Meet Leopardo, the Wildest New Pizzeria in Los Angeles

So, what’s the vibe, exactly?

Many of the design details from the original bakery remain intact (floors, light fixtures, exposed brick wall, etc.). As you enter the lofty, high-ceilinged space, you’ll clock raw bar counter seats and a sprawling open kitchen with direct views of the Pavesi wood-fire pizza oven. The handful of seats directly in front of the oven are reserved for VIPs, while the remainder of the long wraparound counter seating stretches down to the bar area toward the back patio. 

The brick walls on the north side of the L-shaped space are covered in art and memorabilia that reflect Skenes’ personal interests: martial arts, the ‘80s (clock the Bauhaus poster), professional athletes (Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson among them), and vintage black-and-white photos of iconic destinations in Italy and L.A. to drive home the Cal-Italian theme. It creates a slightly clubby (or debatably, divey) effect in the dining space, which is otherwise neutral, with white walls, wooden furniture, and plenty of natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows.

Let’s talk about that dough.

Pizza is the star at Leopardo, and its dough is something truly special. Made from a blend of nine different flours (which Skenes and team took months to source), the dough is naturally leavened using a completely wild yeast made from a two-year old starter. The recipe is inspired by the springy, chewy texture of mochi, in what Skenes dubs a “neo-mochiko” crust. 

“You end up with this dough that’s really light, naturally sweet, and has an almost spider web or honeycomb-esque texture on the inside,” he says. The whole process takes three days, two of which are spent waiting for the dough to rise. Skenes even uses spring water as opposed to tap, and Oregon sea salt to perfect the dough’s simple yet pristine base. “In terms of flavors, what I wanted was the balance between lactic acid and acetic acid, and that’s basically just vinegar/sourdough flavor,” he explains.

As for the sauce, Skenes and his team spent months canning jars of Early Girl tomatoes before the restaurant opened. The mozzarella cheese is freshly made in-house using local Straus Family Creamery milk. 

There are three pizzas in the starting lineup: a classic Margherita, the Re-Marinara (tomato sauce infused with smoked ham), and the Hello Satan, made with chile, salumi, wildflower honey, garlic, and herbs, served with a side of giardiniera. Skenes promises that they’re only in “phase one” of menu development for the pizzas; he plans to add different styles as the restaurant progresses.

Expect more than just pizza, though.

Naturally, there are oysters and caviar and bone marrow — nods to a culinary past that anyone would expect from Skenes. But that wasn’t always the plan. “The original idea was just to do a pizza joint, but then we found this space that was double the size of what we were looking for, so we expanded the menu,” he says. 

The menu starts with raw dishes. “A raw bar is just the way that I like to eat,” Skenes says. The section includes items like oysters on the half shell with pickled seaweed granita; an ocean tilefish crudo; and a very conspicuously plated deer tartare served with machete bread (a 16-inch breadstick made from the same dough as the pizza) and roasted bone marrow. The showstopper is the $225 cured and aged Osetra caviar, served with a polenta waffle, barbecue corn-cob maple syrup, and Bordier butter. “I wanted to do something fun,” Skenes says. “I grew up in the South, and who doesn’t love a good waffle?”

Salads include a classic Caesar and a garden lettuce mix with Meyer lemon, as well as the Cali-prese, Skenes’ take on a Caprese salad made with stracciatella, basil, and 18-hour tomatoes. “The tomatoes are what I call ‘ambered,’” says Skenes. “Basically, they confit inside the wood oven with really good oil and aromatics until they reduce down and concentrate into this beautiful, smoky-sweet flavor without any of the acrid tones.” 

As for mains, the curiously named “Cow that Roamed Free & Ate Fermented Things” is Skenes’ version of catch of the day, but for beef, soured from one specific ranch that meets Skenes’ quality standards. Tilefish appears again as an entrée, grilled whole and served in “the lord’s water,” a sauce Skenes describes as a “fermented smoky fish sauce” made from grilled fish bones. Wild boar meatballs and a grilled spear squid round out the menu, which Skenes notes will grow as well.

For dessert, a frozen milk soft cream is the star dish, made with the same Straus cream and served with housemade Biscoff-inspired cookies. There’s also a take on a tiramisu (dubbed 2022) and a wild blackberry hand pie with cream.

The cocktails are equally wild.

Don’t expect anything tame on the cocktail list, either. Skenes and chef Michael Tang developed the menu here, too, with creations riffing on classics like martinis, Negronis, and old fashioneds. Most have distinct names, while one is just described with a sentence: “The mezcal infused with wild boar roasted over mesquite.” The Califobrian is made with rum, whole coconut, and stracciatella; it tastes like a clever, creamier variation on a piña colada. Other standouts include the Cardoon with barbecued artichoke, sparkling cardoon, amaro, and lemon; and the Kyoho Frosé made with Kyoho grape, cachaça, and Asti spumante. You’ll want to try them all. 

A plant-filled outdoor seating area is coming soon.

A forthcoming outdoor seating area will feature around 30 seats and what Skenes calls “plant cabanas.”

“It will almost be like semi-private seating,” he says, noting the foliage will separate each table. And in a fittingly playful finishing touch, the giant dough mixer left behind from La Brea Bakery will be spray painted gold and used as an ice bucket for Champagne to serve to outdoor guests.

Kelly Dobkin is an L.A.-based writer/editor and former New Yorker. She has contributed to Bon Appétit, Grub Street, Michelin, Here Magazine, and is a former editor at Thrillist, Zagat, and Eater. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Resy, too.