Pizzeria Sei — Restaurant in Los Angeles

My First Taste of Pizzeria Sei: Hype, Meet Reality!

Finally, I made it to Pizzeria Sei! After seeing all those YouTube videos raving about this spot, I had to see if the hype was real. And let me tell you, it absolutely is.

The Vibe

Stepping in, you immediately notice how small it is. Like, really small. I'd heard about the limited seating, but it's even cozier in person. You might have a wait, but trust me, it's worth every minute. It’s got this unassuming charm, almost like a hidden gem you’re lucky to discover.

The Pizza That Blew My Mind (and a Small Lesson Learned)

The real star here is, of course, the pizza. You can tell immediately that Chef Sang Woo Joo is doing something special. I learned he actually picked up a lot of his "Tokyo-style Neapolitan" techniques from watching videos of Japanese pizzerias, and you can totally taste that precision. The crust? Oh my god. It’s thin and perfectly blistered with this amazing chewiness – almost like mochi, which is wild for pizza. They apparently do some kind of "salt punch" during cooking, and whatever it is, it works wonders.

I went with the Margherita Special, because you gotta start with a classic, right? And it was just perfect. Honestly, it was otherworldly. The simple, high-quality mozzarella and that incredible crust were a revelation.

Now, for a bit of a learning moment. I also ordered the Funghi Pizza, and while it was good, the sheer brightness and intensity of the Margherita's flavors kind of neutered the experience of the mushroom pie. It just goes to show how powerful those simple, fresh ingredients on the Margherita really are. Next time, I'll definitely order them in a different sequence, or maybe just stick to one at a time to fully appreciate each one.

I also couldn't resist trying the Caesar Salad, and seriously, that dressing is next-level. I’m still thinking about it.

The Omakase Experience

They also offer an Omakase-style menu tasting, which sounds incredible. I didn't get to try it this time since it was my first visit, but it's definitely on my list for next time. A multi-course pizza journey? Sign me up!

Honestly, for a place this small, Pizzeria Sei is doing some seriously big things. If you're in LA and love pizza, you owe it to yourself to check this place out. Have you tried their...

In the world of specialty pizza, Pizzeria Sei is king --- amongst the top 10 in Southern California.

You don't go there for service or ambience, you go there for incredible pizza that's executed with high quality ingredients, insanely delicious dough, perfect baking and consistent quality.

The pizzaiolo honed his craft in Japan, learning the Neapolitan technique that's trendy in Tokyo. What you get is the perfect blistered Neapolitan pizza that's salty, chewy and the ingredients are allowed to shine - no one aspect of the pie overpowers - a perfect harmony of flavors and textures. What helps is not having 200,000 types of pizzas or combinations, or selling a ton of non-pizza items to cater to everyone, their grandmas, their kids and that one person who

I tried it twice, and both times I opted for take out on a weekday. Free street parking is available in side streets and the neighborhood is a mix of busy commercial and residential.

On my first trip I tried their excellent Margherita (tomato, fior di latte, basil, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt) that was light on the sauce and doughy/chewy and a Funghi (fior di latte, shaved mushroom, slow roasted garlic, pecorino, oregano, fresh thyme), where the mushrooms were indeed the stars.

However the one that blew my mind was on the second trip, I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and tried the Bianca (fior di latte, preserved lemon, basil, pecorino, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt). I added on some roasted garlic and that turned out to be a risk well worth taking. The preserved lemon added umami, while the stretchy low moisture fior di latte were the perfect accompaniment to a chewy doughy crust that had the perfect blister, without being charred.

The secret ingredient both times was a side of Calabrian Chile that adds some heat, sourness and a little olive oil to what is already a near perfect pie.

Prices are decent at under $30 for something that's equivalent of a Michelin star experience.

Someday I hope to brave the $150 16-seat Tuesday omakase, which I hear is a delicious carb bomb that takes you on a wild flavor journey, if I can score a reservation.

Sei what you will about the limited seating or as some have noted the complaints about service, Pizzeria Sei is set to be an important royalty in a saturated LA...

Rudest service ever. We were celebrating a friend’s birthday tonight (2/22) over what we once considered the best pizza in LA, and we were abruptly asked by the manager to leave in the midst of desert because he didn’t mention the 45 minute limit to the table (which was nowhere on Yelp or the Google invite). “But you’ve been here for an hour and a half,” was the manager’s response to our thoughtful suggestion that it would be helpful to know at the start of the meal. “Then there’s THAT!” he pointed to the tip screen (which we still paid in full out of goodwill). He was unnecessarily aggressive and lacked empathy even as we were trying to get out the door within minutes of being first told about the time limit. Even the owner apologized and blamed it on hiring new staff - but this manager was here on our previous visit. Furthermore, upon reading other reviews on Yelp as far back as last year, I noticed other customers complaining about being rushed to the register as their strategy to get customers out of the door. We are not against setting strict time limits, but the lack of this information upon making the reservation or when we were first seated was completely unprofessional. How about prioritizing your in-person orders instead of piles of take-out so that we don’t have to wait 30 minutes before getting our pizza? Or a gentle reminder 15 minutes before a table change? A truly unpleasant dining experience that ruined our guest’s birthday even before they got to finish their cake. A complete lack of customer orientation here. Maybe they should take some cues from a real Japanese pizzeria that would treat their customers with some dignity and respect? There may be more hospitality in a box of DiGiorno’s than this joint, because they seem more interested in flipping dough than actually serving common folk who want to celebrate good company over good food. But why settle for a meal where customers are treated like kids in a cafeteria? You, the customer, deserve great pie with no added attitude. I’d recommend looking elsewhere in LA for incredible pizza in friendlier, more hospitable spaces - truly world-class pizzerias like Da Michele, Ronan, Gra, Bottega Louie,...