It looks a far cry from the original Bushwick warehouse digs strung with Christmas lights and knickknacks, but make no mistake—Roberta’s is finally in Los Angeles.
In the decade since founding one of the world’s most lauded pizza spots, New York’s Roberta’s—a little bit rock and roll, a little bicornt art concept and a lot of party—absorbed even more Brooklyn warehouse space and two new outposts in Manhattan, as well as launched a popular frozen-pizza line, a Michelin-starred tasting menu, and multiple pop-ups here in L.A. Rumors swirled around a permanent West Coast outpost, and you could almost hear the collective rumbling of stomachs hungry for chef Carlo Mirarchi’s signature Bee Sting pies grow deafening over the last two years.
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
But those following the Roberta’s L.A. pop-up trajectory shouldn’t be surprised by where co-owners Brandon Hoy and Mirarchi opened up shop: Tucked into Culver City’s PLATFORM complex, the primary site of its L.A. appearances, the new Roberta’s is a sprawling and airy industrial-chic all-day spot dotted with bright chairs, cement blocks, and colorful murals painted by Southern California artists. And while the oven is the undisputed heart of Roberta’s, the restaurants wouldn’t be the same without a killer patio.
Much like the NYC originator, this Roberta’s features ample outdoor seating—here a little less picnic bench, a little more urban-chic. The restaurant soft-opened last weekend and only officially launched on Wednesday, but tables are already packed—especially on that wrap-around patio.
“I think it was nice to have somewhat of a clean slate for buildout and design,” Mirarchi says. “We wanted to make something that, to us, represented what we thought Roberta’s would look like in L.A. We would never try and do just a carbon copy of [Bushwick’s] Roberta’s. That would be impossible.”
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Of course the real draw is the food. In addition to serving the Roberta’s mainstays, such as the Bee Sting (made with sopressata, chili oil, honey, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) and the Famous Original (caciocavallo cheese, mozzarella, tomato, parmigiano reggiano and red pepper flakes), L.A.’s Roberta’s is dishing out two menu sections with items more or less unique to this location. On the “market” division you’ll find a rundown of hyper-seasonal, oft-rotating small plates such as baby corn with garlic chives, black lime and corn panna cotta, or yellow polenta with Santa Barbara sea urchin, clam broth, pear and nasturtium.
The “grill” section is another space Mirarchi can stretch his legs, with locally sourced meats and produce taking the form of pork collar with cucumber, allium and pink pearl apples; dry-aged strip loin for two; braised oxtail with horseradish and celery; and grilled wagyu chuck steak with potatoes and béarnaise.
“We’re just trying to have fun here and make the food that we like to eat,” Mirarchi says, adding, “I think once we get our groove going here with the space and with staff and hopefully some feedback from guests, [that section of the menu] will change pretty often, but it’ll take a little while—maybe a month before I really start to change stuff.”
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Other changes include California grains in the pizza dough, as well as a single kitchen: a one-stop shop for a team used to working with stations spread out across two.
“In [Bushwick’s] Roberta’s, just by the dynamic of the space, it forced us to build two kitchens,” Mirarchi says. “Now we have one kitchen that does everything: two pizza ovens, a really awesome wood-fired grill, an awesome pasta station. It’s a kitchen we were able to design with specific purpose in mind, as opposed to [the first] Roberta’s, where we did what we had to do to get by.”
That pasta station, by the way, is churning out a handful of dishes that didn’t come to mess around: gigli with Little Neck clams, linguine cacio e pepe, bucatini carbonara and a brilliantly light spacatelli pomodoro made with heirloom tomatoes.
Of course, Roberta’s will have to withstand L.A.’s onslaught of new pizza restaurants—including Superfine, Hail Mary and Ronan, to name only a few—but with a menu rounded out by an extensive natural-wine menu, a cocktail program informed by fresh-pressed juice and a beer focus on Southern California breweries, it seems the long wait isn’t just finally over—it was probably worth it, and we’re betting it can hold its own.
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Spacatelli pomodoro with heirloom tomatoes and an array of basil
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Clam pizza with chili flakes and parsley
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Lightly steamed market corn with garlic chives, black lime and corn panna cotta
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
The Fire and Ice, house-made stracciatella and ’nduja with blistered bread
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Market heirloom tomatoes with raw cream and basil
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Roberta’s is now open within the PLATFORM complex, located at 8850 Washington Blvd in Culver City, and serving from 11am to 10pm daily.