Issa Rae Opens LA Pizzeria Downtown Dough With the Team Behind Hilltop Coffee | Eater LA
"The forthcoming pizzeria, opening May 3, 2025, is a collaboration between Good Vibes Only Hospitality founders Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan and actor-producer Issa Rae (a partner of Hilltop Coffee and collaborator with Somerville who will continue her role here). It will operate inside the Downtown location of Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen on Hill between Seventh and Eighth Streets after the café closes at 3 p.m., repeating the successful formula applied at Somerville and Lost. Culinary director and chef Geter Atienza will cook on an almond wood-fire open grill and pizza oven to churn out blistered Neapolitan-style pies and fiery grilled vegetables; the room seats 179 plus a private 22-person room, and a funky 1970s playlist and Atienza’s playful menu will set the mood for the evening transformation. Starters include cheese garlic bread, focaccia, chopped salad, and fried calamari dusted with Old Bay Seasoning (a staple condiment in the Black community). The grill will handle branzino and organic chicken as well as a 14-ounce bone-in New York strip steak served with a roasted cherry tomato salsa, garlic confit, and broccoli rabe. Pasta will be sourced from Inglewood’s Florentyna’s Fresh Pasta Factory for a spicy lobster marinara with bucatini and an irreverent fettuccine riff called Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy. Desserts feature banana pudding tiramisu, chocolate chip cannoli, sorbet, gelato, and affogato. The crust is Neapolitan-style—blistered and airy—brushed with garlic oil and dusted with Parmesan; offerings range from a traditional margherita to a statement pie topped with truffle cream fondue, cauliflower, and truffled Parmesan, a pepperoni pie kicked up with Fresno chiles and honey, and the Revolution pie of marinara, garlic confit, basil, olive oil, and niçoise olives. Beverage director Steen Bojsen Moller (Spring Street Bar veteran) developed a full cocktail and spritz bar: the spritz bar serves four drinks, including an elderflower and pear spritz standout called Sweet Thang (a nod to funkstress Chaka Khan) with St. Germain, pear juice puree, prosecco, and soda, while the cocktails pay tribute to 1970s soul and funk artists — for example, the Black Moses (Isaac Hayes’s fifth album title) mixes coffee-infused gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. The restaurant will operate Wednesday through Sunday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., and reservations are on OpenTable." - Mona Holmes
