Esco's New York Style Pizza — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I wish I could give this place 10 stars. I apologize in advance for not reaching out to tell Esco that after my mother & I sat down for the most incredible pie I’ve had in (not exaggerating) I can’t even begin to tell you when. We also ordered Zepoli’s.

Apparently west coast people do not know what they are. ESCO DOES! Even serves them classically in a brown bag.

I’m getting ahead of myself. You walk in & are transported to the subway in New York. They made an actual train where you can sit inside (not to eat just to hang). It then has an area that when we went was not open as of yet, that is a 7000 SF space for private parties. Esco said he would be will be opening it up to the public for sports & other larger public events.

This pie though. Let me tell you!!! & the vegan one he made was incredible. He even uses Follow Your Heart cheese. Now I don’t want to stop there. I’ve literally tried almost every pie (without meat) because what I didn’t tell Esco was that I told my brother & sister in law about this place. I sent her the link so she would have it.

My nephews birthday was that Sunday & she ordered about 30 pies. Every single person at the party kept coming up to my brother asking WHERE IS THIS PIZZA FROM? ITS THE BEST. At this point I didn’t have a bite yet so I had no idea. My brother came up to me & told me great job Aar for the recommendation. I asked him what recommendation. He then told me about the pizza.

Side bar: Esco I think it’s super important to either put a sticker or make custom pizza boxes with the make of the pizza place & location & number. I couldn’t believe how 50+ people at this party finished 29 of the 30 pies.

We had the grandma’s, the Salad Pie (how did I not ever think of that), plain cheese, & I took pics of so many more too (see photos).

When grabbing a spice of proper pizza, it’s important when folded in half that it becomes very phallic & stands upright. Lol. The crust on this pie!!! did just that! On EVERY SINGLE PIECE I HAD.

To be able to make one pie is one thing. To make 30 pies at once & they are consistent is the reason this place deserves 10 stars.

PS we even were able to meet Esco’s sister who was visiting from New York with her friend. & we broke bread by sharing the Zepoli’s.

See you...

I've written reviews before for Esco, which I stand by. But out of curiosity I was reading the 1 star reviews. I'm a pre-law double major at USC in philosophy and political science, so you can imagine I've read some "boring" and "dumb" things in the past but wow, these are ridiculous. Obviously 95-99% these people have never lived in NY like myself or Esco. Half of them are just pissed their "postmates" was sub par; Like what do you expect? you ordered a by the slice shop on ur phone and it got there a little cold, like come on. This shit is better than any other gaudy LA bullshit pizza place putting shit on pizza that was never meant to be there in the first place. This is the best NY style pizza in the area by far. Every time I go here I get nostalgia from when I was a kid living at 62 Central Park west walking down the block to Antionio's for a slice. It's beautiful. I get usually eat my slice of pep., cheese, and marg., while sitting in traffic on the way back it's that good. And if I don't, I get home and eat it cold while writing papers for school. Even when Esco isn't there the people are always friendly and nice; Like what the hell are people talking about in these reviews? I've been there 50 times and 50 times I've never had a problem. I don't think it has taken me more than 10 minutes in-and-out of the shop, so for all the others talking about wait times, you are just exaggerating, straight up. I'll offer $1000 to anyone that can show me a better NY style slice shop, with the same ambiance, quality, and true love for the pies they make in LA within a 5 mile radius. This is what pizza should be. Love you Esco. I'm eating ur pie while writing a paper on the failure of Euclid's 1st Proposition regarding a fixed lattice, but ur pizza keeps a smile on my face. Honestly it's so good I might even come back tonight for another...

I was excited to see Esco's open for business during lunch, with the door propped open and charming outdoor seating inviting everyone in!

I tried the cheese slice for my first visit. It was very good! Definitely NY style, a bit more sauce forward (compared to a cheese forward NY slice like La Monica's). The sauce had a good amount of garlic which was delicious. The crust was a perfect mix of chewy and crispy.

They have a good selection of menu items, including a cubano sandwich described as having "pernil", so I imagine it's the real deal!

There was only one person working, who I assume is the owner. He greeted me with a huge smile and a surprisingly strong NY accent. He was very friendly, despite being so busy managing multiple orders on his own! When I was done, he complimented me for eating three slices, haha. It was clear he keeps an eye on his customers to make sure they're enjoying the food.

The decor is partially leftover from Juicy Pizza (there's a doorway meant to look like a subway train) but feels very fitting for this new spot. The only thing missing for the authentic NY feel were salt, pepper, garlic, etc shakers available for customers to spice up their slice.

Overall it was a very pleasant experience, and I will be back...