Chi Spacca
“One star, a Green Star and a 50 ounce bistecca: Nancy Silverton's meat manifesto. Book it for a carnivore's birthday.”
About Chi Spacca
On the corner of Melrose and Highland, wedged between Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza in the compound Angelenos call the Mozzaplex, Nancy Silverton runs the smallest and most ferocious of her restaurants. Chi Spacca means something like 'he who cleaves', and the name is a mission statement: a butcher's restaurant where whole animals come in the back door and leave the wood fired grill as some of the most serious meat cooking in America, executed nightly by chef Ryan DeNicola.
Michelin has given the operation a rare double: one star for the cooking and a Green Star for the sourcing, which pulls from within a hundred miles, buys whole animals to eliminate waste and banishes bottled water. The card is built around giant cuts priced to share: the 50 ounce dry aged bistecca alla fiorentina, a 42 ounce tomahawk pork chop, and a beef cheek and bone marrow pie that has its own following.
The room holds only a few dozen seats plus an eight seat counter facing the grill, which makes it the hardest ticket in the Mozzaplex. Reservations run on both Resy and OpenTable; the communal pig's head feast, at $125 a person for groups of four to eight, books through the restaurant. Plan $120 to $200 a head depending on how the table attacks the big cuts.
The Room
A compact, dim, convivial den: exposed brick, copper pots, and an eight seat counter where the wood grill throws heat and light across the room like a hearth. Tables sit close and the soundtrack is the thud of cleavers. This is the loosest room in the Mozzaplex and the most fun; dress ranges from denim to blazers and nobody looks out of place.
Why book it, occasion by occasion
Great kitchens are specialists in moments as much as dishes. Chi Spacca specialises in these.
For the carnivore's birthday, solved
A birthday at Chi Spacca has a built in centerpiece: the 50 ounce bistecca arrives at the table like a trophy and gets carved into a communal pile that organizes the whole evening. Book the counter seats if the group is four or fewer; the grill show is the entertainment. For six or more, email about the $125 pig's head feast, which turns dinner into an event people reference for years.
For business that does better over shared meat
There is a specific kind of negotiation that dies at a tasting menu and thrives over a carved porterhouse, and Chi Spacca exists for it. Splitting a bistecca creates the informality that gets people talking while the star on the door keeps the signal serious. Book an early table on Resy for relative quiet, open with the focaccia di Recco, and let the shared platter do the team building.
For a first date with appetite and no pretense
Chi Spacca strips the fine dining theatre out of a serious meal, which is exactly right for a first date: close tables, warm light, food you negotiate over rather than photograph. Splitting a pork chop the size of a novel is an instant collaboration. Ask for the counter, where sitting side by side beats interrogation seating, and order the butterscotch budino no matter how full you claim to be.
What to order
The menu is a butcher's card built for sharing. Come with a group, commit to one big cut and build backward from it.
- The bistecca alla fiorentina
A 50 ounce dry aged porterhouse, grilled over wood, carved for the table. It is the restaurant's thesis and it comfortably feeds three or four.
- Focaccia di Recco
Paper thin crackling crust around molten stracchino cheese. The one order that is mandatory at every table regardless of what follows.
- The beef cheek and bone marrow pie
Braised beef under a marrow bone chimney in pastry: the dish that proves this kitchen is more than a grill. Order one for the table.
- The pig's head feast for groups
At $125 a person, available Monday to Thursday for four to eight guests, this is the full Chi Spacca argument in one communal set piece. Book it through the restaurant ahead of time.
Practical
- Address
- 6610 Melrose Avenue, Hancock Park, Los Angeles
- Reservations
- Resy and OpenTable
- Cost
- Plan $120 to $200 a head · big cuts shared
- Feast
- Pig's head dinner $125 a person, groups of 4 to 8
- Counter
- 8 seats facing the wood grill
- Dress
- Casual to smart, denim fine
- Dietary
- Meat first; pescatarian possible, vegan is not the move
- Parking
- Lot behind the Mozzaplex, valet at peak
Questions diners ask
Is Chi Spacca worth it?
Yes, for a table that eats meat with intent. One Michelin star plus a Green Star for whole animal sourcing is a combination almost no steakhouse on earth holds, and the bistecca justifies the trip on its own. Shared properly among four, the big cuts bring the bill to $120 to $200 a head, which undercuts the wagyu palaces.
How hard is it to book Chi Spacca?
The room is small, so prime slots go fast, but seats release on both Resy and OpenTable, and checking both roughly doubles your odds. Weeknights and early seatings hold longest. The eight counter seats are the insider request, and the pig's head feast for groups books directly with the restaurant by email.
What is the dress code at Chi Spacca?
Relaxed. This is the most casual serious restaurant in the Mozzaplex: denim, boots and rolled sleeves fit right in against the brick and the wood smoke. Dress for proximity to a live fire and for eating with your hands at least once. Save the jacket for Osteria Mozza next door.
What should I order at Chi Spacca?
Open with the focaccia di Recco, then commit the table to one monument: the 50 ounce bistecca for three or four, or the 42 ounce tomahawk pork chop for two or three. Add the beef cheek and bone marrow pie if the group runs deep, chicories for balance, and the butterscotch budino to close.