A CPK Co-Founder Slices Into Pacific Palisades With Roman-Style Pizza

Square slices are coming soon to the Palisades Village development in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, served by one very familiar pizza name. ROCA Pizza arrives at the Rick Caruso-owned property next week by way of Rick Rosenfield, who co-founded California Pizza Kitchen, along with his wife and partner Esther Rosenfield.

If ROCA seems familiar, that’s because it’s been around before. The Roman-meets-California style shop began life in 2021 as a long-term pop-up at the (also Caruso-owned) Americana in Glendale, but now the plan is to go all-in on the Westside, with an opening slated for Monday, March 6. The new ROCA is a tall, glassy walk-up option for the development, ideal for grab-and-go lunch or easy weeknight dinners. It’s not a large space, at just over 1,000 square feet total, but comes wrapped in marble and loaded with natural light, with outdoor seating directly in front and dispersed across the larger property.

Rather than offering each pizza style in a long rectangle that can be cut to order with scissors, here the pizzas are served behind glass and range in predetermined sizes like “by the cut” (the equivalent of one slice), a four-slice “half pan,” or a “full pan” with eight total slices. The menu offers plenty of variety, from a take on amatriciana with pork cheek and mozzarella to barbecue chicken, vegan options, a sausage and potato pizza, and staples like margherita and pepperoni — all served on the restaurant’s thin, cold-fermented dough. Salads, meatballs, and other basics are also available, along with a pre-made grab-and-go collection that includes sandwiches made with pizza dough.

The new ROCA Pizza at Palisades Village is part of a larger plan by the Rosenfields, including a coming location at Marina Del Rey’s Waterside development this summer. Until then, find ROCA in person in the Palisades at 15225 Palisades Village Lane, or on all of the usual delivery apps, keeping lunch through dinner hours starting at 11 a.m.