The standard-bearer for elegant Italian cuisine, prepared from the freshest ingredients, is celebrity chef Nancy Silverton’s flagship in an airy, congenial space with indoor/outdoor seating, a free-standing mozzarella bar, and a full bar along the wall. It’s equally suited to a special occasion or an after-work plate of burrata from the impressive lineup of small dishes; ricotta and egg ravioli and gnocchi with duck ragu are other great choices. Though you can’t predict exactly what will be on the menu on any given day, second courses may range from pancetta-wrapped grilled quail to porcini-rubbed rib-eye and pan-roasted pork loin. Reservations are taken a month in advance, but the two bars, which take walk-ins, are among the best seats in the house. Note: Silverton’s smaller and somewhat less expensive—but exceedingly trendy—Pizzeria Mozza is just behind Osteria at 641 N. Highland Ave. (323/297-0101).