Nancy Silverton and her bread empire have several pizza outposts in LA that we have meaning to go to for forever. Now that I’m part of the Cedars Sinai Long COVID study I have ample opportunity to check out ALL the SoCal restaurants as I trek back and forth to LA.
Only open for lunch and dinner, PM takes a bit of scheduling as I am a huge fan of 4 to 5pm early dinner. I arrived at 530 and by 6 the restaurant was nearly full on a Thursday evening, when it was showing wide open reservations earlier in the day.
Cozy, upscale ambience with a pizza bar and a wine bar and a patio. I opted for a seat at the pizza bar. And the food did not disappoint.
The Ranch Hand was refreshing and lemony. I subbed in the Double Rye to better match the lemon. (Not a double rye, High West’s Double Rye).
I remembered the Mozza Caprese from several reviews and it was Spectacular. The soft burrata, house made pesto, and marinated cherry tomatoes were a delicious combination. And I hate cherry tomatoes. I even recommended it to the diners to my right. A must-do.
The waiter admitted that the Prosciutto and the Sausage pizzas were the most popular, and the Prosciutto was indeed amazing. The Prosciutto was very soft and rich and easy to cut thru. Not hard and cardboard-y. The crust – now purists may hate it. The restaurant even has pizza in the name and claims to be Italian! The crust underneath is thin, but the edges are chewy and crunchy, dare I say a bit bread-like, but not heavy. Like how a bread maker might make pizza. A true Napoli pizza crust would be more tender and airy. But this one was still delicious. I noted that these pizzas stay in the wood fired oven for 5-10 minutes, much longer than Napoli pizzas which are done in 60 seconds.
Sadly as a single diner I could not try the pasta, steak, or the desserts…or the Espresso Martini…but we will be back! They even have Mr A’s favorite pasta, Cacio e Pepe.
Pizzaria Mozza
800 West Coast Hwy, Newport Beach, CA 92663
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dCcaNRWHA4TaYEbc7
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