Ospi in Brentwood, a lively transformation of Jemma di Mare, serves up mouthwatering handmade pasta and inventive pizzas in a chic, upscale setting perfect for date nights or casual outings.
"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, Eater Staff
"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. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Team Infatuation
"Located on the second floor of a generic shopping complex, Jemma Di Mare looks like an upscale mall restaurant from the early 2000s, complete with decorative ropes, views of an escalator, and, for some unknown reason, a champagne vending machine. While the spicy rigatoni is a standout, the rest of the Italian American dishes are forgettable. We're talking a caesar salad that is somehow wet and underdressed at once, a gamey veal chop, and crab cakes that fall apart the second you cut into them. Your aunt from Phoenix who only orders piccata at restaurants will like Jemma Di Mare. When she’s not in town, you can skip it. " - sylvio martins, arden shore, brant cox
"Top Chef’s Jackson Kalb brings a plethora of East Coast Italian seafood to the main San Vicente Boulevard strip. While the linguine alle vongole and the squid ink prawn scampi are sure to please, it’s the whole lobster fettuccini for two that everyone’s talking about." - Cathy Chaplin, Eater Staff
"Brentwood’s Jemma di Mare captures a kind of corporate happy hour vibe, with plenty of little banquettes and tables around the patio to meet someone on a first date. The accessibility extends to the food, conceived by chef Jackson Kalb, and errs on the side of approachable given its Italian American origins. Order the shareable lobster tagliatelle, it could very well be one of the best dishes on the Westside." - Rebecca Roland, Matthew Kang
