800 Degrees, Westwood Village

Mar 30, 2012

Westwood Village · 10889 Lindbrook Drive · Los Angeles, CA 90024

800 Degrees is definitely a pizza experience to have.

Brought to you by Umami Burger don Adam Fleischman, it’s in a primo neighborhood location just down the street from the Hammer museum in Westwood Village.

I invited a few friends I hadn’t seen in a while to try this new, trending little pizza shop with me and it was the perfect causal place to hang and eat without breaking the bank. Appropriately named for the 800-degree fire that cooks your custom made pizza in 60 seconds, this is fast-gourmet-pizza. Naturally, it’s popular among the neighborhood UCLA students and has quickly landed itself on the radar for LA foodies looking for the next trendy restaurant concept to blog about — myself and The Belly of LA included.

I was warned about the 30-45 minute wait (on any given day) prior to coming here, so the long snaking line around the front entrance didn’t intimidate me. I did find it a bit ironic that I was waiting in line for 40 minutes, for a 60-second pizza. Still, the line feels like it moves quickly — and well, it’s all part of the experience. Just make sure you look at the menu and know what you want to order by the time you get to the front of the line or you’ll get dirty looks from those waiting after you. For the 2.5 hours we were there, the interior was pretty consistently packed full of locals, students and families. Don’t worry about saving a seat prior to getting in line, somehow magically, by the time you pay your pizza will be cooked and there will be a table available for you.

To order: You slowly move down the assembly line of cooks asking you how you would like your pizza. Think Chipotle for pizzas. You choose the base, the cheese and the toppings. They have a variety of beers and wines to wash down your custom pie. Keep in mind that traditional Neapolitan style dough is soft and chewy and a bit “wet” or soggy in the middle. It’s really good – though if you prefer, you can ask for it to be crispy.

Though the place has large ceilings, my friend found herself feeling a bit claustrophobic because of the insane amount of people. I sensed that a bit too. During peak hours, this place is madness. Still, despite the chaos, I am looking forward to future locations of 800 Degrees. According to their website, they will be opening up others soon. It’s a cool concept and the pizzas were actually quite delicious.

In all honesty, you could probably share one pie, get a side from the burrata bar and then save room for some gelato – but no one does that. Everyone gets their own pizza, relishes in their custom accomplishment, and then rubs their belly as they slip into a happy food coma. Come on, now doesn’t that sound appetizing???