Osteria Mozza
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: (323) 297-0100
- Cross Street:
- North Highland Avenue
- Specialties:
- Italian Food
- Hours:
- Daily 5:30pm-12am
Editorial Review for Osteria Mozza – by Martha Burr
The Scene
Hyped by the Batali-Silverton mystique from the beginning, this instantly iconic Hollywood spot remains one of L.A.'s most sought-after reservations. A high-ceilinged room is casual yet elegant, with deep earthy tones, leather banquettes and giant wooden wine racks. It's dominated by the bustling, vibrant marble mozzarella bar frequently manned by Silverton herself. An upscale, eclectic, animated Hollywood crowd revels in the passionate cuisine and astonishing landscape of Italian wine.
The Food
Batali's genius and Silverton's imagination meld to offer a vibrant menu that is at once rustic and robust, sophisticated and complex. Regional dishes include ribollita, a traditional hearty Tuscan country soup, and testa, a fragrant, subtle, delicate head cheese sliced paper thin, offset by green olives and oregano. The mozzarella bar offers a dozen stunning creations like burricotti--a ricotta-filled burrata topped with tender artichokes, pine nuts, currants and mint pesto. Handmade pastas include francobolli--a "postage stamp" filled with rich, unctuous braised short rib and thyme. Quail-wrapped in pancetta is grilled until the fowl and bacon fuse for a sublimely transcendent flavor enfolding moist tender meat.
Hits: One of L.A.'s top dining destinations has foodies--and everyone else--flocking for ethereal fresh mozzarella creations and brilliant regional Italian dishes.
Misses: Reservations are hard to get, and much of the menu is in Italian, forcing servers to give very long translations.
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Insider Tips
Look GoodReservations are taken one calendar month out starting at 10am, but seats at the mozzarella bar and the regular bar are reserved for walk-ins.
Know Before You GoA seven-course pasta tasting menu includes dessert for $69 per person. The entire table must participate; wine pairing is an extra $50 per person.
What to DrinkThe giant Italian-only wine list offers over 1,200 bottles exhaustively covering every region of Italy (40 Amarone listings anyone?). Ten reds and five whites come in sharable 250 ml carafes; a 2004 Morellino di Scansano "Il Perazzi," La Mozza is especially pleasant with lighter fare. Corkage is $20 per 750 ml, with a two-bottle limit per table.
User Reviews for Osteria Mozza
07/12/2008 Posted by yvonnawanna
Ok, the rudest staff I have ever encountered at a restaurant. I was there in June with a party of 6 and the waiters were so disgustingly mean and unhelpful that it became a game for our table to see how rude we could be right back at them. The food was ok, but Pizzeria Mozza is better as far as food and service. The rude staff needs to be fired.
Pros: mozzarella
Cons: ugly personalities everywhere
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
07/11/2008 Posted by Marais
Most of the mozzarella items had some form of meat or onions, which I don't love. I asked for them to put the buratta on a green salad, and they said they couldn't do that. So I ordered the caprese. Two little mozzarella spheres on top of little tomatoes. Buratta couldn't have been put on top of the tomatoes?? Next, I ordered the goat cheese ravioli, which the menu doesn't show is covered in a 5-onion clear sauce. Instead of offering up an alternative like the pomodoro sauce, the waitress just shrugged when I said I didn't like onions. The wine guy was near by when he heard me say I don't like onions. His response, "You do know you're in an Italian restaurant, don't you?" I've been to Italy and my food there was not swimming in onions. I was relegated to tasteless gnocchi in a boring tomato sauce. For dessert, they had ice cream sandwiches, one of which is peanut butter gelatto. I asked if they could substitute another flavor, as my dinner friend is DEATHLY allergic to peanuts and even peanut particles in the air close to her can cause her throat to swell shut. The waitress' response after all this was explained, "Sorry, no substitutes. This is a special dessert." So I had them leave the peanut butter one off. The "special dessert" was literally a scope of ice cream between two cookies. How difficult is that? And then they tasted horrible. The mint chocolate chip had some weird spicy taste, almost like fennel, that was revolting. The ginger one was so strong, it also was not good. For a 5-star restaurant, the service should be better. As my friend aptly said, "If Jack in the Box can scrape mayo off my burger, this place should be able put a piece of cheese on lettuce." And bringing random food "compliments of the house" throughout the meal does not compensate for their severe shortcomings.
Pros: Parking valet was great
Cons: Service, food either over spiced or bland
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
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