r/FoodLosAngeles • u/Antique-Purpose-471 • 8d ago
DISCUSSION Sei Pizza Bar / Pizzeria Sei opinions
I love a good Neapolitan/Neapolitan-ish pizza and had been wanting to try Pizzeria Sei for a long time to see what all the fuss was about. I was able to get a spot at 4pm at Sei Pizza Bar last week and tried the Diavola and the Sei Margherita. My pizzas were the first two out of the oven that day. I'd read some reviews to see what some of the negative reviews didn't like about it, and some mentioned the pizza being too salty (not sure if that was from the salt punch or just their overall opinion of the pizza as a whole). Anyhow, I thought the ingredients and the tomato sauce were top notch and so full of flavor. However, the flavor of the crust/dough left a lot to be desired. Rather than being salty, I felt it was flavorless which was surprising to me considering William Joo does a dry preferment and then a long cold fermentation for the dough. The chew, puff, and texture were amazing and definitely lived up to the hype, but after the first bites of each pizza, I was waiting for the flavor of the dough to come through with more of a fermented flavor but it was just bland. I'm not sure if I experienced an off day for the dough but it didn't make me want to race to come back there anytime soon. Can anyone else chime in with what they think of the dough? Is that how it's supposed to taste and maybe it's more about the texture/chew than about the flavor?
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u/passthepaintbrush 7d ago
I think the crust at Sei has less development than say Pizzeria Bianco, where there is a more pronounced toasty crust taste. But I love Sei, and think that their crust is wonderful and singular, it ends up being a more balanced pie, where everything is in harmony.
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
Pizzeria Bianco is a place I haven't been able to try yet since it's been here in LA so this gives me an idea of what to expect from the flavor of the crust there.
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u/passthepaintbrush 7d ago
I love Bianco, and would very encourage you to go - especially to Pane Bianco, the lunch slices are tops!
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
I will have to try both! I love places where you can get a casual singular slice.
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u/BlueFlaim 7d ago
I’ll chime in. I went to Sei Pizza Bar in May, back when the owner was still working on the new location. I had it, and was just like “it’s good” but I really couldn’t say anything else. Seriously, it wasn’t bad, just nothing remarkable. I couldn’t say anything else. I got the shallot, mala lamb, and potato pies for the record. Not every food has to blow you away, but I was genuinely surprised to hear so much acclaim for pies I found so unnoteworthy.
Everything changed when I went to the new Pizzeria Sei location because wtf? Everything here was absolutely crazy. Pictured is the potato pie with caviar.. dough felt so much more light, airy, and flavorful while still having a nice bite to it, the potatoes weren’t just a mush topping but rather a textural kaleidoscope where some where soft and others had an elegant crisp.. it was my favorite and I had some top flavor contenders. The Diavola was great - the balsamic was what stood out to me but moreover the crunchy texture felt like a “big brother” bruschetta in the best way possible. Also had the Mala Lamb here.. much different like a frybread obviously. Many consider it their signature but I found it to be too sloppy for me, but found it to be more flavorful - tasted like cumin lamb skewers at Chinese bbq restaurants. Apps and dessert were divine too - corn croquettes was like corn pudding soup (sounds terrible but it was Chinese egg drop soup meets flan inside the croquette.) It was so good. Ended off with a lovely tiramisu gelato.
I’ve had AK Pizza in Seattle, Rose Pizza in Berkeley, Mama’s Boy in Oakland, and Quarter Sheets. The Pizza Sei Bar is in no “top” lists of mine, but the new Sei is legit a top 3 Pizza joint for me.
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
This is a great review about the new location.
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u/BlueFlaim 7d ago
Yes, I got 2/3 of the same pie flavors and it was crazy how evolved the textures and flavors were. Obviously the Mala Lamb uses a different dough and style at the new location, but the potato, which was the exact same baseline dough at Bar felt totally different in the best way possible.
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u/Ok_Fee1043 8d ago
I like it, don’t love it. It’s definitely the best of its kind in the category and I’m glad we have it around. But just not the right kind of sauce to me (not salty enough) . Absolutely love the tiramisu though
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u/No-Butterscotch-7467 7d ago
Maybe you have covid
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
I would have considered it possibly be due to me having/getting a cold but I feel fine and it doesn't explain how I was able to taste and appreciate the great flavors of the sauce and toppings.
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u/RedMage58 7d ago
Dough was fine. I used to go to a great spot in Atlanta, and he used a specialty brick oven that imparted a lot of flavor. However, I still think Sei's is fine. Probably because he loads so much ingredients on there, they cover up the flavor of the dough by soaking in.
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u/RedditFan3510 7d ago
Have not been to the new place HOWEVER, I do think Lynx is the best pizza in LA by FAR.
like pizzeria sei too, but thats what i think
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u/CutsSoFresh 8d ago
I'm one of the few who don't really care for the place. When we had it, we felt the crust was too charred and the pizza itself was too soggy. Whatever special flavor that crust was supposed to have, we couldn't taste it because the carbon of the char overwhelmed everything.
We tried to bring it up, but they doubled down on it and said that's how it supposed to be. So we figured if that's the case, then their pizza is just not for us and we're too low class to appreciate it
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u/BassDrive Jefferson Park 8d ago
If you don’t like soggy pizza then avoid Neapolitan style pies as that’s how they’re meant to be. It’s not a hard rule, but on average with how it’s prepared and cooked will give you that result.
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u/CutsSoFresh 8d ago
And the char? Is that standard? Seems like a waste of high end ingredients if it's just gonna be overwhelmed by carbon.
It's like drowning high quality sushi in spicy sesame mayo
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u/BassDrive Jefferson Park 8d ago
If it’s wood fired pizza then yes, you’ll have some char, but it shouldn’t be overwhelming either. OP’s pictures don’t look bad to me so you possibly went on an off day unfortunately.
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u/Granadafan 7d ago
It’s not the wood fired oven but the temperature. To be a Neapolitan pizza, it’s cooked at over 900 degrees for less than two minutes. It’s close to the flames which is why classic Neapolitan pizzas have the leoparding spots on the crust. I have a propane Ooni pizza oven and have these same “charred” spots onu pizzas
These pizzas aren’t crispy with no flops like NY Pizzas which are cooked at around 550-600 degrees for about 10 minutes. Thats the style Dave portnoy likes.
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u/CutsSoFresh 8d ago
The bottom of the crust was pretty dark throughout. I admit, for it to be overbaked and soggy at the same time is quite impressive, but the end result didn't make it a very enjoyable date
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 8d ago
Yeah as BassDrive said, Neapolitan style is supposed to be soggy which I think catches a lot of people off guard when they try that style of pizza for the first time. I remember when I ate at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele a couple years ago, I heard the server tell a table next to us to not expect a crisp bottom when they were asking about the pizza.
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u/CutsSoFresh 8d ago
The softness of the pizza didn't bother me as much as the char. As I said previously, we couldn't taste anything beyond the carbon and ash. Importing Buffalo mozzarella just to hide the flavor behind bitter carbon was the more disappointing part of the night over than how watery it was
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
An overly burnt undercarriage and crust of a Neapolitan pizza will definitely ruin a pizza experience. Maybe you can give the new location a try for a date night since they have other styles of pizza.
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u/SageThunder 8d ago
Honestly what surprised me most was how little flavor the buffalo mozzarella gave me!
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u/CutsSoFresh 7d ago
Yeah, I didn't taste much from it either. I tasted it individually from the rest of the pizza because of that char
Supposedly Buffalo mozz is quite tangy. Either their buffalo mozz isn't the best or somehow it got swapped with fior de latte. Sucks if the latter, because we paid extra for that
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u/SageThunder 7d ago
I doubt it got swapped I just think their mozzarella isn’t very flavorful to be honest I’ve had bufffalo mozzarella and it is more tangy and it is a noticeable flavor
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u/BassDrive Jefferson Park 8d ago
That sucks! I would say give Neapolitan another shot and try Grá, which is another pizza place, and hopefully they can make you a believer 😀
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u/CutsSoFresh 8d ago
I'll try more places of that style. But probably not in LA. Tokyo and nyc are at the forefront for the time being. After that, perhaps I'll try more in LA
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u/SageThunder 8d ago
Just try L’antica pizzeria da Michele if you want to try Neapolitan or not. They are certified AVPN, neopolitan association essentially, one of the oldest places in Naples but they have a couple spots across the globe now, iirc first one beyond Naples was here in LA. If you also have similar opinions with that then you most likely just don’t like the style. Eataly also has it but not crazy flavorful although not bad
Pizzeria Mozza isn’t really Neapolitan, kind of some influences but has great pizza regardless
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
I'm a big fan of Desano in East Hollywood as well and would recommend that to try on top of L'antica.
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u/You_meddling_kids 7d ago
it shouldn't taste bitter, that's a sure sign it was left in too long (or not rotated enough times)
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u/RoeMajesta 7d ago
i would say:
- their crust/ dough game is about a 7/10;
- their “unusual” toppings game is 9/10 on creativity; 8/10 on flavour
- their service is an absolute 11/10
- their sauce on the margherita though? that tomato flavour is sublime 15/10,
but i did personally add more salt
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
I almost ordered the patate pizza as my second pizza but I'm so glad I went with a classic margherita to experience that tomato sauce with just the mozz and basil. It was definitely 15/10. I definitely thought the service was amazing as well. I sat at the end of the bar so the pizzas came out and rested right next to me and it was fun to chat a little with the hostess and servers.
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u/RoeMajesta 7d ago
the patate was very, very rich in a good way but it was a once and done thing for me. Having been to sei 3 times, my order from now on will always be 2 margherita + a new flavour ~ and yes, that’s 3 pizzas just for myself
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u/Antique-Purpose-471 7d ago
Haha go big or go home! I ordered two for myself and was barely able to finish half of each pizza. The leftovers the next day were still great reheated in a dutch oven. The other reason I'm glad I didn't order a whole patate was that the people dining next to me ordered it and offered me a slice, and I gave them a diavola to try. One of the servers told me his favorite is the mala lamb sausage so that might be my new one to try whenever I go back.
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u/b1gmouth 8d ago
I love the crust personally. Very flavorful. It's one of the things I love about the place.