A New York City-Style Pizza Contender Joins the LA Conversation

Pizza will always be a divisive topic, filled with regional variances and personal allegiances. And for all the great pizza that Los Angeles has to offer, the common refrain from some circles has always been that LA simply lacks in great slice shops, the kind seen all across New York and New Jersey. But now, there’s Danny Boy’s Famous Original to help answer that call.

Danny Boy’s is the work of chef Daniel Holzman, a co-founder in the legendary New York City restaurant group the Meatball Shop and a man who knows his way around an Italian-American red sauce and pizza joint. His West Coast version lands on Thursday, August 5 inside the Halo space in Downtown Los Angeles, a kind of hybridized food hall and sunny indoor atrium that also features a Shake Shack and other incoming tenants.

On the pizza front, Holzman is working up a slew of traditional New York City-style pies and slices, from simple cheese and pepperoni to a white pie, a loaded Greek salad pie, and two thicker Sicilian-style options (including one for the gluten-free crowd). There are options to build your own standalone pizza for takeaway, plus sandwiches, salads, starters (yes, including meatballs), and more. The opening menu is below.

As for the space itself, Danny Boy’s is essentially open to the bright, airy room, showing off its deck ovens and pizza-making station for all to see. There’s golden uplighting and splashes of green and red, but don’t expect an all-night dinner experience with sit-down service. As with other slice shops, Danny Boy’s is meant for the grab and go set, starting with lunchtime Bunker Hills crowds (hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays only to start), with an expansion into delivery, catering, and longer hours down the line.

As for the enduring pizza wars, there may still be no end in sight — especially as more and more competitors enter the market. The upcoming Etta in Culver City is promising wood-fired pizzas by way of Chicago, while locals like Prime Pizza continue to expand across the Southland as well.

• 18 Essential Los Angeles Pizzerias [ELA]