in my mouth from the wax beans, the remaining after taste of the horribly sweet Cappellacci pasta, a *still* empty stomach, and a strong feeling that I won't be coming back to this place any time soon. I recommend you don't either.

Food looked good but both the salad and pasta were so salty that the taste of the other ingredients was completely overwhelmed. I was hungry so ate the pasta and my tongue and stomach are burning hours later. When I pointed out that the four people who tried the salad found it too salty to eat, nothing was done except the half-full dish was taken off the table but not off the bill, which was kindly paid by our friend.

Our waiter, Alexander, forgot our main courses. Very frustrating to happen on Valentine’s Day. Tried to blame the kitchen but it was pretty obvious the waiter just doesn’t pay attention to his tables. Even came by to tell us the kitchen was doing last call while we were still waiting for our mains.