By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — Finally San Diego has a kosher restaurant that actually hits all three metrics for a good restaurant; good food, good service, and good ambiance. I’ve been long hoping for such a find, and La Mesa Pizzaworks is the unicorn we’ve been waiting for.
When you step into the restaurant, it feels like any other fast casual pizza place, in fact, if you didn’t notice the slightly odd color of the “pepperoni” or the stack of benchers on the counter, you might not even know you were in a kosher restaurant. And this is a good thing, as it allows them to build a broad customer base. The prices aren’t that different from other non-kosher pizza places, so even in the pricing you may not think about the fact that all the cheese is Chlolev Yisrael, or the bread Pas Yisrael.
For those unfamiliar with Cholev Yisrael and Pas Yisrael, basically both mean that an observant Jew has supervised the entire milking or baking process. The more common OUD designation, while kosher, may not include supervision for every part of the process.
But, as I was saying, in spite of the higher level of kosher, the prices aren’t bad. Their daily special is two huge slices of pizza and a drink for $10. I had them cut my slices in half to take home for later and had two very filling meals from it.
The service is friendly and helpful. While we were sitting there, I noticed both Orthodox and non-Jews alike being served with professionalism and a smile. When I was asking questions about the menu and what each pizza had on it, or about the kashrut, I was met with patience and warmth rather than the rushing or dismissiveness I’ve experienced at other venues. I don’t want to belabor the point (ok maybe a little), but while providing such service seems so obvious, it has historically been missing from most of the kosher restaurants that have come and gone in San Diego over the last 25 years.
Now let’s talk about the most important, and exciting part, the food! I admit that I didn’t have high hopes for it, thinking pizza is pizza, but they proved me wrong. The dough is … perfect! It’s both chewy and a little crunchy with a good bite and a pleasant cheese to sauce ratio. In fact, it was so good I kept eating long after I was full.
I wondered why they went for a pizza restaurant with all the kosher food options they could have chosen. Just as I was wondering that, owner Yuda Piha walked in, and though he was carrying a stack of supplies, he graciously set them aside to take a couple of minutes to chat with me (and this was before I outed myself as a reviewer).
The reason he picked pizza, he said, is that pizza is a very everyday kind of food. Being in food industry for 15 years without any kosher food it made him think about a food that everyone likes. Pizza is universal. The manager, Chris Layvas, has been in the pizza industry for 15 years so he came in with the know-how and together a star was born.
La Mesa Pizzaworks is at 7406 University Ave. It’s open from 11am – 8pm Sunday -Thurs, 11-2 on Friday, and 7pm -10:30 pm after Shabbat. Starting in Feb they’ll be adding beer and wine to their menu too.
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Sandi Masori is a food and theater reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.
Very nice