Kurt Rappaport tries handmade pasta with new restaurant

Broker to the stars Kurt Rappaport knows bigwigs with money, having had billionaire Larry Ellison on his speed-dial. The head of Westside Estate Agency also knows dirt, having been king of luxury home sales across the Golden State.

Now the co-founder of the Beverly Hills-based firm knows handmade pasta, having teamed up with chef Evan Funke to open Funke, an Italian restaurant at 9388 South Santa Monica Boulevard, Eater Los Angeles reported.

The Beverly Hills restaurant, which opened early this month, spans three stories and 10,000 square feet in a 1930s Art Deco building that Rappaport bought in 2018 for $40 million.

For Funke, who runs kitchens at Felix in Venice and Mother Wolf in Hollywood, it’s the culmination of a 25-year culinary career.

For Rappaport, worth at least $250 million according to Forbes, and whose agency claims annual sales of $3 billion, it was sky’s the limit.  He told Funke to “Dream. Make it exactly what you want it to be.’” 

Designed by Dan Brunn with interiors by Clint Nicholas, the 180-seat Funke has two main dining rooms, including one on the ground floor and the other at the mezzanine, plus a private dining room.

Its offerings — from savory cipollina to Sicilian cannoli to cocktails — pour out of three kitchens and three bars, including a Bar Funke hovering on the roof.

Rappaport worked with Brunn and Nicholas to design “a very clean, Italian contemporary feel,” he told Eater. “We wanted to create a restaurant that felt like a residence; it’s on three levels that all feel interconnected.” 

The celebrity broker calls the pink onyx bar “icing on the cake.”

The rooftop perch has panoramic views of “gorgeous architecture, swaying palm trees, the city of Beverly Hills to Hollywood, mountains, and the bell tower of City Hall in Beverly Hills.” 

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