Tucked away in the cul de sac of restaurants and service shops that seem to exist only to cater to the neighboring businesses and Los Angeles Lakers HQ is il Romanista - the first Roman-style pizzeria in Los Angeles (according to their website).
Others will be better able to speak to how the authenticity compares to the originals back on the Boot, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I had. Really nice, deep flavors and good crunch. They were a bit greasy, but if you let 'em cool down, the flavors of the grease seep in and make 'em better.
The hours are strange because of their location, but I think they’d be a fine stop if you have some time to kill around LAX.
Unfortunately my pictures are bunk, but here’s what we tried:
Left - PALATINO (mozz/provolone/two types of mushroom) Right - I can’t find this one on their menu, but it had sausage and ham, I believe. I am kicking myself for not remembering because I think this was my favorite.
And Airport police always seem to be at the starbucks or bagel place. I’ve seen the pizza place but never been in. Thanks for the review, will have to check it out
This place is pretty godddamn delicious. The crust on the pizza here is thin and crisp – much closer to the Roman-style pizza I’ve tried before than Eataly’s thick-crust version.
I ordered a potato and sausage slice, a veggie slice with zucchini and ricotta, and a salami slice. All were excellent though the potato and sausage was the standout.
Only downer is the parking, which was kind of a PITA at lunchtime.
I have been 3 times now and really love the crust I’ve had the pizza ripiena with prosciutto cotto - a sandwich with a thin pizza for the bread. The Curva Sud with potato rosemary and sausage which was really nice. Bandiera a zucchini spinach fresh mozzarella and the Casio y peppe which was a bit on the salty side. Definitely worth checking out if you are LAX adjacent.
Broke my no carbs during the week rule and finally got to try this place today. The crust really surprised me. Based on looks, I wasn’t expecting the crust to be so crispy and was pleasantly surprised, although it did taste very buttery similar to Pizza Hut (yes I said it). The salami slice was fantastic, the panchetta and sausage slice was just ok. The panchetta was a bit off putting as it was flaccid and chewy. Overall, very enjoyable but if I’m craving pizza in this area, Grimaldi’s will still be my go to (yes I know, different styles).
Okay with so many approvals of this place definitely going to bookmark for a future visit. Maybe make it worth my time and go see some music at the Lighthouse, take a stroll on the Strand, get a biscuit at M.B. Post and a burger at Ercoles
If visiting MB Post, you might as well stop for oysters and Peruvian scallops and key lime tart at Fishing with Dynamite and stop at Love & Salt for English muffins and the bone marrow or the ragu pasta. If you’re real game, Coni’Seafood for some marlin tacos…or a whole fish if you’ve got a crowd with you.
I do love that Chubby Rice, but I’m never in that neighborhood much.
Grimaldi’s is the best pizza in the LA area by a large margin imo. However, sometimes you want slices and a little variety.
My friend and I were saying the same thing the other day. So much good stuff, plus you have easy driving access to a lot of the city, and they’re building a rail extension. I may just have to look at some places down there …
For the past year or so, I’ve been going there at least once a week and they’ve told me that the lamb biriyani is only available after 7:30pm on Saturdays. Unless they’ve been lying to me…
