The two actresses were dining at the Nice Guy Saturday in L.A., and they brought along their kids. In Salma's case ... her 16-year-old daughter, Valentina, joined. For Angie, 19-year-old Pax was cruising with his own mama bear -- and together, they went in and chowed down.

Of course, there were tons of paps around ... and they captured the two super moms coming and going -- and it looks like SH gave Pax a kiss on the cheek when they first met up.

For those unaware, Salma and Angelina have been getting very close in recent years -- and it all stems from them working together on Marvel's "Eternals" movie a couple years back ... where they both played superheroes. Since then, they've been super tight ... they're even producing a new film together right now -- one which AJ is directing, and Salma starring.

That flick is called "Without Blood" ... and it's gotten a lot of praise from Salma on behalf of Angie ... whom she called the best director she's ever worked with. So, yeah -- BFFs, indeed.

Of course, with this somewhat newfound friendship ... the question of allegiances comes to mind, especially for Angelina -- who's still embroiled in a messy divorce with Brad Pitt.

Funny enough ... Salma has already telegraphed how she feels about Brad of late -- and she seems to be on Angie's side. This kinda came to light at the Golden Globes earlier this year ... where Brad was in attendance, and at which Salma served as one of the presenters.

The dude she was presenting with onstage had an overly fawning moment -- in which he gushed over seeing BP in the crowd -- and her reaction to that was telling ... major eyeroll.

Indeed, it would appear Salma is in Angelina's corner over her and Brad's ongoing case -- which has yet to be resolved ... especially on the winery front. That thing is super messy.