One Fairfax pizza spot's been repurposed into another, with a whole new look and extended hours in tow. Serving modern, California-tinged Italian fare from 8am until the early hours of the morning, Gesso is up and running at 801 North Fairfax.
It's the kind of place where you can expect a blistered-crust pizza and wood-roasted radishes well into the night, every night. The cuisine is what chef Doug Miriello—formerly of the Gjelina Group—refers to as elevated, approachable and comfortable, and just as inspired by his Italian-Jewish roots as L.A.'s farmers' markets and seasonality.
The new all-day restaurant fills the former home of a Pitfire Pizza but keeps the same owner, Paul Hibler of the American Gonzo Food Corporation. Pie Society and Superba Food + Bread are two members of that particular restaurant family, and the baking skills employed there are in full force at Gesso: find Superba pastries and toasts—plus a full coffee bar—in Gesso's bright and industrial walk-up area. In the full restaurant, take a seat for an all-day menu that includes a seared-albacore plate with charred bread, grilled peaches with burrata, gravlax on a house-made bialy and jidori chicken nuggets. Starting at 11am the pizzas hit the oven, including but not limited to a white littleneck clam pie with parsley, chili and parmesan, and a fennel sausage pizza sporting hot pickled peppers, confit tomato and ricotta.
Photograph: Courtesy Gesso/Philip Guerette
Stop by for pastries and potato-and-leek frittatas in the morning and afternoon, or, beginning at 5pm daily, enjoy evenings full of classic and Italian-inspired cocktails and dinner items like the handmade tagliatelle with walnut pesto, harissa-rubbed chicken with chickpeas and pan-roasted corvina with cannellini beans and mustard greens.
What's more, the team recently launched a brunch menu, which can be found on both Saturdays and Sundays.
"Gesso will be a restaurant where guests can drop in for a quick casual bite, or linger over a four-course meal paired with fine wines and vintage spirits," says Miriello. "This, in many ways, is my take on California-style brasserie dining.”
Photograph: Courtesy Gesso/Philip Guerette
Photograph: Courtesy Gesso/Philip Guerette
Gesso is now open at 801 North Fairfax Avenue from 8am to 11pm Sunday through Wednesday, and 8am to 1am Thursday through Saturday.