Rick Rosenfield, co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen, along with his wife Esther, announce the opening of ROCA Pizza at Palisades Village. 

The new restaurant celebrates the Roman origin of their unique style of pizza (“RO”) with a California-inspired ethos (“CA”), which blends creativity and commitment to premium products and ingredients sourced locally and internationally; but what truly sets ROCA apart is its artisan dough, perfected down to a science after more than 70 years of research and development in Rome, and discovered by the Rosenfields a decade ago. The dough is long cold fermented for up to 72 hours, creating an airy, puffy, soft rise in the dough, and when baked, achieves a notable crunch. Each pizza is baked in highly specialized Italian-made, humidity-controlled ovens, maintaining the freshness of seasonal toppings while ensuring a delightfully crisp crust. ROCA’s dough style and cooking process creates pizzas that uniquely travel well for takeout and delivery, an ideal product for the on-the-go consumer. 

“Palisades Village is an important part of the Palisades commnuity and the ideal backdrop for our artisanal product, with its vibrant mix of retailers and impressive culinary offerings. says Rick Rosenfield. The new space reflects ROCA’s ethos and showcases a product we are extremely proud of, we are eager to introduce ROCA to LA’s Westside” 

Serving as a prelude to the upcoming new locations, the concept’s successful pop-up experience at The Americana at Brand in Glendale introduced ROCA’s elevated fast-casual interpretation of Roman-style street food pizza “al taglio,” which translates to “by-the-cut”. Due to popular demand and rave Yelp reviews, the pop-up remained open for over a year, functioning as a recipe laboratory, experimenting with traditional Roman favorites and various seasonal specials.

The new 1,000 sq.ft Palisades Village location with its jewel box bakery feel, features floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light to flood the space. A Cambria white stone quartz block as the main counter, while light color tile and stone adorn the walls. A display case exhibits full pan pizzas that customers can select by the slice by-the-cut, with half-and full-pan options as well, encouraging guests to enjoy a sampling of several different specialty pizzas. The restaurant also features a grab-and-go section against the back wall with pre-packaged salads as well as sandwiches made from the ROCA pizza dough. The exterior will feature an abundance of outdoor seating between ROCA tables and public Palisades Village seating. A pick-up window for take-out has been installed on the front facade and designated  12 minute short-term parking directly in front of the restaurant for pick-up orders. 

The menu includes extensive pizza flavors, Roman specialty “suppli”, salads, appetizers, and Tiramisù dessert. In addition to traditionally topped pizzas and vegan options, ROCA menu highlights include:

• Supplì – Roman street food staple comprised of rice balls with tomato sauce and stringy melted mozzarella cheese, also available with sausage

• Turkey Meatballs – organic turkey, panko, organic oregano, garlic and tomato sauce

• Soppressata and Burrata Pizza – the bestseller; tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy soppressata, di stefano burrata, basil Parmigiano oil

• Pepperoni Hot Honey – tomato sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, gorgonzola, Mike’s hot honey

• Amatriciana Pizza – guanciale (pork cheek), pecorino Romano, mozzarella, tomato sauce

• Kale & Almond Salad – organic kale, avocado, spicy almond dressing, Parmigiano Reggiano, crushed almonds

• Caesar Salad with Calabrian Chili dressing– organic romaine, Parmigiano Reggiano, housemade croutons, Calabrian Chili dressing 

 

The full menu and additional information can be viewed at www.rocapizza.com. Delivery is available through DoorDash, UberEats, Postmates, Caviar and Grub Hub. ROCA also announced the next brick-and-mortar restaurant is coming soon at The Waterside in Marina Del Rey in the Summer of 2023.