"Much like Jon & Vinny's, Ospi Brentwood is another spin-off, this time of Ospi's original location in Venice. The most noticeable difference, though, is how much more buttoned-up this location is—the energy is less post-beach afterparty and more dinner with your parents at an upscale mall. The food, however, is still solid. The famous spicy rigatoni doesn’t disappoint, and if you want a video of a crispy provolone cheese pull, you’ll have the chance. But in a neighborhood with more Italian options than Trestavare, there's not much that separates it from the pack." - sylvio martins, arden shore, brant cox
"Ospi Brentwood is essentially a carbon copy of its original location in Venice, just far more buttoned-up (the energy is less post-beach afterparty and more dinner with your parents at an upscale mall). The food, however, is still solid. The famous spicy rigatoni doesn’t disappoint, and if you want a video of you doing a crispy provolone cheese pull, you’ll have the chance. But in a neighborhood with more Italian restaurants than Trestavare, there’s not much about Ospi that stands out from the pack." - Brant Cox
"Jackson Kalb’s follow-up to this neighborhood, El Segundo trattoria Jame, was a further development of his love affair with Italian food. Originally this space was his ode to Italian seafood called Jemma di Mare, but the chef realized most people weren’t ordering the seafood. So he swapped the name and menu to Ospi, his popular Venice restaurant with inventive California Italian pizza, pasta, and grilled mains. Think spicy rigatoni alla vodka, linguine with colatura, and lemon tagliolini. Thin, shareable pizzas infuse some creativity like the Hapa, with potentially eyebrow-raising pepperoni with pineapple and jalapeno. The space, somewhat corporate feeling but still a fun weeknight hangout, has a little more pep in its step after the switcheroo." - Matthew Kang
"I noticed that chef Jackson Kalb’s Jemma di Mare in the same Brentwood Gardens plaza recently switched concepts to Ospi, and the new concept now serves pizza on its menu — a change likely enabled by California Pizza Kitchen’s closure in that plaza." - Matthew Kang
"Jemma Di Mare is the latest project from the team behind Jame Enoteca and Ospi—two places where you can reliably take down a bowl of tagliatelle or cavatelli and think about something other than egg-flation. The latest spot will focus on Italian American cuisine (think New Jersey-style red sauce joints), which marks the rare instance where someone from LA wants anything to do with the East Coast. You’ll likely see lots of grilled and fried seafood, as well as staple pasta dishes like linguine alle vongole, when they open later this winter." - anne cruz
