Quite the alliance of restaurateurs, Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich joined forces again to combat blandness and pretention with Osteria Mozza, next door to their Pizzeria Mozza. Since opening in the summer of 2007, Osteria has been nominated by the James Beard Foundation for the Best New Restaurant award and has remained one of the toughest tables in town. The dining room is decidedly more fun than most restaurants with a two month-long waiting list, though, with a hopping full bar and Batali's favorite music blasting through the speakers – trust his musical taste: He's friends with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. The Mozzarella Bar is the centerpiece of the restaurant, where Silverton crafts antipasti dishes such as Burrata with prosciutto di Parma or bufala mozzarella with pesto, salsa romesco, tapenade and caperberry relish. Pastas include goat cheese ravioli and gnocchi with wild boar ragu, while entrées such as grilled quail wrapped in pancetta or pork loin alla griglia round out the menu. Reservations required. Full bar. Serving dinner nightly.
Where the Locals Eat rating
Top 100 Restaurant Los Angeles
"You'd never find an osteria like this anywhere in Italy. It's more fun, for one thing, very urban and high-spirited. ... Osteria Mozza, next door to the smaller, more casual Pizzeria Mozza, doesn't try to re-create Italy. Instead of nostalgia, Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali give you something real and direct."
–S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times
" ... Silverton is there nightly, ensuring that things run smoothly and manning the mozzarella bar."
—Conde Nast Traveler
"Osteria Mozza is close to extraordinary now, but what is even more exciting is the restaurant that I suspect it will evolve into over the next several years."
–Jonathan Gold, LA Weekly
How Others Rate Osteria Mozza
Zagat 2009
26 (extraordinary to perfection)
Michelin 2009
* (a very good restaurant in its category)
James Beard Foundation
Best New Restaurant nominee, 2008
Matt Molina, Rising Star Chef of the Year nominee, 2008
Los Angeles Times
*** (Excellent)
LA Weekly
Jonathan Gold's 99 Essential LA Restaurants, 2009