Diego Argoti

The Climb

Line cooking in Los Angeles shaped Diego Argoti through a sequence of kitchens that demand speed, control, and attention to the pass. At Chi Spacca in Los Angeles and then Bestia in Los Angeles, he worked as a cook before moving into the opening team at Broken Spanish in Los Angeles from 2015. From there, the work advanced to sous chef at Bavel in Los Angeles, where the pace and scale of the operation pushed the craft further. By the time Diego Argoti became chef of Poltergeist in 2023, the through-line was clear: precise execution, pressure-tested service, and a willingness to let restaurant discipline support something less predictable.

Today

The edge in Diego Argoti’s work comes from where he places the line between expectation and risk. When he says, "The clientele that we serve would normally be used to dishes that are a lot safer," he is describing a menu built to challenge default assumptions about what a dish should be. In that frame, safety is not the goal; it is the baseline being measured against. The point is to move a diner off balance just enough to make the food register differently. Estrano is the signature expression of that approach: a basement-show-style food experience built around unconventional pasta dishes. The format matters as much as the food. Instead of aiming for polish as an end in itself, it uses the energy of a basement show to give the cooking a different kind of charge. Pasta, here, is not treated as a fixed comfort category. It becomes a flexible form for mischief, satire, and surprise, with the experience built around friction rather than reassurance.

Signature

Argoti’s signature dishes show a kitchen interested in collision rather than category purity. Mapo Tofu Stuffed Cabbage brings force into a familiar wrapper. Thai Cesar Salad puts two registers on the same plate and lets them contend. Green Curry Bucatino stretches a pasta format toward aromatic heat. Duck Leg Bubble Waffle adds richness to a shape associated with play. Pumpkin spice ravioli lands seasonal reference with a wink. Taken together, the dishes point to a cook working with contrast as a tool.

In Their Words “The clientele that we serve would normally be used to dishes that are a lot safer.”