Fiorelli Pizza

You know how some people just ooze hospitality? That’s the case for Michael Fiorelli and Liz Gutierrez, friends turned business partners and the duo behind some of L.A.’s best pizza. Bold statement, we know. 

What started as a pop-up at Cook’s Garden on Abbot Kinney has now evolved into a permanent home in Beverly Grove. At 750 square feet—500 of which is kitchen—and with only seven indoor seats, you're basically eating in the kitchen. That's part of the charm, and so is the butcher block table that doubles as a dough-making station in the mornings. 

Fiorelli and Gutierrez met while working at Boujis Group (Olivetta)—Gutierrez was an HR director and Fiorelli was in charge of culinary operations. They simultaneously reached their corporate breaking point. Fiorelli, a Long Island native, is low-key and uninterested in the spectacle, which is why when the chance to honor his Italian roots with a brick oven arose, he simply couldn’t resist. He and Gutierrez poured their life savings into Fiorelli’s pop-up. No business plan, no investors, no staff. They'd prep and wash dishes at home, then show up and sling pies to whoever wandered in. For months, that was no more than a handful of people (at best) daily, till word got around about his pies—a Neapolitan-New York hybrid (i.e., no flop at the center). Fiorelli’s devotion to perfect pizza is why their Westside regulars make the drive to West Third and bear gifts in the form of orchids for Liz and Michael. If a pizza doesn’t come out of the oven looking one-hundred (he can tell), he’s not serving it. 

As for the menu, it’s been expanded to include more than three pizzas, tinned fish, and their addictive chili garlic cucumbers with pistachio feta from the pop-up. Salad lovers can now revel in the chopped chicory Caesar with wonderfully briny white anchovies, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Pasta lovers can indulge in the perfectly al dente lamb bolognese (typically rigatoni). Though any visit to Fiorelli demands a pizza. You can’t go wrong with the Fiorelli classic or pepperoni, but their white pies deserve just as much praise. Prior to trying Michael’s fennel sausage and black kale pie, Gutierrez hated white pizzas. Now it’s her favorite. Keep an eye on the chalkboard for rotating seasonal specials, like a slow-cooked octopus sandwich—an homage to his family’s hometown, Bari. 

As you’d expect, their takeout and delivery operation is dialed in, though nothing beats fresh pizza and Gutierrez’s warm hospitality.