Delicious Pizza in Pet-friendly Larchmont Village Pizzeria
Wednesday, August 3, 2005 1:37
Adopt a dog like my girlfriend did and enjoy a dinner outside at a pet-friendly restaurant!
When we took our usual walk around the neighborhood, we three urbanites strolled over to a favorite Larchmont spot for dinner - the Village Pizzeria.
She had been there before and recommended this dog-friendly restaurant for a quick bite. It’s a bit further north on Larchmont - past another place called Z Pizza (or something to that effect) that was “not as good” which could be seen in the number of empty tables there. But as soon as we got close to Village Pizzeria, we could just sense the difference. The place was full of neon color, hopping with live energy and conversations, and had a constant flow of customers either dining in or taking out. We even had to wait a few minutes for a table facing the street to open up.
The entire time we were there, people were always coming and going, and going and coming, and always too soon (which kept up a pretty decent steady stream of customers that entire night). In any event, this casual pizzeria had quite an extensive menu with lots of fresh (no additives) California topping choices, thin and thick crusts made with fresh yeast, and a pretty good fresh squeezed lemonade that didn’t leave my throat scratchy. And although I was in a non-alcoholic mood that night, I did notice that they offered a selection of wine and beer at this pizzeria. For an extra few corking dollars (3 to be exact), you could even bring your own bottle of vino.
We ordered one of my favorite pizzas: Cheese with fresh tomatos, mushrooms, and plenty o’ garlic - 14 inch on thin crust! I usually wouldn’t recommend a garlic dish on a date or order one up if I planned to spend some quality time with a loved one. But since my g/f is more like a sister to me and the dog was her date, I wanted them to be extra generous with the garlics…which they were! YUM!
As we waited for our dinner, I noticed that other patrons ordered the special house pesto pizza which looked absolutely scrumptious. And as soon as I saw those other plates, I had some buyer’s remorse and wanted to change my order to the pesto pizza. But alas, the order was placed and well, I guess it’s just another excuse for me to visit and eat there again. The tom-mush-lic combo, though, was a pretty good slice of pizza. It had to have been - I ended up eating 4 fat slices!
Village Pizzeria
Street: 131 N. Larchmont @ Beverly Blvd.
T: 323.465.5566
* Open daily and they deliver too! Check out their website for their delivery radius.
By Kristy (see more of her posts). A native of the city, kristy loves to discover new sites, new eateries, new things to do in her online journal of finding the best of la.
Dylan says:
August 3rd, 2005 at 11:55 am
I call it food envy. happens all the time. every 3 minutes out there, someone is upset over a particular dish.
i was actually at the larchmont yesterday on melrose. i’ll definitely try this out sometime KN. that pizza looks great.
have you ever been to abbott’s in venice? probably my fave.
Erin says:
August 3rd, 2005 at 1:48 pm
Thanks so much for giving props to one of my favorite places to eat in all of Los Angeles! My absolute favorite pie there is the Veggie II - piled high with spinach, breaded eggplant, pesto and crushed garlic (hold the mushrooms), one slice alone makes for a very hearty (and potent!) meal. Village P. has been a favorite of mine for lunch and occasional dinner take-out for awhile, but my husband and I only recently took our own pooch there for the first time and the three of us had a great time out on the patio!
Miss M says:
August 3rd, 2005 at 3:24 pm
The last few times I’ve been there I got the Village Special pizza (all of the standard meats and veggies pilled on). The garlic rolls, salads and pastas are worth checking out too, if you’re not in the mood for pizza.
As for delivery, the wait is usually pretty long and since I’m impatient (especially when hungry), I opt to pick-up my pizza.
BestofLA says:
August 3rd, 2005 at 6:42 pm
Yes, food envy is so right on! I always want to ask people at the tables next to mine if I can have a taste of their dishes! You know, family style! ;)
I’ve never been to Abbotts in Venice. It’s on my long list of restaurants to try actually. But then again, I’ve only been to Venice once in the past few years (minus the trips to C&Os).
I’ll definitely have to try the Veggie II and the Village Special pizzas, not to mention the garlic rolls, salads, and pastas too! Yum! Thanks for the great suggestions!
Prog Grrl says:
January 10th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
I love this place (I will admit that I also love the Z Pizza down the street - they have tasty, unusual pizzas like Thai, Morroccan, Mediterranean, Southwest Chipolte Pesto, etc etc). Make sure you try Village’s homemade balsamic vinaigrette - for crust dippin’
charle says:
January 10th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
The owner was overbearingly rude to my husband and myself when we wanted to sit at a table outside. He went out of his way to berate us publicly and loudly for ordering a pizza to go and sitting down. We had told the waiter we were happy to give him a tip, but with our 2 year old, we figured we might have to leave quickly, and jsut wanted to be prepared to take the leftovers quickly so as not to bother other diners if our little one acted up (she didn’t). The owner literally tried to pick a fight with us. Z pizza is fine. The quality of the actual pizza at Larchmont Pizza was only average- ingredients not of high quality.
Kristy says:
January 10th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Hi Prog Grrl! Will definitely try Z’s and the homemade balsamic vinegarette too. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Charle! Sorry to hear about your bad experience at the Village. There’s just never a good thing about bad service and being treated with such rudeness - especially to customers! Hope the owner lightens up a bit! Will test the waters the next time I’m there.
Kale says:
January 19th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Charle’s experience is not all that surprising as this is a common frustration for a place with takeout and sit down at the same place.
Ordering takeout and then sitting and eating from a takeout box (particularly OUTSIDE where everyone is walking by) makes the entire restaurant look a lot less “classy” and sets the wrong idea of service for those walking by and considering the place as a place to sit and eat.
While he was willing to tip the waiter at the table, it still has a negative effect on the waiter as well as the establishment. Waiter receives a tip for the work of the counter person who took the order and served him the pizza, so a tip to them insults the counter work who did the work and did not receive the reward.
However, the owner’s public berating was surely unprofessional and should have been better handled.
Of course, had Charle explained his situation in the first place rather than just ordering takeout and then sitting and eating the whole situation likely could have been avoided. And with two parents there anyhow, had his two year old acted up I’m sure that the staff would have been able to quickly package the food to go while the other parent took the offending child outside.
Anyhow, as to the quality of the food.
Larchmont Village Pizzeria makes an excellent Pizza. I have eaten there many times, eating there many times, as well as takeout and occasionally delivery. The quality of ingredients is excellent and the pizzas have always been cooked perfectly. I often eat there for lunch and have their slices and salads.
I agree with the OP that Z Pizza down the street is, while a decent pizza place, not nearly as good as Village Pizzeria, which belongs among the best of the pizza places in LA such as D’Amores and Mazzarino’s.
pwrye says:
February 22nd, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Local legend has it that the owner is the man behind the ‘corkage crackdown’ at other Larchmont establishments, thus earning the ire of diners up and down the boulevard.
BOB says:
March 4th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
NEGATIVITY AND JEALOUSY ALWAYS GO TOGETHER-
LOOK TO YOURSELVES –GET PROPER PERMITS-PLAY ON EQUAL PLAYING FIELD AS DO OTHERS AND STOP CRYING -LOCAL LEGEND –WHAT A JOKE …
RUDENESS BEGETS RUDENESS –SORRY
HAVE A NICE DAY
THE OWNER
owner says:
March 5th, 2007 at 12:25 am
and to the coward sitting behind his computer making false accusations about “local legend” and the corkage crackdown on larchmont -check the court records which exist of alcohol beverage(ABC) licence hearing for village pizzeria 9 YEARS AGO - presiding judge was Gable Luddy — “local legend” ( the truth) has it that the surviving partner of the larchmont wine and spirits shop stood up in opposition at this hearing suggesting patrons not need ABC licence as they should buy their wine from larchmont wine shop which everybody does —-opposing our licence on record in court hearing!! —ths is how corkage crackdown started –again-stop crying !! –come to play with pernits -licences and appropriate zoning requirements -local legend -
rudeness begets rudness –no more no less !!!!!
have a nice day
“give a piece a chance…”-lol
steve
bob says:
March 5th, 2007 at 12:27 am
and to the coward sitting behind his computer making false accusations about “local legend” and the corkage crackdown on larchmont -check the court records which exist of alcohol beverage(ABC) licence hearing for village pizzeria 9 YEARS AGO - presiding judge was Gable Luddy — “local legend” ( the truth) has it that the surviving partner of the larchmont wine and spirits shop stood up in opposition at this hearing suggesting patrons not need ABC licence as they should buy their wine from larchmont wine shop which everybody does —-opposing our licence on record in court hearing!! —ths is how corkage crackdown started –again-stop crying !! –come to play with pernits -licences and appropriate zoning requirements
ara says:
March 5th, 2007 at 12:34 am
i been there –a brooklyn boy –hey people -this is not a forum for taking out your anger –it’s pizza –and your childhood days in new york are long over –people order a salad on top of the pizza–it’s not just plain cheez any more –so stop complaining and enjoy –it’s good pizza –and the owner is tuff –but nice if you let him run his business –stick to the subject —good pizza deserves honesty — these blogs and sites must stop the people who sit behind the computer and hate …………………
JOHN says:
March 5th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
NICE STREET -GOOD PIZZA AND PASTA-
IS THIS THE SAME VILLAGE PIZZERIA IN SAN FRANCISCO? -WE USED TO EAT THERE IN THE MARINA BACK IN EARLY 80′S –WOW -HOPE IT’S THE SAME ……
-BUSY-TUFF PARKING-PRETTY COOL SPOT -NOISY-KID FRIENDLY-
KEEP IT SIMPLE…..
Arlene says:
April 10th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Love the homemade balsamic vinagrette! does anyone know if they sell this in bulk or does anyone have the recipe! this one item could potentially transform me from all-out carnivore…to sometime salad eater!