Jason Neroni is filling some big shoes. Since July, his hotly anticipated new pizzeria Best Bet has set up shop inside the beloved A-frame along Culver City’s Washington Boulevard.
“When the lease came up, we weren’t even on the hunt for a new space,” Neroni says of the space, which previously housed one of the country’s first IHOPs and famed chef Roy Choi’s A-frame restaurant. “But everyone knows that building and its history. It’s iconic.”
Best Bet’s kitchen turns out California-Italian cuisine, while the bar whips up classic cocktails with a twist. The restaurant also happens to be Neroni’s most personal yet. “I’ve done a lot of restaurants in my life, and we just wanted to make this restaurant a place that represents us,” Neroni says.
Read on for what that means for Neroni.
Pizza, of course, is the star, and Neroni has developed three-styles instead of simply going the wood-fired route. “One thing I hate is to be like everyone else,” he says. “Suddenly you can get a wood-fired pizza anywhere.”
Yes, there are blistered wood-fired pies—Neroni’s version is a blend of Neapolitan and New York styles—but there’s also crisp focaccia and fried Montenara (mountain-style pizza), a calzone-like street snack from Naples. Toppings go beyond cheese and pepperoni: The wood-fired Ode to Franco is adorned with mozzarella and tomato confit, while the Funkadelic Montenara is stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta and topped with thin slices of guanciale.
And there’s more in store. “We’re thinking of doing Roman-style pizza for lunch and tlayudas from Mexico,” Neroni says.
The supporting players on Neroni’s Italian-leaning menu are just as strong. Think seasonal produce like coal-roasted and lardo-wrapped stone fruit, housemade orecchiette bathed in pink peppercorn cacio e pepe, and crisp zucchini blossoms stuffed with crabmeat.
Best Bet wine director Aaron Watty only sourced Californian and Italian wines to best complement the food. The cocktails, meanwhile, are updated takes on classics: There’s a house negroni with gin, Campari, and cream sherry and a whimsical take on the amaretto sour topped with floating meringue. Plus, the Fro-Gro, a frozen negroni with gin and a punchy bell pepper and cinnamon syrup, is a dream summertime quencher.
Best Bet’s decidedly 1970s feel is brought to life by framed Chef Boyardee advertisements, photos from friends as well as ones Neroni took himself, and several Star Wars collectibles from the chef’s personal collection. Even the pizza paper is printed with the Han Solo quote: “Never tell me the odds.”
Adding to the restaurant’s retro vibe are the staff’s cherry-red jackets emblazoned with “BB” and white plateware with red trim. “I’ve done enough restaurants in my life, and we really just wanted this to feel like us,” Neroni says. “We just wanted it to feel cool, and polished, and a little more adult.”
Best Bet is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 pm to 10 pm with expanded hours, lunch, and brunch planned soon.
Karen Palmer is a pizza- and pasta-obsessed food writer based in Los Angeles. Follow her on Instagram at @karenlpalmer.
