Pizzeria Mozza — Restaurant in Los Angeles

One of the most disappointing 'returns to a restaurant we once loved. Spend your hard-earned money elsewhere, unless being treated like an inconvenience and being overcharged for middle-of-the-road 'gourmet pizza' is your thing.

When this place opened, it FELT like the famous chef and her staff were rooting for you. Dishes were fresh, portions fair, wait staff genuinely happy to be working in a 'prestige' cafe.

Let me share what our experience was, with advance reservations carefully discussed with "Experience Manager" Morgana prior to our visit:

We requested to wait for BOTH parties in the reservation be seated at once (had a surprise for my boyfriend), Morgana assures me 'That is our policy... so of course.'.

So it's their "POLICY" ... AND I've requested this. And of course - when I arrive, they're already sat my friend. And my surprise at the front is ruined. SO much for caring about Guest requests AND their 'policy'.

We requested a Champagne bucket with ice for our table ahead of time; we were told that they 'would try', but they were (wait for it...) 'extremely busy'... ??!! Um... so you can't provide what every decent restaurant provides because you're understaffed and ...

THIS is with them also charging a (wait for it...) 50 DOLLAR CORKAGE FEE. ????!!!! Yes. It will cost you a meal for two at most decent Italian restaurants simply to have purchased and brought your own bottle. Because (yes this is sarcasm) they're not making enough off of the tiny pizzas for $30 and the tiny handful of salad for $30... do the math on this stingy 'meal for two' and you will realize that ONE SMALL ENTREE (that will not fill you up unless you are dieting) and ONE TINY SALAD PER PERSON will cost a party of 2... $120.00

And THAT, ladies and gents, is BEFORE you have ANY beverage whatsoever ($21 - $38 dollars for a half glass of vino)... and ONE DESSERT split between two people (another $16 - 28).

Because this is MELROSE with several pricey joints within 3 blocks and NO STREET PARKING after 6 PM and all the METERS blocked off by 'Valet Only' signs... PARKING will set you back (wait for it...) $15.00 PLUS TIP.

Now let's get back to the detailed Reservations discussed with our 'expert' Morgana: NO ice bucket was waiting for us. When we ordered it (exasperated that our Champagne that we're paying the restaurant $50 just to bring is getting warm) it took 15 minutes to finally make its way over.

On to the BIRTHDAY that we mentioned was a SURPRISE for my guest: the server (Delphina) blurted out, "I hear we're having a birthday". So she ruins AGAIN my surprise.

She disappears for 10 MINUTES, without taking our order. I have to go up to the register to ask for our Server because a) we're hungry and b) the folks who sat down 10 minutes after us already have their vino.

When she arrives, we try to order appetizers. We get cut off with' 'You have to order everything at once'. Then she leaves. So we're hungry and because this policy 'helps the restaurant' we will continue to hungry for another 20 minutes until she a) returns to our table and b) places the order and c) our appetizers might finally arrive.

The atmosphere. Simple, plain, brick with tables way too close together (you can hear EVERYONE'S conversation) and you can barely navigate to the bathroom as there's NO ROOM between tables - HOW this is not a fire hazard is very suspicious - were there a fire we would be CRUSHED just by standing up at once trying to get out.

The food. NOTHING SPECIAL if you've every had any version of CPK. Yes, more flavor. Tinier portions. NOT worth $30 for what 4 tiny slices of pizza.

After blurting out that she knew there 'was a birthday' at the table - NO candle in a dessert. No singing. We got handed the check instead. I remind her there was a birthday. She leaves the table... and never returns except 20 minutes later with our check to tell us she's off for the night. AWESOME STAFF this is not.

We pay $15 each for our cards, and vow we're thru with this Brand of restaurants. Shameful...

The four of us were brought to our candle-lit table immediately for our Sunday night reservation, and within a few minutes we were asked for our preference of water (tap, sparkling) and handed our menus shortly afterwards. The wine selection was immense and very Italian, but single glasses were served as 250ml instead of 150ml, making the reflected price increase hard to justify a purchase. Would've been nice to see a greater selection of amari, or maybe the option of ordering a spritz or something, but oh well. I think the cocktail options are offered next door instead. Next time, I'll order the Cardamaro that I didn't notice when looking at the wine menu the first time.

The Panzanella salad (not pictured) was very powerfully flavorful, with a nice mix of salt-seasoned cherry and heirloom cherry tomatoes + larger heirloom tomatoes, tender roasted peppers, and crunchy bread, all soaked in balsamic and garnished with basil. The salt and balsamic was a bit overwhelming for my partner, but really hit the spot for me. My friends ordered Nancy's Chopped Salad, hold the salami, and let me try some. We all agreed that there was something off about it, perhaps there was way too much oregano, or maybe too much olive oil was added in place of the missing salami?

Next, we received the squash blossom pizza we ordered. We were instructed by our server to spread the burrata so that every bite would have some. The squash blossoms didn't really do much for me but made for a stunning looking pie. They more or less tasted like spinach, and perhaps would've been better fritti (which I 've heard is their specialty). The sauce, however, was extremely bright and flavorful, and the crust, all agreed, was airy and delicious. The burrata was the star of this pizza, offering a mild creaminess and double-texture that elevated this pizza. I've never seen burrata at a market, but I'll have to start looking harder. The whole table agreed that this was some of the best pizza we've had, second to Prime Pizza (Portnoy's #1 LA pizza). Oh, and the server suggested that my partner and I order another pizza, but the size wasn't /that/ small, and filled us up nicely with the salad and dessert. Next time I would try the Cacio e Pepe pizza and have the Squash Blossom Fritti in place of the salad.

The Banana Gelato Pie was incredible. It tasted lightly of those commercially extinct Michel Gros, and together with the coffee-like dark chocolate drizzle, homemade pie crust (which was dark and nicely caramelized), and fresh whipped cream made for a sophisticated ensemble. It sounded like the caramel copetta was their specialty, so next time I would try that.

Despite a little trouble in terms of ingredient balance of the salads, this was a highly memorable experience and I would definitely come back soon, if not to go to it's sister restaurant Osteria...

A restaurant that doesn't believe in hospitality.

My family went to Pizzeria Mozza and had a wonderful dinner. Great Neapolitan pizza. We wanted a sweet ending. That's when the trouble started.

My younger son just wanted some vanilla gelato. Our server explained to us that vanilla wasn't one of the choices for gelato flavors.

I pointed out that vanilla gelato was served with the apple crisp on the menu. Could we just get that? Our server said the kitchen saves the vanilla for those desserts.

I said that we'll buy the apple crisp, but just bring us the gelato and leave the apple crisp. The server said that the kitchen doesn't allow “substitutions or alterations.”

I asked to bring the apple crisp, but to please keep the gelato on the side. (Kids can be particular.) The server said they'd talk to the kitchen.

The dessert came out with the gelato my son wanted, melted all over the apple crisp he didn't want, because putting it on the side would be an unacceptable alteration.

Our server apologized, and said the kitchen's policy of "no substitutions / no alterations" was very hostile. They'd complained to the manager about the policy. It's nice that our server advocated for our needs, but the restaurant failed and ruined a lovely evening.

The serving staff is knowledgeable and helpful. The food is excellent. The restaurant is far too noisy for pleasant conversation. But what makes this a 1/5 experience is the restaurant's policy around "no substitutions" being taken to an extreme.

A business in the hospitality industry should be willing to work very hard to make a little kid happy with his meal. Putting a simple scoop of the vanilla gelato in your freezer into a cup doesn't require much effort. But to Pizzeria Mozza, it's more effort than they're willing to give.

P.S. The restaurant responded to my review, but completely misunderstood the problem. They explained that vanilla gelato really is in short supply, but based on my feedback, they’ll make more and put it on the menu for others to order.

That wasn’t where the restaurant erred in being hospitable.

The problem for Pizzeria Mozza is that they won’t entertain any request from customers about how to modify dishes. I cannot say, “I’d like the apple crisp, but please put the accompanying vanilla gelato on the side.” The construction of their apple crisp is so perfect, so much more important than a customer’s wishes, that given those instructions, they’re going to insist on dumping the ice cream all over the hot apple crisp. I’ve dined at three-star restaurants around the world, but never have encountered the extreme pretentiousness demonstrated by Pizzeria Mozza.

I hope Pizzeria Mozza re-reads my review and fixes their policy of “no substitutions / no alterations.” The problem isn’t limited vanilla gelato. The problem is limited consideration for a...