1066 Gayley Ave
Los Angeles
310-208-8671
In all the reviews I have done, I was surprised to learn that I had never done a review of a restaurant in Westwood. I think the reason is, because I hate UCLA, and especially hate being around UCLA fans and students. So, I haven't done a review for a restaurant in Westwood.
I happened to find Lamonica's by accident. I was looking up another pizza place and Lamonica's showed up. I read further and saw their dough in made in Brooklyn, NY. So, I wanted to see if it's really the water that makes New York pizza, so good.
Every day after 9pm and all day Sunday, Lamonica's offers their large 17in. pizza for $9 and $1.50 for each additional topping. So, I figured why not give them a try.
Since Lamonica's is in Westwood, it caters to the UCLA student population. The restaurant really needs to be cleaned, because the entire time I was there, nobody cleaned off the tables. The tables needed to be cleaned about two weeks ago.
Anyways, I got the large pepperoni, Sunday Special, $11.42. The pizza arrived quickly, and the first thing I noticed was the lack of pepperoni. Maybe if I paid full price, there would be more toppings, but it averaged about two pieces of pepperoni per slice, which isn't a good ratio.
Anyways, I took a bit and the first thing I noticed the crispiness of the crust. It was must more dense and firm, than any other New York pizza place that I have tried in LA. It was very chewy and held up to the toppings and cheese very well. I liked the crust very much.
What I didn't like was the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. The sauce was just too bland and blah. The cheese was sprinkled, not piled on there and the pepperoni was just regular store bought pepperoni. Not impressed.
Service is OK. They have a large number of people working behind the counter, but they are so disorganized. You don't know who is the cashier, order taker, or the cook. They all blend in and nobody says "Hi, can I help you." It's like one person puts the pizza in a box or tray, another person cuts the pizza, another person gives the pizza to the customers, and still another person takes the order. Very inefficient and disorganized.
While waiting for a couple friends to arrive, I saw them screw up this lady's order, they didn't make the second pizza she ordered, and I could hear her saying "This is the second time in two weeks, this has happened." Come on now. While they got my order correct, it took too long to take my order and there was only one other person in line ahead of me. They need to have less workers and more training for the workers.
I wouldn't go back to Lamonica's New York Pizza again. While I did enjoy the crust, nothing else about the pizza is outstanding.
