Grilled Maitake Mushrooms
Veal Tongue
Pepper Steak
View from the counter
Onion pie
Bone in steak
Outside Window
The open grill in the rear
Bistecca Fiorentina 50 oz.
Veal tongue
Seafood Al Cartoccio
interior, ribs
Beef & Bone Marrow Pie - marrow schmeared over the top
Tomahawk Porkchop
Grill
Focaccia di Recco
Perfect temp steak.
Bistecca Fiorentina 50 oz
pancakes, food
Flan (so goood!!!)
Lamb Shepherd's Pie
Edward S.
Jan 18, 2025
The black cleaver near the entrance to Chi Spacca broadcasts its Tuscan meat dishes. Famous for giant porterhouses and Florentine steaks, this is the place with a pie with a bone marrow sticking out of the crust. As you enter, you'll notice walls of wine bottles and aromas of soaking meat and rosemary. Spacca Burger: On Mondays and Tuesdays head to the chef's counter for the Spacca Burger. As you watch them grilling massive steaks, try to dial down the fomo. The burger here is the real deal. Two baseball patties are slightly smashedright in front of you. They are both really juicy and crispy enough. The burger is oozing with melted cheddar, caramelized onions, bacon, lettuce, spicy aioli, and razor-thin tangy pickles. While the bun is spongy and dense, the sesame seed toppings kind of get everywhere, like the dripping sauce. The beefiness and rich flavor of the dry-aged meat really shines through the classic ingredients.Dining Area: This is a small restaurant with a few tables in the tiny patio out front and a dozen tables inside. Parking: There's street parking, but there's more signs than spots. So, be careful.
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Jane K.
Feb 20, 2025
Came on a Tuesday night 6:30 and maybe half the restaurant was filled? By 8:30 the whole restaurant was packed w people waiting at the lobby. Sarah was my server and she was absolutely fantastic. Everyone here seemed to help each other and I really like the synergy of the employees and the energy of the restaurant. Lively!The food was excellent! The squash was so basic but fantastic in flavor, execution and presentation. Meat pie was perfect amount of heavy, flavor and so good! Octopus is a must, I tried some w lemon and without I thought it tasted better without! Perfect amount of char flavor. Now the steak is what they are known for but maybe bc I just started eating meat again I'm not sure if I enjoyed the dry aged? It seemed really tough! Like tough meat. That's okay though I had a good time. I thought it was a good time w good energy! Don't mind coming back to try other things.
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Amenda L.
Dec 31, 2024
We were a party of three visiting on a Saturday evening to celebrate a friend's birthday.Pro Tip: Valet parking is available on Highland Ave for about $16, and they also offer hand-washing services for $30-$40.Vibes:This is a very intimate and cozy spot, perfect for a date or a catch-up session. It's on the darker side, but the candlelit tables make it feel warm and inviting. The music isn't too loud, so it's easy to chat. Since it's a smaller space, reservations are highly recommended.Service:I've been here twice, and both times I really enjoyed the wine sommelier's expertise. They're incredibly helpful and make excellent suggestions. However, I did feel that the servers were aggressively polite this time and rushed us a bit. For example, while I was mid-bite, someone would come by to clear our plates or ask if we wanted anything else. One of these moments even led to me biting my lip--definitely unpleasant.This slightly rushed service probably led to a 1/2-star deduction, though I understand the need to keep things moving in such a small space, especially when we were chatting a lot.Food:Focaccia di Recco - 8.5/10SO GOOD! Slightly salty, rich, crispy, and cheesy. Just a heads-up--it's not traditional focaccia bread. It's much thinner and crispier, but still delicious in its own way.Whole Branzino alla Piastra - 10/10Absolutely amazing! Fresh, moist, flaky, and perfectly seasoned. The fish itself was outstanding, and the herbs, especially the dill, complemented it so well. A nice balance to the heavier dishes we ordered.Bistecca Fiorentina - 8/10Slightly disappointing for me. The birthday girl requested it medium (instead of medium-rare), so my opinion might be skewed. While it was a good steak, it was a bit tough, and at $295, I didn't feel it was worth the cost. Personally, I'd rather order another branzino. Deducted 1/2 a star for the price, though I tried not to hold the medium cook against the restaurant.Broccoli di Cicco - 7.5/10Just okay. I appreciated having a vegetable dish, and I liked the acidity in the dressing. However, there might have been too much vinegar or rind because it was a bit bitter and had a slightly unpleasant smell.Pear, Almond, and Apple Tart - 7/10Super cute presentation and a strong almond flavor, but it ultimately fell flat. It was a little dry and lacked the rich, buttery tart base I was hoping for.Chocolate Tart - 9/10Decadent and delicious! The rich bitterness of the dark chocolate paired perfectly with the cream.Lavender Latte - 9/10My friends weren't impressed, but personally, I loved it. It was creamy but not overly milky, with a distinct lavender flavor that wasn't bitter. Bonus points for keeping me awake on the drive home after all that food!Overall:I'd definitely come back! It's a great spot for a date or a night out with friends. However, I'd skip the steak (worth ordering once for the experience, but not a repeat for me).
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Kamryn G.
Feb 18, 2025
Came here for Valentine's day. The ambiance is cute, very intimate as there are less than 30 tables. The staff is very kind and attentive. The food is good but felt it was overpriced. The flavors were great but the Focaccia di Recco wasn't anything special and the chicken was dry and overcooked (good flavor though). It was a nice experience but don't think I'd need to come back. There's valet parking around the corner for 16$ or street parking.
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Rodney M.
Feb 14, 2025
Wow!!! The food and experience was awesome. This is a cozy restaurant with a view into their kitchen. Awesome wine choices and the food was out of this world. You have to get the focaccia- something about the cheese - mouth still watering. We ordered the pepper steak, broccoli and the most amazing thing we ever had - marrow pie!!' So tasty. The service was awesome. Super friendly and very attentive.
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Christopher D.
Dec 29, 2024
Chi Spacca completes my collection of Nancy Silverton restaurants on Melrose. I am a big fan of Osteria Mozzarella and really like Pizzeria Mozzarella as well. In my mind Chi Spacca is dead in between. Ambiance wise, Chi Spacca is a small, dense bistro style restaurant off to the side of the other two I mentioned above. Full of a half dozen two tops, a bunch of four tops, and a chefs bar, there is not much else to the place. In fact, upon entering, you may even been confused if you are in the right place since the check in is located in a space akin to an Italian deli. With that said, you can tell this is the style the restaurant was going for and therefore it is very cozy and quaint. Moving to the service. The service was fantastic throughout, and our table always felt attended to and cared for. I felt our waitress did a particularly good job of explaining both the background of the restaurant as well as all of the dishes. Drinks were great, but deserve a bit of additional explanation. Unlike the other restaurants I mentioned above, this restaurant only serves beer and wine. Further, the beer menu is rather limited and, at least for the beers that I ordered, were all canned. I believe in this regard the restaurant could've done a bit better, providing a more extensive list of options, as well as perhaps a few on tap. Conversely, the wine selection was pretty extensive and felt to be a good mix of wines from Italy and Europe, as well as those native to California. Notwithstanding, the wines and beers the table ordered were great and we all enjoyed what we were served.As is typical with Nacy's restaurants, the food is what shines. Chi Spacca is Italian for "she who cleaves" and is a meat heavy restaurant. Our table loved most everything we tried, with favorites being the two pot pies, the short rib, and the squash blossom. I had left overs of the bone marrow and beef pie that evening and was in love. The meat was so well seasoned and the pie itself was made impeccably. Despite the focaccia being the house specialty, it was polarizing. A few of us loved it, but we all denoted it was a bit salty. The apple dessert was good, but that was one of the more forgettable elements. Wrapping up, Chi Spacca was expensive, but not crazy. Expect to pay $80pp. Despite the price, I found the restaurant worth it. I would definitely go back. Ambiance: 4/5Service: 5/5Drinks: 3.5/5Food: 5/5Value: 4/5Consistency: N/A
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Hashim Q.
Jan 2, 2025
Los Angeles is home to more than a few outstanding Italian restaurants and Chi Spacca is one of them. It's an Italian steakhouse, so obviously i got steak, but first you need to start with one of the pies and the focaccia. Amazing. The steak itself was outstanding and salted perfectly. I take everyone that comes to visit to chi spacca and you should check it out too
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Susie D.
Feb 3, 2025
This is Nancy's world, we're all just living in it. No matter the restaurant, no matter the location, there is something about her food that elevates it above the rest. I'm talking every single dish hits like none other. The cheese in the zucchini blossoms tastes different, creamier, bolder, the sauce a perfect sweet, acidic complement. The Caesar pops with creaminess and brightness, the crust on the pot pies is buttery heaven, the steak is perfectly cooked and seasoned. The onion rings, the cabbage, they all are different, greater than the ones you've had before. Compliments to the chefs.
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Shirra P.
Dec 11, 2024
I came here because a friend of mine wanted to try their smash burger. What is cool about this place, it's a restaurant within a restaurant. What I mean by that is both restaurants exist within each other. So Osteria Mozza is the main restaurant and then behind them is Chia Spacca. Same owners.Chi Spacca is very small, you will need a reservation. Parking is hard in that part of town, use the valet, it will save you stress. Now, down to the burger... it was just okay. There was no seasoning. I would not come back for this dish. We also had a Watercress & Roasted Persimmon, which was nice, lemony and yummy almonds. Dessert we had Seasonal Gelati e Sorbetti, very good. Made in house. And finally we had charcuterie, and that was my favorite. It had yummy salami, pig feet fried yummy. I was a little shy about the pig yummy..but it was yummy.Since our burgers were not seasoned, I probably wouldn't go back. Staff was lovely.
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Dawn A.
Sep 19, 2024
Been here twice. This is a true 5 star restaurant. The food, the service. The vibe... ALLLL 5 star. They don't allow anything other than a 5 star experience. I dare you to not love this place and everyone who works here. This past time, had the heirloom salad, 50oz porterhouse, mushrooms, and the server recommendation for dessert (plum tart with olive oil gelato). Heaven in the mouth. Flan was just as delicious Unfortunately I had to make a reservation very last minute. It was for a birthday. They still made the little details happen. Host(ess) looove you. Daniel. Best waiter!!
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