Roberta’s Is Slinging Pizzas at Another Upscale LA Mall, This Time in the Valley

After opening its first brick-and-mortar Los Angeles location at Culver City’s Platform development in 2018, Brooklyn-based Roberta’s Pizza has expanded into another local upscale mall. On Wednesday, August 31, the woodfired pizza-maker unveiled a new outpost at the Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. Roberta’s twelfth location worldwide joins other local food tenants at the new mixed-use redevelopment at the iconic Valley site, including Sugarfish, Tocaya Organica, and Hi-Ho Cheeseburger. Civil Coffee and Kismet Rotisserie are also slated to open outposts.

The pizza-heavy menu at the Studio City Roberta’s lists more than 10 pies, including longstanding favorites such as the Bee Sting, Cheezus Christ, and Famous Original, as well as a few seasonal options, like the Sungold tomato-and-garlic-topped Normcore. There are just a few simple sides, such as housemade stracciatella and green lettuces with pumpkin seed and sea lettuce vinaigrette, caper-studded breadcrumbs, and fiore sardo. Additional side dishes are on the way.

While the decor and speckled floor are in keeping with the playfully minimalistic Culver City location, this one is an order-at-the-counter setup, and doesn’t offer beer or wine, but has plenty of sodas and drinks on offer. Roberta’s is located at 4220 Coldwater Canyon Avenue in Studio City and is open daily from noon to 9 p.m.

Karen Palmer

A grocer’s cautionary tale

East Hollywood vegan grocer Besties posted on Instagram this week that after having been approached by a publicly traded corporation to convert its own stores to Besties and, more immediately, open a Venice location, the team was told after months of work to vacate the Westside premises. Besties wrote, “Four months have passed since, and we’re still working to recover from what we lost.” The shop is selling T-shirts “for those who wish to help us memorialize this challenging phase of our small, ethical, self-financed business.”

LA’s Iberian obsession

Thrillist notes that Los Angeles may be more in love than ever with Spanish and Portuguese food, as evidenced by the tinned fish boom around town. Writer Ben Mesirow points to new restaurants like Dono, Bar Moruno, and San Laurel as “pushing tapas, pintxos, paella, and more back to the forefront of our culinary landscape.”

Cool off at Loqui

Just in time for the holiday weekend heat wave, modern taqueria Loqui has added housemade agua frescas to its menu, in four flavors that range from jamaica to watermelon with lime and mint. The restaurant has also launched new paletas in rotating flavors like passion fruit and horchata at its locations in Culver City, the Arts District, and Playa Vista. Find more refreshing paletas around town.

And in brunch news...

Vegetarian restaurant Olivia, which opened in Koreatown this spring, has launched brunch. On Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the restaurant is serving a plant-based menu featuring the likes of quinoa corn cakes with parmesan butter and maple syrup, as well as chilaquiles with tofu eggs, chipotle salsa, queso fresco, and cheddar.