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Took my son to a great meal while visiting LA . Great experience, highly recommend. Service was exceptional by waiter and all at restaurant. Food is very rich but so darn good. Focaccia was so unique and delicious. Tomahawk pork chop , presentation and flavor were both 10/10. Mashed potatoes, onion rings and salad also so good . Ambiance also fantastic . We ordered too much . A meal to be remembered. .
I've tried Chi Spacca while traveling years ago. This time, I dined at the chef's table. It was incredible! The service, chefs' precision, and the quality of food. Everything was on par. I ordered the bone marrow pie and 36 dry aged bone in steak. We started with the sourdough bread, with notes of garlic infused in it, paired with a delicious mozzarella ball. As for the bone marrow pie, the bone marrow was delicious and paired perfectly to the beef pie. For the steak- I loved watching the chefs prepare it. I ordered medium rare and it melted in my mouth. This experience reminded me of all the joy I experienced the first time abroad and added to it. Highly recommend!
This meat speakeasy has a cozy and intimate vibe. I loved sitting up at the counter and watching all the chefs in action! FYI, some of the items can take 1 hr + to be made (like the oxtail), so keep that in mind! Knowing this helped us make our menu selection. We ended up ordering the anchovy + butter, branzino, cabbage, and beef & marrow pot pie. Anchovy + Butter: I was astonished by how much butter there was! I ended up having to scrape some off. Once I had the preferred amount of butter, the anchovy + toasted bread + butter combo was packed with flavor and textures. Branzino: Prob my fav dish of the night. The branzino was cooked perfectly with its crispy edge. The bed of herb salad and charred lemon was a great pairing with the fish, giving the dish a nice acidic element. Beef & Marrow Pot Pie: I love pot pies so this was a no brainer to order! Its very unique and photogenic. There's a generous amount of beef inside. This dish is also served with a side of extremely creamy mashed potatoes. FYI, this dish takes longer to come out! Cabbage: Nothing too exciting, it was nice to have a veggie side. You feel very well taken care of here. There's plenty of metered street parking around (and after 6PM, its free).
Came to Chi Spacca with a group of 4. Reservations were made in advance. We arrived about 15 minutes early and were seated outside when I saw plenty of tables inside. The reason? Because we checked in early...I've seen a lot of other reviews about how reservation times weren't followed, so I think that may be the norm here. They really should add some shades on the outside dining, because as the sun sets, you're literally sitting in the sun. Moving onto the food, our group wasn't really impressed. I think the only dishes I loved were: -a few of the items from the Affettati Misti (like a charcuterie meat plate) -- The croquette trotter, 'nduja and rabbit pate were all good and paired well with their Focaccia di Recco. All the sliced meats were a bit too salty. -The Beef & Bone Marrow Pie, though it was a very hearty & heavy dish. -Grilled Octopus, this could've used more lime wedges, but I liked the cranberry beans that comes with this dish. The Hanger Steak was nothing to rave about (a bit over); the Glazed Lamb Ribs were okay, some pieces were fall off the bone, but the one I had barely had any meat on it; Short Ribs were also just okay and very oily. We ordered a wine that was around $75 per bottle, can't remember the name but their sommelier recommended. This was pretty good as it paired nicely with all the meat we ordered. Lastly for dessert, we ordered the Gelato with Olive Oil & Sea Salt. Too much sea salt, and their olive oil was likely a bit rancid. Nothing like what I had in Italy before, so that was a disappointment. We did notice a lot of parties picking up takeout pizza for their sister restaurant, so I wonder if that's any good...but I won't be visiting again for Chi Spacca. They have valet available, though I didn't see where. We were lucky enough to find street parking on a small street nearby (not monitored on Sundays).
It pains me to write this review. I have been coming for almost 10 years now on special ocasions. This is actually one of my wife's favorite restaurants. I fell in love with their Foccacia and their Tomahawk Pork Chop. Every year, service was excellent and good was great. Even our kids love it. However, on our last visit last week everything went downhill. We got seated on time at 6pm during our reservation time. We ordered pretty much everything immediately. Salad and Foccacia came within 20min but the entrees did not come until 8pm. We kept asking our server and manager for updates on our food and all we heard was "its coming soon" or "let me check on it". When the food finally came, the pork was EXTREMELY salty. To top it off, the lady in the table next to us was throwing up mid dinner which definitely added to the experience. Not sure if I would come back.
Loved this spot. Out of the 3 Nancy Silverton places that occupy this corner this one is probably my 3rd choice. I love Osteria Mozza, it's my number one and then Pizza is two. Chi SPACCA has a great intimate vibe. The service is very attentive. My only tweak would be its pretty tight quarters, the tables are small and then they're serving you huge portions to try to fit on your table. Not to mention EVERYONE is waiting. Chi SPACCA definitely has the longest wait times for the food out of the 3 cause the menu is so meat heavy. It's just a constant circling of servers and managers telling people, it's coming soon, it'll be a little longer. Stuff takes a good while here. Delicious though!
Chi Spacca is such a gem in LA. I love coming here to enjoy their steak and wine. Came to celebrate an anniversary and the whole team treated us so well and gave us an amazing dinner. From start to finish, the meals were coursed out perfectly. Perfect for an intimate dinner and dinner with a group, Chi Spacca does well the accommodate. Our favorite here is definitely the Bistecca fiorentina, the 50z porterhouse. Definitely worth it!
This was my second visit to Chi Spacca, the smallest and most meat-centric of Nancy Silverton's 3-restaurant complex on the corner of Melrose and Highland. I came this time specifically for their smash burger, served only at the counter on Mon. and Tues. The counter has 6 seats, and everyone seated there ordered the burger The burger is the most economical dish on the menu. Chi Spacca is not a live fire place (although there is a wood-burning oven), so they have a grill and a flat top. At the counter, I saw huge chunks of meat (New York and Porterhouse) spend large chunks of time on the grill on all sides; an instant-read thermometer was used. The burger of course had a much shorter cook on the flat top. It has 2 patties, American cheese, Calabrian chili aioli, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and pickles on a toasted sesame bun. The burger was fine. I did not really taste the chili aioli, and the bun did not hold up well, but overall pretty tasty. I started with roasted squash blossoms. These are of course stuffed with ricotta and served with a tangy tomato vinaigrette that had more punch than a traditional marinara, plus basil. Classic. I also ordered the onion rings. They were large, beautifully battered and fried, along with some greens (parsley?). Very crisp and light, but I couldn't really taste the onion flavour. They came with a nice garlic aioli, but I prefer simple ketchup, which they do provide without resistance. For dessert they offer vanilla soft serve ice cream with a choice of 4 toppings; I chose the saucy dates and salted pecans. Delish. Service was decent, but they somehow my burger order was not put in or noticed. I saw 3 guys who arrived after me receive their burgers and sides before me. They were receiving their 2nd round of burgers when I finally got my first, which I may not have received at all had I not asked. When I went to the restroom after the main course but before dessert, they cleared my seat, thinking I had left. Luckily they didn't discard my leftovers! Overall the burger experience is probably a one and done for me. Should I return, I'd probably get a savory pie or grilled meat.
Having been to Mozza, we wanted to try its sister restaurant Chi Spacca. When we arrived on a Sunday evening, all the street parking was full so we ended up using their valet. Upon entering the restaurant, we were immediately greeted by the hostess and taken to our seats. The dining space was intimate. The tables were almost a bit too close together though. We were hungry that evening so we ended up ordering a few more things that we could finish: the hanger steak, the octopus, the romanesco, the caesar salad, and the salted dates. We started our meal with bread and their Caesar salad. The bread was toasty yet tender, nothing too special. But the Caesar salad was delicious! The dressing was rich and creamy. The greens were crisp. The anchovies were briny, but the saltiness added the right amount of savoriness to the dish. What made the salad more special was the use of lemon and orange juice/zest that really brightened up the salad. After finishing most of our starters, we decided to add the salted dates due to our server's recommendation. We were a bit concerned that the dates would be too sweet, but we were pleasantly surprised. The dates were charred and salted resulting in bitter and savory flavors that helped balance the natural sweetness of the date. For our main dishes, we ordered the grilled octopus, the hanger steak, and the romanesco. The steak was perfectly cooked and paired very well with the bed of braised leeks. Unfortunately the horseradish flavor didn't come through enough. The grilled octopus was also very delicious. It was very tender and the beans and sauce really paired well with the octopus. Lastly we wanted a vegetable with our meal so we opted for the romanesco. The romanesco was cooked well and still firm. The bagna cauda brought the acid and savory flavors to the dish. All in all, it was a great meal and a great experience!
Amazing service and amazing food to make my birthday feel extra special. I enjoyed the handwritten birthday card. The open dining space that looks directly into the kitchen provided warm vibes. The parking was a bit challenging but was able to find nearby street parking.
Chi Spacca is a Michelin recommended restaurant by Nancy Silverton that focuses on meats cooked over open fire. The LA Times has it perennially ranked high on their top 101 restaurant list. The charcuterie is definitely worth trying as they cure their meats in house. I'm happy that they were willing to serve us a "half portion" of their charcuterie ($20 for half portion), which was a great value and shareable for two (assuming that you'll be ordering entrees). What's interesting about the charcuterie is that the sampling of meats has a variety of flavors and textures that you can't really appreciate unless you try them for yourself. The foccacia di recco ($36) is a recipe that took Silverton two years to master. The dough is kneaded out thinner than paper and the layers are filled with cheese. This makes cheesy bread with cracker-like consistency. They gave the option of pairing it with black truffle (which we did for a portion of the bread at a cost of $6/gram), and we also paired this flatbread with their charcuterie. I don't feel that black truffle is necessary as an add on to the thin, crispy bread, particularly if you plan to eat your bread with other things. If I were to come back, I'd honestly order different breads. The beef cheek and bone marrow pie ($68) is their most instagrammable option (other than their signature, dry-aged 50 oz steak). It has a really buttery crust, a rich and savory demi-glace sauce, and a very rich and savory beef cheek that's amplified by bone marrow. If, for some reason, you want even more richness, it's served with really creamy mashed potatoes that likely has a ton of butter. It's good, but it was far too rich, heavy, and decadent for my taste. If you want vegetable side dishes, I really enjoyed their roasted carrots ($17), which were flavored with harissa, yogurt, and dill. It was nice to cut some of the richness of the bone marrow. Our favorite bite of the evening was with their porcini rubbed short ribs ($68). The ribs were cut thin like LA-style galbi and heavily seasoned with the porcini rub, which gave some strongly savory flavor. Overall, I think it was a nice, albeit very expensive dinner. If you are a chase sapphire card holder, this restaurant qualifies for the bi-annual $150 credit if you book a reservation through OpenTable. My three-star review is absolutely not because this restaurant is lacking quality and flavor; rather, I feel it's because LA has a handful of places that offer better value for wagyu and prime beef cooked over fire. I realize that there's nothing value about Wagyu and many will disagree with me; therefore, if you have this on your bookmark list, then you should absolutely try it for a special occasion. Just make sure to be ready to splurge for some of those signature cuts of meat.
**SOLID ITALIAN IN LA** PARKING Valet is your best bet. If not, be ready to walk a few blocks and hope for street parking. AMBIANCE Small, dark, and moody in a good way. We sat at the chef's counter, hands down the best seats in the house. Great view of the action and adds to the experience. FOOD Focaccia di Recco - $34 Stracchino and extra virgin olive oil. This was the standout starter. Beautiful presentation, light and crispy with excellent flavor. Worth every bite. RATING: 5/5 Chicken Pot Pie with Roasted Carrots - $48 A large, hearty pie paired with buttered, creamy roasted carrots. Comforting and rich, definitely meant to be shared. Prefer more American traditional. We ordered too many dishes and couldn't finish the pie but was an excellent leftover. RATING: 4/5 Hanger Steak - $45 Cooked perfectly medium rare with braised leeks, Pecorino, and horseradish. Bold, balanced, and packed with flavor. One of the best dishes of the night. RATING: 5/5 Onion Rings - $17 Big battered rings with garlic aioli. Good flavor, but the batter was thicker than I prefer. Lighter would've been better. RATING: 4/5 OVERALL Excellent choice for a date night or special occasion. Undoubtedly request seats at the chef's counter. Service was fantastic, pacing was spot-on, and our waiter was friendly and professional. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Welcome back chi I missed how good you can be. Super attentive great service incredible ambience and the food! Each bite was better than the next. The squid was incredible The artichokes a treat I only wish the 36oz New York was fattier The carrots? Insane The mushrooms? Don't skip I love you chi I'm so glad the greatness has been restored I already want to go back
5 years ago
1 year ago
Summary: 3 stars for the food, good service, price (expensive) vs. taste. ** Park valet or on the street if you're lucky. The interior is dark, ambient, wooden, and cozy. There are only about 5 tables, so small parties 2-4 work best. You can see the chefs cooking your meal in the open kitchen area. Service was good. The wait staff routinely circled around checking our water level. FOOD ORDERED - Foccacia di Recco. Many reviewers (and our server) said it was good, but I was left wanting for more. The bread was too salty and one note despite having visually exciting pockets of cheese. The baked cheese kind of disintegrated, leaving behind a surface swimming in oil. - Beef and bone marrow pie. An impressive pot pie filled with beef cheek, cippolini onions, and mushrooms, baked around a piece of bone filled with fatty marrow. The pot pie crust was thick and flakey; the beef cheeks were tender and soft. The gravy was slightly too salty. While the bone marrow was great, it quickly became apparent that it was a gimmick and didn't go with the rest of the dish. It didn't bring anything new to the pot pie or mashed potatoes; both already had artery-clogging rich and soft texture components. - Bistecca Fiorentina 50 oz. A massive dry aged, bone-in porterhouse steak. It was cooked to medium rare, medium, and medium well in some areas. No complaints since I'm a heathen and I like my steak cooked more. While it looked impressive, it tasted good but standard. I would even say that the salt and pepper crust didn't successfully penetrate the meat: When I ate the steak, I thought it could have tasted more umami and like a steak. The thick crust just made each bite kind of salty. - Grilled Broccoli di Cicco. The sourness of the lemon vinaigrette provided much needed contrast to the richness of the other meal items. Sadly, this was also dripping in oil so there was no reprieve from the fat. Total bill for our party of 4 was about $360 after tax and tip. read more
2 years ago
3 years ago
Nice ambiance for dinner with friends or family. Would recommend this place for meat lovers. read more
Enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Focaccia di Recco, Pollo Alla diavola su crostone, little gem salad, and grilled sprouting cauliflower. The environment was cozy with dark wooden furniture, bookshelves of various wines, low lighting in the dining area and a bright, expansive kitchen bar in the back where you can see the chefs in action. The dress code was LA casual but the prices were very expensive. Reservations are required since it is a small restaurant and gets crowded as it is owned by James Beard award winning chef Nancy Silverton. Valet parking at $15 (before tip) is suggested since there is not a lot of street parking. The wait staff was speedy and courteous and they share the responsibilities for all tables. The food was flavorful, delicious, and in hearty portions. The Focaccia di Recco was my favorite and something unique that must be ordered. A pleasant, casual, and trendy dining experience. read more
Needed an impressive place to take my dad while he was in town (the night before was kind of a flop) and he's got high standards. I was scouring the internet and asking everyone I knew for suggestions. It was also day of and a Friday, so you know, reservations can be tricky. Was able to snag an early one here! Even though we were at the cusp of the 15 min late window, they still sat us and gave us 2 hours at the table. Thanks! Let me tell you, this place did not disappoint. The Anchovy + Butter toast is probably my favorite thing I've eaten in a long time. So much so, I'm trying to recreate it at home haha. Followed by the Grilled Baby Artichoke which was nice and light after the rich toast. We also split a Caesar, which my stepmom liked so much, she asked for a side to take home. Our mains were the Whole Branzino (which my stepmom and I split), the Mashed Potato's (that we all split) and my dad got the Lamb Sausage. Topped it off with the Mousse. Oh, we also have a glass of wine. The pours were a good size, too! My dad truly enjoyed himself and enjoyed the meal. So that was a WIN. Can't wait to go back. Next time I'd love to sit at the bar, you can watch them preparing everyone's food which is pretty fun. read more
3 years ago
If Chi Spacca could steal a tagline it would be, "We have the meats." Fatty, greasy, delicious meats, but in the best way possible. If you do not LOVE the meats, maybe try elsewhere. read more
3 years ago
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4 years ago
I was excited to come to Chi Spacca with some friends I cycle with. They all think this is the best restaurant in LA so the bar was raised very high The place is not big and they limit you as to how many bottles of wine you can bring- unless you know someone, and my friend knew someone (a good thing) My friend ordered and I just went on the ride Here is what we had: Foccacia di Recco- this was OUTSTANDING and the best thing we ate all evening. A must get. Light, crunchy, flavorful and cheesy. Loved this starter Little gem salad- pretty good but nothing to get excited about Spacca BLT- this was much better than the little gem BUT not sure why the orderer ordered so many salads? Roasted cauliflower- big and meaty but to lemony for my taste Whole Chicken- This was one of the best Chickens i have ever tasted. It was seasoned, charred and cooked perfectly. A great dish to share Bistecca Florentine- this was huge but certainly NOT the best porterhouse I have had. It was a little over cooked actually and a huge rip off at $210! We also had some desserts BUT from what we had, this was not one of the best restaurants in LA I don't think our host ordered all the correct dishes for my taste, so If I go back, I would want to try the bone marrow pot pie, the pork chop tomahawk, the Korean porcini rubbed short ribs and more of the interesting items read more
4 years ago
LA's very best. Sit at the counter. Any bottle of red. Get the Fiorentina, focaccia, & build off that. Enjoy the show. read more
3 years ago
Great experience with excellent service and food. Portions were generous and the chicken pot pie was the best ever. This is an awesome restaurant and we will be back. read more
2 years ago
Everything tasted good but a little underwhelmed. Had heard great things about this place from friends and came here for an anniversary dinner. The pork was a little over cooked. The bone marrow pie was tasty but I don't see what purpose the bone served other than aesthetics. Focaccia felt like a thin crust cheese pizza. Nice cozy restaurant and good service though. read more
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we didn't have reservation but arrived pretty late on a weekday so we got seated promptly. the foccacia was not to be missed. read more
Something you should know, there are three restaurants adjacent to one another which fall into the same ownership and they are separated by cuisine. For example, chi spaccia is meat/protein, pizzeria mozzarella is pizza , osteria mozzarella is pasta. Had I known I that I would have gone to osteria but I'm very glad I tried chi spaccia. I would strongly recommend the rich buttery cheesy greatest that is the focaccia so recco. It is cheese melted into a thin bread it's amazing. For protein I tried the pepper steak which was very nice and tender and well done which is how I like it. It is a small dish but it fills you up. The whole branzino alla piastra was not dry, not juicy just right. It was butterflied open and cooked to perfection. They have a nice list of wine and a sommelier who is more than helpful when choosing the wine of your choice. read more
3 years ago
Consistency in the quality of the meals is a hallmark of all three N Silverton's restaurants( pizza mozza Osteria Mozza and Chi Spacca) : last night's dinner was no exception . Rick the general manager understood that waiting for our table 20 min beyond the reservation time was not ok and quickly arranged things The ambiance is one of a small Italian trattoria noisy busy bustling with the room full of the glorious smell of the big chunk of meats cooking on the grill Warning : the restaurant is on the $$$$ side but you get what you pay for We had the 2 fundamental dishes that characterizes this place: - FOCACCIA DI RECCO absolute must have; it has a delicate thin crust and the melted slightly salted strachino cheese drizzled with olive oil is delicious - COSTATA FIORENTINA: for me one of the best steaks in Los Angeles: it is a giant 42 oz New York on the bone that serves easily 3 people so the price is not bad after all. A little word on the menu indicates the magic : FLANNERY, a Northern California supplier that's known for its prime, dry-aged Holstein cuts, which you can now find at many of California's best restaurants. The glorious piece comes cooked medium rare to perfection and is just seasoned with a sprinkle of coarce sea salt: (it is difficult to describe the melt in your mouth buttery awesome taste ); I will try to order some steaks online - we also had 2 good sides ( eggplants and chanterelles) After all this we skipped desert To summarize the evening , FIVE STARS read more
3 years ago
Chi Spacca (pronounced as Ki Spaka). One of Nancy Silverston's triumvirates at the corner of Highland and Melrose including Pizza Mozza and Osteria Mozza, this is her meatcentric restaurant that has been our go-to place for a diverse Italian experience. From that amazing breads to begin with, the fresh squash blossom, the spicy grilled calamari (wish we had rice), crunchy flavorful grilled maitake mushrooms, and the only tomahawk pork chop grilled and spiced to perfection with that burnt flavor makes you want everything to the bone, literally nothing left for the dog. I have yet to meet a person who joined us who wasn't impressed with her food read more
4 years ago
Unfortunately did not meet the mark for me. The bistecca was tough and the pork chop was unexpectedly dry. The focaccia was great though! read more
2 years ago
4 years ago
4 years ago
Simply, the best steak house in LA. The smoke, meat flavor, salt, ambience , even wine list, everything was perfect. People were so professional, and friendly. You will feel welcomming as soon as you enter this cozy place. It's not fancy, huge place, but you will be glad to know this Italian steak house. My husband and I had Caeser salad, and Fiorentina 36 oz steak & Mashed Potatoes. We were amazed with everything. Next time, we will try chicken& Focaccia bread. They have many items to explore! We made reservaton on Opentable app 5:30, and arrived earlier so we could have some cocktails in next Italian restaurant, Osteria Mozza. read more
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You love meat? You've come to the right place! With so many great reviews, I'm going to add some tips that may not be obvious in all of the other reviews... Get a spot at the chef's counter. Unfortunately the chefs are not very interactive like other places but seeing those huge slabs of meat being grilled will make you drool. I'm a steak guy. So it was hard to pick between that and the pork. Even though I love steak, the pork was fantastic so don't hesitate. Now that doesn't mean I won't be back for steak! Lastly the broccoli side was not mentioned much in other reviews. It is a great dish especially since they partially cook it on the open fire. Oh yeah, and make sure to add the cheese to the Affetati Misti. The Puglia Burrata cheese with that tasty olive oil is a must. read more
3 years ago
This place is amazing. Easily top 3, if not number one steakhouse in LA. Incredible food and wine selection. The staff are super knowledgeable, professional and kind. I also loved the interior design and intimate setting. read more
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Ask the Community - Chi Spacca
Can they accommodate for a gluten allergy?
Is this restaurant reservation only?
Is there a suggested dress code?
No but most people who go are on dates or anniversary or business
How many dishes / what assortment would be suitable for a party of 2?
If you ordered an appetizer, salad or side dish and main entree it would be a nice balanced meal for two. So 3-4 dishes.
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