Stella Rosa pizza on Main St in santa monica

[westsidegal]

ate dinner there tonight.
the best pizza i've tasted on the westside.
thank you LApizzamaven for the heads up on this.
fabulous

[wienermobile]

From LA Eater "Stella Rossa in Santa Monica is going to be changing its name to Stella Barra, its new Hollywood sister outlet (located at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood), in order streamline the concept and branding. Everything else about Stella Barra Santa Monica will remain the same, the menu and all. "

[westsidegal]

thanks for the heads up.

[wienermobile]

Good News! Stella Rosa will start serving brunch on Sat & Sun beginning on October 20th at 10 am. They will also have a special breakfast pizza on the brunch menu,

[westsidegal]

i'm dying to see the menu.

[wienermobile]

The breakfast pizza will be prosciutto & farm egg with mozzarella, gruyere and pecorino.

[Dirtywextraolives]

A pizza place serving brunch? That's different. Wish instead of getting on the brunch bandwagon, they would just serve the same menu at lunchtime, but I know codb I guess....

[westsidegal]

i'm hoping that they will end up offering continuous service between the brunch time and the dinner time.
it would be so wonderful to be able to go there on a saturday afternoon.. . . . .

[Dirtywextraolives]

Yes, I love places like that.... But know it is expensive to keep your doors open & lights on all day.....

[westsidegal]

since they're already paying rent on the square footage 24/7, they just need to make enough profit during the additional hours to exceed the increase in variable costs they will incur for those hours. . . . .

[Dirtywextraolives]

Exactly, but a chef & server for four more hours times two four times a month does add up. How much does a large cheese pie go for?

[wienermobile]

Their delicious Margarita pizza is $12.95

[Dirtywextraolives]

How big is it?

[westsidegal]

also, i would expect, given their location near the beach, if they were to be open saturday afternoons there would likely be some high-margin alcohol sales to help the equation.. . . .

[Dirtywextraolives]

You would hope....full bar or b&w only?

[westsidegal]

sorry, i don't know.
normally i order wine when i'm there.
if they stayed open on saturday afternoons, i would definitely be there ordering wine and pizza.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Just looked on the website, they have a full bar. Don't know how I always missed this place, but again if its closed up tight at lunch, I probably drive right by.... Those pies look phenomenal, though.... Going to have to bing the fam soon.... Thanks!

[wienermobile]

This and Milo & Olive are by far the best pizzas on the westside in my opinion.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Ya know, I thought the M&O pizza was okay.... Not earth shattering.... Good, super crispy crust, even tho I had wet toppings (sausage, sauce, cheese & rabe) but they never made the crust soften.... Just a bit too hard on the bottom for me I guess... But I am extremely nit-picky I guess.

[westsidegal]

i'm in LOVE with the anchovy pizza at milo and olive.
when at stella rosa i am true to the margherita.

[wienermobile]

Finally made it to Stella Rosa and boy was that worth the wait. Great crust. Nice sized pies, Loved their homemade organic sausage pizza. Nice people. Free parking. Very highly recommended. Me happy.

[lapizzamaven]

Went back to Stella Rossa tonite...ordered the usual sausage pie...the sausage was delicious, the reek of fennel coating my face and wafting up my nose....very sensually pleasing...and the first few bites had me reelin...sausage crumbled into just the right mix of chunk size and very, very juicy...but i soon noticed a bit of gumminess in the usually perfect crust. damn, i'll say most people wouldnt notice it...the place was hoppin at around 7pm sat nite but i was a bit saddened. hey, hopefully, just an off night...maybe the dough was kept at too low a temp...anyway, the sausage and still above average crust will bring me back often.

[westsidegal]

TRIED to go there at 4:30 this afternoon.
didn't realize that they don't open until 5pm monday through saturday.
(hours are more like bar hours than like pizzaria-by-the-beach hours)

ended up going to wurstkuche (sp?) instead.

[lapizzamaven]

And how was the "wurst," westside gal?

[westsidegal]

fine, as always.
the sausage, is fine and, because of that and because of it's location, and because they serve Old Rasputin on draft, i'll continue to go there on occasion .
gotta admit though that i'm not much of a fan of having my food served on a piece of wax paper. how much more would it cost them to use those little folded cardboard thing-a-ma-jobs instead? also, when the communal tables are covered in brown paper, and a party of diners leaves with the paper having grease stains and crayon drawings all over it, why doesn't the restaurant change the paper?

would much have preferred one of those remarkably good pizzas served on real plates on a clean table at stella rossa .

[echoparkdirt]

i've been ordering these superb pies on thin crust lately -- 1/2 the calories! cracker crust!

[westsidegal]

i'm gonna try that!

[westsidegal]

tried the thin crust version tonight in a side-by-side caparison with the normal crust version.
here are my conclusions:
1) the advantage of the thinner crust version is that the tomato:crust ratio is improved and the great taste of their tomato sauce comes through better.

2) the disadvantage of the thin-crust version is that:
it is made of a different flour that just tastes like white flour and has none of the delicious nuttiness/texture of the flour used in their regular crust.
also,
i'm not conpletely convinced that their really is a material difference in the calories involved in the two versions.. . . (will let you know after i get on the scaler tomorrow morning).

[echoparkdirt]

i didnt know it was made of a different flour! did patrick tell you that? i was there too! maybe we saw each other.

ps. how can there not be a material differnce in calories -- they use half the dough!

[westsidegal]

i tasted the difference in the flour, and then confirmed it with a staff member.
(dunno the names of the various staff members).

[uhockey]

There is no conceivable way that a scale could detect the number of calories in a food - not by weighing the food and not by weighing yourself (unless of course every single ingredient in the food was gram measured and cooking identical) I'll assume the above was a joke, but just FYI.

http://endoedibles.com

[westsidegal]

i was joking about being able to ascertain a difference in calories by weighing myself the next morning. ;-)

[lapizzamaven]

@westsidegal...thats strange...the sausage will get me to go there but i guess i should bring my own plate.

[westsidegal]

they serve the sausages on a piece of wax paper that is supported by a little painted metal trough. i'm betting the little metal troughs are never washed. the wax paper is thin and the piece of wax paper is small enough so that it gets moved around as you pick up your sausage and put down your sausage.
also, when any moist food, ( such as the mustard, sauteed onions, sauteed peppers, etc) touches the wax paper, the paper becomes translucent and sticks to the trough, suggesting that it is quite permeable.

[lapizzamaven]

that is kinda disgusting...i'll either bring my own plates or extra wax paper...I do want to try the sausage!

[MahiMahiFish]

Tried two pizzas here last week, nothing special or remarkable at all.
Tasted a lot like the tasteless pizza at Sammy's.
Sotto's is far better.
Outstanding dessert, butterscotch & sea salt something? Fantastic!

[lapizzamaven]

Interesting that you found Stella Rossa pizzas " like the tasteless pizza at Sammy's." I love Sotto's pies too....very different, but Ive yet to have a pie at SR's that wasn't delicious!

[MahiMahiFish]

I know, I really couldn't wait to try this place.
We just tried The Luggage Room in Pasadena, surprised I liked their pizza far better than SR, much better salads as well.
Have you been? If so, would love to hear your thoughts!

[Ogawak]

late response, but Luggage Room and Stella Rosa are part of the same LGO/LEYE group.

[gordo26]

While places like Sotto or even Villetta trumpet their neopolitan wood ovens (Sotto) or piza makers (Villetta), it really doesn't matter if the fundamentals aren't there. In this case the crust. Either place in my opinion doesn't compare. Its like someone with top of the line pots and pans - doesn't really matter if the fundamentals aren't there ( like the kid with $200 basketball shoes, still doesn't make him a better ball player). Further, Sottos topping in my opinion just are meh. That being said was delusional to think SR sausage pizza would even compare to Mozzas.

Chef Brian apparently had worked on his crust recipe for for years(according to him), and I believe he's doing something right.

-----
Villetta
246 26th St, Santa Monica, CA 90402

[floppy fish]

I finally ate here with my family for the first time despite the fact that I work only a block away (they are closed at lunch). We had the spinach and kale salad (which had a nice, light dressing), salumi plate, and a margarita pizza. Everything was very good. I wife thought the pizza was better than Mozza. While I wouldn't go that far, it was pretty good and by the way, I liked the "whole grainy" taste of the crust. I wish they were open for lunch.

[TonyC]

It's surely better than Mozza in the sense pizza is better than flat bread.

[Porthos]

Mozza doesn't serve flat bread. You're thinking Gjelina.

-----
Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

[Servorg]

Porthos, do you know anything about the upcoming Italian offering that will be in Hollywood (I hear at Hollywood and Vine) from David Myers? It will be traditional Neapolitan pizza (and other Italian fare) like Ortica, but will not be an Ortica.

[Porthos]

Not at all Servorg. Keep us updated!

I hope they stick true to the chewy crust and wet center and don't crisp things up for the LA palate. Always nice to have options. Sounds like we're getting that long overdue pizza renaissance!

[uhockey]

imo Mozza is slightly better, but the shaved mushroom pizza is sublime.

http://endoedibles.com

[lapizzamaven]

Agree with Porthos...Mozza is transcendent pizza...emphatically not flatbread.

[gordo26]

Agree as well. Spot on with all your pizza recs Lapizzamaven.

Anxiously awaiting the opening of the pizzeria by the Rustic Canyon/Huckleberry/Sweet Rose folks in the old Marina's Pastry on Wilshire. I've heard its opening in mid-November.

[lapizzamaven]

thanks gordo26...didnt hear about the Rustic Cyn thing..sounds hopeful...the Umami guys are soon to open 800 degrees in Westwood "soon." got my fingers crossed that they do the right thing!

[wienermobile]

Here's the info about Rustic Canyon's Pizza place from their web site:
Finally, we are proud to formally announce that later this year we'll be opening our newest venture, Milo & Olive Milling Co, a bakery and pizzeria located at 2723 Wilshire Blvd, at Harvard. The idea for M&O came from a lack of kitchen space at Huckleberry coupled with Zoe's desire to create a wider variety and quantity of great breads. Milo & Olive will serve bread and pastries from 7AM to11AM each morning along with Verve Coffee. From 11 AM 11PM we will be making our own style of artisan wood fired pizza and serving it along side seasonal small plates. Milo & Olive is a very small room so reservations unfortunately cannot be accepted, but all of our food will be available for take-out. As always, we will use the freshest farmers market ingredients, sustainably farmed meats, dairy and poultry, and make everything on site. We're scheduled to open November/December of this year but will keep you posted as we get closer.

[lapizzamaven]

im ready and waitin'.

[wienermobile]

Milo & Olive just revealed that the bakery portion opens November 18. Lunch and dinner and pizza service kick off on December 1.

2723 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica

[TonyC]

like they're going to "do the right thing" with Umami? *facepalm*

[lapizzamaven]

so what does" facepalm" mean? im not a fan of the overpriced Umami scene...but i live near Westwood and there aint any decent pizza here so im bein an optimist instead of my usual cynicism.

[ns1]

google facepalm. all will be explained.

[lapizzamaven]

thank you, ive googled it.

[fame da lupo]

Define transcendent: is it going to take me back to La Bella Napoli in Bologna? Or does it simply "transcend" what's found in the LA area.

[gordo26]

finally tried this place yesterday. Must agree with westsidegal - best pizza on the westside. Crust was amazing and toppings were perfect. Can't wait to go back.

[westsidegal]

kudos to LAPizzaMaven!
great, great recommendation.
i never would have noticed the place if it were not for the LAPizzaMaven recommendation.

[Servorg]

Place link for Stella Rosa added.

-----
Stella Rossa Pizza Bar
2000 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405

[gordo26]

Anyone tried taking it out yet? Does it travel? Just had a baby this week and we won't be going out anytime soon but I really want to try these pies!

[Ciao Bob]

Congrats on the snapper, gordo26!
Is there any pizza that doesn't travel? I never had a pizza that got any better by traveling...they all deteriorate (and proportionally to the time from oven-to mouth).

[Peripatetic]

In my experience, pizza from Vito's and Mozza is sometimes even better reheated than it is fresh. It depends on the toppings and the oven, though. I haven't tried it with Stella Rosa pizza yet.

[Ciao Bob]

I do love reheated -- or even cold pizza -- the next day. In that situation I totally agree that some pies "travel" better, often much better, than others. The sturdier, thicker crusts (Mozza, Sotto, Vito) work better than the ultra-thin set (Gjelina, Teronni) which tend to dissolve. But for primary eating I don't think any pizza "travels well" comapred to eating it fresh.

[wienermobile]

I am also a leftover cold pizza lover.

[gordo26]

Thank Ciao Bob #3! i heard the restaurant is actually very kid friendly depending on what time you go. I was thinking of Pit Fire's Burrata Pie Pizza with Arugula. Doesn't travel at all and even if you add the Arugula at home it still isn't the same.

Love left over pizza. Always order with that in mind!

[lapizzamaven]

Personally, id say if you really want the best pizza, you shouldnt travel with it in a box any further than your car, which you parked right out front...this is something i often do at Mozza2Go...get lucky and find a space nearby on Melrose and eat it while sitting on the hood, NYstyle...or LA style in a convertible...no hassle, no crowds!

[sushigirlie]

Funny. I LOVE the salads here. But I don't love the pizza. I like it, but to me the crust always tastes too whole-grainy. It's like a honey-wheat crust. And it's always a little bit raw and gummy. The toppings are great though. I really like each slice until I get to the perimeter crust, and that is not so good in my opinion.

All in all, I much prefer Gjelina's pizza. To be completely antithetical to Chowhound opinion, I like Stella Rossa's salads better than Gjelina's (the kale and the mizuna-mache are both killer).

[lapizzamaven]

@ porthos...i definitely wouldnt say better than Mozza but better than any other pizza ive had in LA...Yeah sushigirlie, youre a real contrarian! the pies ive ordered all have had excellent crusts...different people do make the pies but other than some variance in amount of toppings, the crusts were cooked quite consistently....i think, way better than Gjelinas which i like buttypically are quite flaccid! go figure...

-----
Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

[sushigirlie]

I like flaccid. (in some contexts)

[ns1]

best post ever

[lapizzamaven]

ha,ha!

[TonyC]

The crust tastes whole grainy because it is locally sourced, milled (to their spec) whole grain wheat. Excellent buds sushigirlie, even if you don't like the outer crust.

I like everything about Stella Rossa's food over Gjelina, despite the fact it is a corporate "concept" joint, despite the insufferable weekend crowd. Just had the privilege of going through a pulverizing 7 course meal at L2O (where Chef Mahin previously worked) last weekend. If they're utilizing even 50% of the meticulousness at Stella Rossa as they do at L2O, every & any product coming out of that open kitchen will supercede Mozza, Sotto, ad nausea. Gjelina looks a chump.

Now, we await the DineLA menu.

[lapizzamaven]

@ westsidegal...Glad my opinion was endorsed...People all have different tastes but i have to say, i still think theres good and bad! their crust was really the key for me....It is a bit pricey, but a great pie is something i'll spring for! Anywhere besides Mozza that you like better?

[westsidegal]

nope. imho this is the best westside pizza, PERIOD.
great, great, find.
thanks again

[lapizzamaven]

u bet!

[Porthos]

Better than Mozza!!?

That's enough for me. Will have to give it a try now. Any recommendations?

[westsidegal]

fwiw,
i don't consider Mozza/ Highland to be on the westside, so i wasn't including it in my statement.

[Porthos]

Ooops. Missed the westside part. I saw your "Nope" "best" "pizza" and "PERIOD" in response to Maven's "Any place you like better than Mozza" and got a bit excited.

I'll settle down a bit and wait for this pizza renaissance to develop a bit more.

[echoparkdirt]

Definitely the best westside pizza, PERIOD! Wonderful. Don't miss Bollini's anymore!