Chris Bianco Is Now Slinging Focaccia Sandwiches and Pizza Slices at the Row

Celebrated pizza chef Chris Bianco’s budding Los Angeles expansion looks more complete with Pane Bianco, a standalone New York-style slice and sandwich spot, which opened on June 13 just steps away from his Pizzeria Bianco in Downtown’s Row. Bianco’s first foray into LA back in 2017 was a little confusing, to say the least, with no official pizza situation and an Italian restaurant called Alameda Supper Club that was open for about a year. He made a triumphant return with Pizzeria Bianco in 2022, serving his famous wood-fired pizzas and a daytime New York-style slice menu that stood among the best in the city.

Now Pane Bianco, Bianco’s celebrated Phoenix sandwich shop that opened in 2005, is here for lunchtime slices and sandwiches, plus salads, grab-and-go salumi and cheese boxes, and more, all at attainable prices. Originally the larger Pizzeria space served slices and sandwiches from a window during the day, but that kitchen setup proved unsustainable. Bianco partnered with Seth Sulka and announced a standalone daytime restaurant in the former Tartine Bianco space a few buildings over. Pane Bianco is now a full-time counter operation with a new electric pizza oven that should help move along the daily lines that once queued at the Pizzeria’s old slice window.

Pane Bianco will offer a few slice options, plus 18-inch whole pies to order. Most sandwiches, like the burrata or mortadella, will come on square focaccia bread cut into diagonal halves, though others, like a roast beef sandwich with green garlic aioli, might come on airy house-baked baguettes. Bianco also teased the return of circular puccia loaves that made Pane Bianco a famous name in Phoenix, loading on things like sweet cherry tomato halves in test runs.

The space is done up in Bianco’s antique-heavy aesthetic, including a faux fireplace and other vintage pieces that he brought over from Arizona. And in his quest for clarity after years of confusion in LA, Pane Bianco is dead simple: Order here, pick up over there, and eat at of the counters, indoor tables, or outdoor seating.

Pane Bianco is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with service planned to 7 p.m. eventually.

Matthew Kang