Cosetta Turns Out Perfect Pizzas and So Much More in Santa Monica
Cosa Buona and Alimento fans will be pleased to know: The food at Zack Pollack’s new California-Italian Santa Monica spot, Cosetta, is just as awesome as it was at his beloved Eastside restaurants. Pollack hasn’t compromised his culinary vision in this westward move; if anything, he’s enriched it with something that might be even more sustainable: hospitality that’s front and center.
The result is a restaurant where natural wine and uni butter-slathered Spanish clam pizzas share space with sippy cups, and where both parking (yes, actual parking) and dietary accommodations are plentiful. It’s still unmistakably cool, but with a warmth that invites you to bring the whole family and linger.
“I think a lot of young chefs, myself included, get it into our heads that if you obsess over the food, hospitality will naturally follow. But I now realize that’s not the case at all,” Pollack says. “You have to singularly focus on hospitality, and then channel your food vision into that. Or at least that’s where I’m at in life right now.”
You have to singularly focus on hospitality, and then channel your food vision into that.— Zack Pollack, Cosetta
That means happily making substitutions for diners with restrictions and requests, offering plenty of kid-friendly options, and building a super-comfy 100-seat patio with heaters (plus 50 indoor seats, including some at the Spanish marble bar). Cosetta is gearing up for lunch service, and they’ll open their takeout window soon. The Westside is stoked and feeling blessed — here’s everything you need to know before heading out.
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Come for the pizza with uni butter and a side of tinned clams…
It’s called Lo Spagnolo Ricco, which means “the wealthy Spaniard,” and you must order it. This is not your average clam pizza, in that you spoon the salty Matiz Spanish tinned clams over each bite and dunk your crust in the briny clam juice that’s leftover. Did we mention the uni butter? There’s a lot of it, lavishly scooped onto a thick, puffy crust, balanced with thin-sliced lemon, garlic, mozzarella, and some char. “For the most part, I haven’t had good clam pizzas,” explains Pollack. “Either the clams are overcooked or they release their water on the pie.” What he’s created at Cosetta skirts around those common pitfalls while paying beautiful homage to the clam — and the bounty of the ocean in general.
(Pollack’s pro tip: order the made-in-house Calabrian chile crisp to eat with it.)
… Stay for the seafood, salad, and more.
Cosa Buona fans will be happy to know the smoked mozzarella sticks and buffalo chicken wings have made it onto Cosetta’s menu. Other items are new, like a crudo of buttery scallops dressed with Sicilian ponzu and almonds with sea salt crystals that pop in your mouth. The salad section is strong, complete with a ‘90s-era mista that’s bright with vinegar and topped with a gloriously excessive sheath of 36 month-aged prosciutto. There’s even an homage to Outback’s bloomin’ onion, with fried and raw radicchio, plus larger plates like Wagyu tri-tip, lasagna bolognese, and eggplant parm.
Eastsiders and Zack Pollack fans want to know: Is the pizza similar to Cosa Buona!?
Before we answer that, just listen to Pollack speak to Cosetta executive chef Danny Chavez’s background: “He’d been cooking at Flour + Water in San Francisco, and he had a particular fondness for making pizza – as some of us do,” says Pollack. Chavez joined the team at Alimento, and later Cosa Buona, where he started as head pizzaiolo and worked his way up to head chef. “He’s been a part of the plan for Cosetta as long as there’s been a plan,” says Pollack. So rest assured, you’re in good hands with the pizza at Cosetta.
How it’s cooked is where the pies differ slightly: Cosetta’s pies are fired at 700 degrees instead of 900-1000, and for three minutes instead of one. “That results in a much sturdier pizza, with a little bit of crunch and crispiness, and a nice chew,” says Pollack. “You can mostly hold it up and the tip won’t flop down, which is different from the soft and supple Neapolitan-style pizza we did at Cosa. This restaurant is less an homage to a specific cuisine — it’s more like an American or Californian-style pie,” he says. Don’t overanalyze it — just order lots of it, and don’t miss the saucy sidecars, like gorgonzola dip and that aforementioned Calabrian chile crisp.
Bet you’ve never had a Cannoli Negroni before, but you should.
Bar consultant Brian Summers (who worked with Pollack at Sotto) has lots of playful ideas and house-made infusions up his sleeve. Take the Cannoli Negroni, for example: all the classic Negroni ingredients get a twist with cocoa nibs, orange peel, and a ricotta wash. You don’t have to be a grappa fan to love the Ninna Nanna, a blend of grappa, lime, and a pear-almond emulsion that hints at orgeat. Plus, there’s made-in-house limoncello (a tasty throwback to your last trip to Italy) and a wine list put together by Heather Rioux, formerly of Alimento and current general manager at Cosetta. As Pollack points out, “We’ve been doing natural wine since even before it became de rigueur,” so expect more of the same here.
The decor is noticeably more hip than what you typically find in the area.
It’s all in the details: the terracotta-colored Spanish marble bar creates a perfect backdrop for your Negroni. The half-circle booths indoors are surrounded by olive trees. The soundtrack is equally thoughtful, complete with Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, and ‘70s Dylan. If you’re sitting inside you can see the entire outdoor seating area, and vice versa, thanks to big glass walls. If you’re thinking, “I could live here,” we bet you’re not the only one.
And bring the kids. They’re very welcome here.
Sometimes, a restaurant’s vibes are legitimately cool, but if you bring the kids along, they’re bored, unhappy, or spilling beverages all over themselves. Other times, it’s a little too kid-centric, with little appeal for grown-ups. At Cosetta, Pollack wants everyone to truly feel taken care of — and it seems to be working. You’ll find kid-friendly touches like sippy cups, crayons and coloring paper with custom pizza designs (à la California Pizza Kitchen), mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, “sidecars” of ranch dressing, and plenty of outdoor space for little ones to get wild (within reason). It’s a rare spot where you’ll see a dad and his daughter grabbing a bite outdoors, while a group of 20-somethings enjoy early Friday cocktails and pizza at an inside booth.
“As a father of young kids, I appreciate the accommodations a restaurant makes for my family,” Pollack says. “The places I’d want to go back to — especially with my kids — are the ones where I feel taken care of and nurtured.”
The neighborhood is noticing.
