The Ultimate Los Angeles Pizza Tour - Curated by Alessandra

∙ MARGHERITA (Tomato, Fior di Latte, Pecorino, Basil), DIAVOLA (Tomato, Fior di Latte, Pecorino, Basil, Spicy Salame) ∙

The fourth and final stop on the epic LA pizza tour, and what an amazing ride it’s been. This restaurant is a franchise of the famous original in Naples, and my love had high expectations. We arrived to the restaurant around 9, and it felt wrong from the start. This location was very LA. It was like a nightclub…super chic design – the entryway featured a fireplace, the glowing bar sat below a skylight. The original in Naples is very unassuming in comparison. The back patio looked very cool, but we were seated inside. It was cold anyway.

Put simply, the last restaurant on a tour like this will likely not be the best because you’ve already eaten 9 pizzas before it. Someone has to come in last, but it does suck for your review of the pie.

Margherita

We ordered two pies, and the marg came out maybe a minute later. The second pie didn’t arrive. We were confused, but the server (from the back, not our server), said ‘margherita’ as he put down the pie. We started eating, and our two pies show up 10 minutes later. We should’ve given this one back and took ours.

The pizza tasted like it was smoked. Super odd – I couldn’t tell if it was because it was the end of the night and the oven had a lot of ash in it. I couldn’t tell if the pecorino was making it taste like that. I can only imagine that if this restaurant were placed differently along the tour, we would’ve had a different impression. Being the 10th & 11th pizzas on the 2-day tour didn’t help our perspective.

The crust was good, fairly light and airy, yet not terribly well structured. The pie could’ve been eaten with utensils. All this said, the pizzas were MASSIVE. They were huge! Show up hungry, and don’t eat a ton of pizza in the days preceding.

Diavola

I love a good diavola pizza. Diavola is ‘devil’ in Italian. I have devilish little horns glowing on my dome when a spicy salame pie is placed in front of me.

The pie was good, but the cook was almost worse than the prior. Some slices were more well done than others. As it was the end of the night, I wasn’t surprised to see it wasn’t cooked evenly. The spicy salame was wonderful – cooked to perfection – slightly crispy, yet juicy. Flavor wasn’t terribly hot, but it was still great. The salame was cut long ways, something that was new to me and I enjoyed.

Result

Given the fact that this was the last stop on the pizza tour and it was later in the evening, I don’t feel like my assessment of the pizza was great. I almost owe this place a return visit. I will; however, surely be stopping at the original in Naples.