To call Nancy Silverton a legend in the Los Angeles restaurant world is an understatement. Silverton, the founding pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in 1982, introduced generations of Angelenos to superior bread and excellent California cuisine at La Brea Bakery and Campanile, which she opened in 1989 with her then-husband, the late Mark Peel.
That proved to be just the beginning of her meteoric rise; the 2000s have been blockbuster decades for the chef. Silverton debuted Pizzeria Mozza on the bustling corner of Hollywood and Highland in 2007, followed by Osteria Mozza in 2008, and Italian steakhouse Chi Spacca in 2013.
All three quickly became the city’s most-buzzed-about Italian restaurants. A decade after Chi Spacca’s opening, the restaurants—all located in the same building along with Mozza2Go and affectionately dubbed Mozzaplex by Angelenos—remain among the hottest restaurants in LA and showcase the best of Italian cooking here.
Silverton attributes that to keeping the restaurants lively, as well as classic dishes that Angelenos keep coming back for. In our latest edition of The Insider, read on for why Mozzaplex remains Los Angeles royalty.
What do you think your restaurants’ X factor is?
Nancy Silverton: The common thread of all of the restaurants is that even if you’re walking in the door at first open, there is clearly a vibe. It’s about walking into a space where people want to be and want to eat. Part of that vibe is also to create a space that feels permanent but doesn’t feel dated.
What’s the one dish you’ll never remove from the restaurants’ menus?
There are two. At the pizzeria, it’s Nancy’s chopped salad, and at the Osteria, it’s the orecchiette pasta with sausage. They’ve become what we call “bring back” dishes, where people wake up and think, “I’ve got to go eat a Nancy’s chopped tonight.” They’re both very craveable.
What’s the underdog of the menu at one of the restaurants?
We try to weed out those underdogs, because they don’t make sense to take real estate on the menu. But there’s one dish that I’m going to try to bring back at Chi Spacca. The underdog at that restaurant is our desserts, because people tend to be so full after dinner. I’m going to bring back a chocolate mousse that has its roots in Spain, where chocolate and olive oil are often paired together. It’s a disc of freestanding chocolate mousse topped with paper-thin layers of toasted baguette and drizzled with high-quality olive oil and served with candied almonds.
Is there a hidden gem on the wine list(s)?
The restaurants have been open for 16 years, so we’ve been collecting wines from Piemonte and Tuscany over that period. We have vintages of Barolos, Barbaresco, and Brunellos that we were able to purchase when they were more affordable. So those are the gems.
What’s the must-order cocktail at Osteria Mozza?
We have an espresso martini, which has become a very popular drink. What we like about ours is that the vodka, which is from Greece, is distilled from olives. It has a viscosity that is really luxurious. It’s a $35 cocktail, so it’s definitely a luxurious experience.
What’s your favorite product at the restaurant for people to try at home?
At Mozza2Go, we have a focused area of pasta and other ingredients. It’s highly curated and all hand-picked. Right now, I’m obsessed with these long-stemmed artichokes from Italy that are roasted and preserved in good olive oil. They’re great eaten as-is, or could be added to a pasta.
Who’s your longest regular?
I have a very close friend, Caryl Lee, who has a clothing store nearby. She’s been coming to the pizzeria since day one and has been such a fan of our restaurants since the very beginning. Thanks to OpenTable, we can track customers’ visits, and she’s in the hundreds.
What’s the most memorable request you’ve received from a customer?
We once got a request for reimbursement for a hair extension that a customer was wearing that was charred by a candle. That’s the first thing that sprang to mind for a memorable request.
What’s the best seat at one of your restaurants?
At Osteria Mozza, it really depends on what your mood is. If you’re having a casual evening and want to watch people prepare your food, the mozzarella bar is the best spot. If you’d like a more intimate dinner, table 31, which is in a corner between two wine walls, is the best seat.
What’s changed the most at the restaurants since they’ve opened?
When the Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza opened, it was a time where restaurant owners felt that they had earned the right to be able to say no to a lot of requests. What’s changed the most is that now we try to say yes many more times than we say no.
What’s your favorite award you’ve won?
It’s probably the first award I ever got, which was in 1990, a year after Campanile opened. It was for Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs. The congratulations came in the mail.
When is the best time to find a reservation?
Right when we open, you can generally get a table [at each of the restaurants].
Karen Palmer is a pizza- and pasta-obsessed food writer based in Los Angeles. Follow her on Instagram at @karenlpalmer.
