Guests line up at a shopping center in Valley Village for pizza, red sauce pastas, garlic knot burgers and the warm Italian-American hospitality of Anna Pizza and its chef and owner, Thomas DeSantis.
In his years of operating a pizza catering service, DeSantis found that the business's growth was slow and steady. With his first restaurant, he has been “up and running.”
“I just didn't expect it,” he said, “but it's the best problem I've ever had.”
Anna Pizza chef and owner Thomas DeSantis makes pizza at his Valley Village restaurant.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
He made a name for himself in Los Angeles with Fire & Wood mobile pizza ovens, but at Anna Pizza he's delving even deeper into recipes for the foods he ate as a kid. In an ode to his grandmother and her formative years on the East Coast, he serves Wagyu meatballs in fresh marinara, fried zucchini and mozzarella, hearty portions of rigatoni alla vodka, and 16-inch New York-inspired pies.
There are tons of Italian chopped salads, sticky parm sandwiches, and even an Armenian-spiced spaghetti named after your mother-in-law.
The New York native got his first job at age 15, folding cardboard boxes at a pizzeria. He worked his way up to washing dishes, then cooking, and finally managing. He later moved to Los Angeles without a plan, and when he exhausted his savings, he returned to his first love: pizza. He started at Urban Oven downtown, but in 2021 he purchased a mobile pizza oven and launched his own catering company, Fire & Wood.
At the time he was operating out of his 460-square-foot downtown apartment, with an additional double-door refrigerator in his living room. He bought a second truck, moved into a police station kitchen, and begged his sister to move to Los Angeles and help him with the catering business. Then he bought a third truck.
When the Palisades and Eaton fires devastated Los Angeles, DeSantis deployed his fleets to help first responders and others in need.
“We prepare food for about 48 hours straight,” he said. “Everything we could put together.”
With a growing fan base and the need to continue feeding people, DeSantis embarked on his first restaurant. As a Burbank resident, he knew he wanted to represent the San Fernando Valley: He took over the former Gorilla Pies space on Burbank Boulevard, renovated the restaurant with his father and covered it with family photos. His mother, Anna, is also very involved.
Anna Pizza Rigatoni in Vodka Sauce.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
“We were able to come together and create this space where it's easy to feel like my grandmother is here because all the photos of my family are hanging on the wall,” DeSantis said. “If you look at those pictures long enough, you'll realize that's our story in picture form. The food is always there. We're all just New Yorkers who love to eat carbs.”
Anna Pizza is open Tuesday to Thursday from 12:00 to 21:00, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 22:00 and Sunday from 12:00 to 20:00.
12417 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 821-1777, theannapizza.com
Stuffed cabbage with abalone rice and tomato beurre blanc at Little Fish in Melrose Hill.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
little fish
They started selling fried fish sandwiches at their home in Echo Park. In December, Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle debuted their long-awaited seafood-focused restaurant Little Fish, with a casual menu (and their cult classic fish sandwich) during the day and more composed dishes at night.
“We wanted seafood to feel like it could be more part of people's routines,” Sonenshein said. “I think we were seeing that a lot of seafood in Los Angeles felt like event food (where you're going to get a tower of oysters) or stuffy. We wanted this genre of food to feel like it could fit in a neighborhood restaurant.”
It took years to build.
The display cases of dry-aged fish at Little Fish in Melrose Hill.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Little Fish started as a pop-up at home. As they gained steam and outgrew their cuisine, they booked residencies at Melody, Checker Hall and others. But as the couple developed new relationships with fishermen and learned about more appealing varieties of seafood, they longed for a space to present them. They needed a restaurant.
“Seafood is pretty fickle, so if you're not prepared to eat it, it will slip by you,” he said. “Some fishing seasons may only last a couple of weeks.”
In 2021 they found the space: a corner unit on a rapidly developing stretch of Melrose Hill. They assumed they would be open in a couple of months. Due to the expansion of the restaurant, it took four years.
Meanwhile, they opened a casual walk-up stand in Echo Park, operating out of a corner of Dada Market and serving chowder, their famous fried fish sandwich, and other fast-casual dishes during the day. (This extended residency will end in spring.) They also began selling seafood through Melrose Hill grocery store LA Grocery & Cafe to introduce themselves to the neighborhood.
Finally, in December, his restaurant was ready.
Everyday Crudo with Plum and Citrus at Little Fish in Melrose Hill.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Behind the nine-seat bar, a dry-aged cooler holds whole rockfish, huge tuna heads, and bottarga. Soft light shines over a dining room that seats approximately 40 people. Sonenshein and Vahle serve a handful of raws inspired by whatever is caught by a small group of local fishermen that includes fishmonger and Dudley Market owner Conner Mitchell.
A beach sandwich, inspired by Sonenshein's childhood, consists of layers of fried potatoes on top of whole soy-marinated mussels. Stuffed cabbage, a dish she also ate as a child, is transformed by stuffing the leaves with abalone rice. Kae Whalen, formerly of Kismet, Baby Bistro and Anajak Thai Cuisine, heads the natural wine program. Little Fish is open in Melrose Hill Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.
5035 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 376-6728, littlefishla.com
Mushroom Salsa with Traditional Bean Salad and Chopped Avocado Salad at Henrietta in Echo Park.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
henrietta
In his years as a waiter, Max Lesser always knew he would love to open his own restaurant. In late 2025, the Chi Spacca alum finally did it, launching Henrietta in Echo Park with day-to-night service and a small market and bottle shop. Alimento and Superba Food + Bread vet Alexis Brown runs the kitchen, which guests can peek into from counter seats or the cozy dining room.
Henrietta's dining room.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
For lunch, Henrietta serves a casual deli with some seasonal salads and sandwiches, like mushroom French dip and turkey with bread-and-butter fennel pickles. There are casual packed lunches, $10 wines by the glass, and a selection of pantry items, cookbooks, imported teas, and locally made sweets. In the evening, the restaurant offers full service with California cuisine dishes, such as persimmon and avocado salad, grilled fish with sunchokes, grapes and green chili, and the most popular dish, the plump ricotta meatballs with chanterelles, caccio cavalo and Madeira. Henrietta is open Thursday to Sunday, lunch is served from 11:30 am to 3 pm, dinner from 5 to 9:30 pm and an all-day market.
343 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 272-6646, henriettala.com
Sandough's Parma sandwich serves 16-month aged prosciutto di Parma, stracciatella, heirloom tomato and wild arugula on a pizza-like crust.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
sand mass
A former Chain and Trois Familia chef is mixing Neapolitan-inspired pizza dough with local and Italian ingredients at a new restaurant along Melrose Avenue. Chef and partner Frankie Guerrero's Sandough prepares 48-hour sourdough for its pizza sandwiches, with fillings like mortadella with ricotta cream and pistachio; meatballs with marinara; aged prosciutto di Parma with heirloom tomato, wild arugula and stracciatella; and fior di latte mozzarella with pesto and traditional tomato. But a handful of sandwiches and specials are Los Angeles-inspired, including a custom, thick-cut pastrami from local purveyor RC Provisions topped with aged provolone cheese and salsa verde. Sanough is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
7276 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 650-9242, comesandough.com
