The Italian restaurant is a joint venture by the three US celebrities Mario Batali (American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality), Nancy Silverton (American chef, baker and writer) and Joseph Bastianich (American chef, restaurateur, vineyard owner and media personality).

Osteria Mozza is the upscale sibling to the adjacent Pizzeria Mozza. The restaurant is located at Melrose Avenue and as with most restaurants that are good in Los Angeles it is crazy busy and packed with people so do not expect any romantic dinner with a close one.

No, it is better to take the lively atmosphere for what it is and start with Nancy’s massive marble Mozzarella bar that is a gem serving all from Mozzarella and Burrata to Bocconcini and Strachiatella, and start digging into the massive all-Italian and impressive wine list focused on Piedmont, Friuli and Tuscany.

After some time at the crowded bar it feels great to sit down at a table without having someone’s elbow in your chest. So after you have understood that an evening at Osteria Mozza will not be like a typical top rated restaurant with its impeccable service and quality of everything from the wardrobe to the presentations of the servings, you will have only one thing left that is to expect from a fine dining restaurant and that is the food.

The menu that is mostly written in Italian, features pasta, seafood and meat dishes as conceived by Mario Batali and Executive Chef Matt Molina. You can for instance have a pasta tasting menu for instance with a row of pasta dishes where most of the dishes are good. Osteria Mozza is a typical Italian and our favourite is the pasta course gnocchi with wild boar ragu.

Expect a heavy meal when you dine at Osteria Mozza so we can easily recommend to end the dinner with the refreshing Tre Agrumi Ghiacciati, which is comprised of a key lime cannoli, meyer lemon gelato and grapefruit sorbetto.

There is a private room for a romantic one-to-one dining experience or business meetings, but once again – this is not the restaurant to choose if you would like to have something more settled and calm downed. No, this is the perfect restaurant to start with for a late night out (if you do not go with the most heavy cheese drowned dishes) with everything a little bit too noisy and very much Los Angeles.

For most gourmets who have dined all over the planet at top rated restaurants a more personal feeling and reception is to expect and we agree. Osteria Mozza is not a typical fine dining restaurant, but it is still a very good restaurant.

Written by Andy