Restaurant: Ospi Venice
Location: 2025 Pacific Ave, Venice, CA 90291. (424) 407-1957
Date: January 30, April 3 and May 9, 2024
Cuisine: New (slightly southern) Italian
Rating: Delicious!
Part modern Italian, part classic Italian, Ospi (short for ospiante or “host” in English) is our version of a casual lunch trattoria, familial dinner restaurant, or a fun recovery brunch spot on the weekends.
Ospi is located in the heart of Venice, right near the water.
The chic interior.
The menu.
Crispy Provolone w/ Vodka Sauce. This sauce will end up being a staple tonight.
Beef Tartare. tonnato, crispy potato, parmigiano. Great flavors and textures. The chips really added.
Caesar Salad. local greens, colatura cacio e pepe dressing and foccia croutons.
Cauliflower. Calabrian chili tahini, dates, pepita, fresh herbs. A little bit of a kick.
Copione Pizza. sopressata, honey, chili. Nice and crispy with that yummy spicy, salty, sweet vibe.
Vodka Pizza. That sauce again.
Stracciatella for the pizza.
Margherita pizza.
Cacio e pepe pizza.
Spaghetti Tomato, gluten free.
Spaghetti Tomato. Jame’s pomodoro, basil, parmigiano.
Ricotta Gnudi. Brown butter sauce crunch.
Lemon Tagliolini. Lobster “fra diavolo”, basil, pistachio. One person found it way too spicy — I thought it was just bright.
Slide!
Spicy Rigatoni. Alla vodka (again).
Malloreddus. Beef check ragu napoletano, thyme, toscano.
Mezze Maniche. cacio e pepe, single origin pepper. Super creamy and cheesy. They said it was parm. Could have used maybe a hair more pepper but the pasta texture was also fabulous.
Cannelloni. lamb neck & pine nut “alla sorrentina.” Soft, cheesy, meaty and oh so delicious.
Chitarra. blue crab, jalapeño, vino bianco. Very interesting for a crab dish — and quite spicy and a little bit smoky. Very unique.
Raschiatelli. spicy pork sparerib sugo, crema di pecorino, pangrattato. Also spicy with great texture.
Cavatelli. pork sausage, fresh black truffle, housemade truffle butter. The flavor was awesome and I usually love Cavatelli — although they could have been a bit better formed.
Dry aged New York strip.
Cannoli. citrus marmalade. Super soft cheese and nicely crunchy shells. Some of the best cannoli I’ve had in LA.
Nutella Mousse. chocolate shortbread crumble, whipped mascarpone, olive oil. Nice too.
Ospi was really good. Very carby. Unusually spicy (not that I mind) and lots of meat but some serious Southern Italian vibes here and really excellent execution. It was so good that I went here 3 times in fairly rapid succession.
