Olio Pizzeria, West Hollywood

· 8075 West 3rd St., Ste. 100 Los Angeles, CA 90048 ·  Neighborhood · West Hollywood ·

Growing tried of my usual pizza spots, I went in search of a new place and just so happened upon Olio Pizzeria. Olio is a cute newish corner joint, which recently opened up on 3rd street last year and features at the center, a magnificent smelling, wood-burning oven. Oh, sweet Jesus you can smell it from down the street. It. Smells. Like. Heaven.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first to discover them on their inaugural weekend back in October, 2010. The bad news was that they had such a successful opening, they were dangerously low on ingredients… including dough! GASP! After ordering, I was given the news; they weren’t going to be able to make the pizza, no dough, no go. Okay, I forgave them. It was a soft open after all, these things are bound to happen. The server was very apologetic and gave me a hand written coupon to come back for a free pizza. Yippie!

One month later. Take Two. Behold the cheesy goodness.

Super nice owner, Chef Bradford Kent chatted me and my friend up and apologized for our first, uneventful experience. This time we got to try it all.

Two delicious pizzas, a perfectly dressed salad, Intelligentsia coffee and a custom made dessert (off the menu!).

The Margherita Pizza was AMAZING. There will be no leftovers. Perfectly crunchy and tasty, the dough is the star.  The OVEN is also the star! After all, pizza that is made in a wood burning oven has just the right amount of crispy and soft OMG-ness. These guys seem like they really put care into their creations. Note that the pies come out smallish and individual sized, so you definitely want your own, or get two to share.

I love that they use local fresh produce, artisan cheeses, locally roasted coffees. They also use California olive wood to fire their ovens.

Olio is a moderately priced, great breakfast, brunch or light dinner spot. Cozy and comfortable for a casual first date or meeting with a handful of friends. Their menu is ever expanding. In fact I was just there last week and got to try a Buffalo Mozzarella (imported from Naples), Margherita Pizza and a delicious Salmon appetizer which was new to the menu.

The pizza is comparable to Mozza or Gjelina, minus the long wait that you would get at either place. It’s much more casual.

Check them out yourself and let me know your thoughts!