If you enjoy excellent pizza, LA’s the place. Pizza restaurants have sprung up all over LA featuring NY-style, Neapolitan, and even Detroit-style pizza is making a splash. The best part of this revolution is that you don’t have to settle for pizza chain pizza. LA Times Food Critic Bill Addison recently published his top 10 new favorite pizza restaurants. My wife and I recently visited Ghisallo, which was on his list.
Ghisallo is located in Santa Monica, and knowing the city’s density, I was glad to find parking nearby. Large windows frame the entrance, and you can watch the action from outside. The interior space is entirely devoted to the kitchen, and customers can gaze at the action as they walk to the outdoor patio. Ghisallo is named after a famous Italian mountain revered by cyclists.
The menu has something for everyone, from the foodie that enjoys new experiences, such as arancini made with saffron rice croquettes with ox tail ragu, to the risk-averse that would instead select chicken parmigiana and caesar salad. The 12″ Neapolitan pies feature provides an Italian experience, whereas the 18″ New York pies feature toppings such as pepperoni.
We selected a couple of sides, such as Grilled Broccoli ($16) topped with anchovy bagna cauda, a salty anchovy paste loaded with garlic. Breadcrumbs add some texture and golden raisins provide sweetness to this otherwise salty offering.
Don’t pass up on their Roasted Beets ($7 small) side dish if you like beets. We were delighted with the addition of blood oranges and the unique flavor composition of mint, parsley, basil, and marinated red onions. The tangerine dressing was tangy and added sweetness to this dish.
We shared a bottle of Avignonesi Rosso di Montepulciano ($48), food-friendly medium-bodied wine with a pleasant finish. While some may argue that this was overkill for pizza, it was an excellent way to remember our recent trip to Tuscany.
Ghisallo is best known for its wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas with blistered edges. You can’t label them as pedestrian as toppings include garlic confit, silician oregano, Castelvetrano olives, and lacto truffle hot sauce. The Spartacus ($22) is their meat-forward offering with house-made fennel sausage, ezzo pepperoni, garlic, olives, and fresno chiles.
We selected the Chicken Parmegiano ($21) because many people rave about it. While the chicken was perfectly executed with a super-fine breadcrumb exterior, I think I would have instead tried one of their other Neapolitan pies.
With a sophisticated Italian menu, I was surprised to see kids offering such as chicken nuggets ($14), cheese pizzas, and kids’ pasta. The pepperoni and Margherita NY-style pizzas may be suitable if your child is beyond kid’s food.
Even if you don’t live nearby, Ghisallo is worth visiting. Addison did the legwork, and I’d agree that Ghisallo warrants being among LA’s top pizza restaurants. Even if you aren’t adventurous, Ghisallo has so much to offer.
Ghisallo, 1622 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica; ghisallo.la