Masa of Echo Park

My favorite deep dish pizza in LA. Come sorta hungry because deep dish takes about 45 minutes to bake. I have dined in only once but my favorite thing to do is order takeout. Their dining room fills up during main dining hours. I have yet to witness a slow night. They have some tables outside. They also offer a full coffee bar for your caffeine kick. Parking is street parking.

Go here if you are expecting great pizza and not caring one bit about service. The front of house staff was straight up rude in every encounter I had — including giving our table away after we arrived 4 min after we got the text saying our table was ready. This was after waiting over an hour for a table…
The deep dish however, is delicious. I wouldn’t call it Chicago style but it satisfies all cravings. The crust is crisp and buttery, the cheese gooey and the toppings mostly plentiful. Could use more tomatoes, but overall flavor is there.
Recommend not going on a weekend

Thank you Mrs. Rhonda for your exceptional service, I feel like family. Not to mention the wonderful Chicago style pizza. I’m in love… You must try the lots of meat Chicago style pizza and rosemary grilled chicken with sundried tomatoes with roasted shallots. It’s truly a labor of love…

I leave reviews after trying a place more than once, but Masa and a few other businesses are the exception. Felt compelled to add my thoughts after being so graciously waited on by this awesome gentleman dude who ensured my friend and I had a great dining experience. I asked about wines they carry and he offered to bring out samples. Perhaps this is common in some places, perhaps not, but since it was the first time I’ve been offered such a thing, I thought, ‘awwww, how nice!’
For dinner, we ordered the Lucretia pizza and penne di parm chicken dish. The latter has a fancier name. Look for it and try it. ‘Twas SO filling and delicious! We had tons of leftovers– which may have been due to our munching on the freshly baked bread that was brought out before our meals.
I did my homework and realized all these Unilocalers kept recommending the bread pudding, which means I’ll have to be back to try it.

Best lasagna Ive ever tried. Hands down.
For future reference– if you don’t have time for the pizza you can order it in for pick up!

Love this place!!!
Everything is good, it’s quiet & pretty inside
We had a Scott thin crust pizza (pepperoni, red onion, mushrooms)
Caesar salad
Artichoke & spinach dip
We actually had a little room for desert so we had their croissant bread pudding

Nothing can compare to the Chicago deep dish they make in Chicago but Masa sure comes super close!
We ordered the traditional large Chicago deep dish meat lovers. The pizza was heavy and loaded. The flavors blended together and it looks like there’s a ton of cheese because there is but I didn’t find it too overpowering. I could still taste the pepperoni and sausage.
The ambiance can be romantic or casual it’s a good place for a group of friends or a romantic date.
Tip: it will take 45 minutes to make your pizza but that’s pretty normal for a deep dish. Not sure if you can call ahead? I might try next time.

I’ve only tried two pizzas here at Masa. I visited for the first time this past weekend and enjoyed it. Parking can be a hassle, specifically on the weekend because it lies so close to Echo Park and even though there is a decent amount of street parking people can camp in those spots for hours b/​c there are no restrictions on Sunday.
The ambiance is fun, albeit a bit loud. When my lady and I arrived at 8 there were multiple groups waiting outside to be seated, and a steady stream of takeout orders. I would come back, but definitely on a weekday with less of a crowd.
The Douglas pizza is a solid choice, and the views of downtown in the area are cool.
Oh and I didn’t try the Chicago Deep Dish. So I’ll have to come back and give it a shot.

I have been to Chicago and tasted all the top Deep dish places like Giordano’s, Pequads, and Gino’s East and order half frozen deep dish from two of the places above. So I would like to think I know Chicago pizza! I have even sampled the Taste of Chicago in Burbank which is ok. This place is better than one of the three Chicago places I mentioned. The flavor are amazing but what sells this is the crust. It has body but feels light and doesn’t overwhelm the pie. We had the pepperoni and sausage and it was unique to have a slice of the sausage on top. Overall it was a great place, pleasing ambiance and more importantly saw some great looking food outside of pizza that I need to try next time like mozzarella sticks and garlic bread! Must try if you like deep dish. Kid approved!

Besides Little Cesars’ $ 5 Hot-​N-​Ready (for whenever we’re needing something decent & convenient), Masa is our go-​to for really good pizza. We love deep dish. My brother lives in Chicago & each time we visit, we eat the deep dish there. He even recently sent me a giant box of Lou Malnati’s. When we lived in DTLA, we drove to Hollywood Pies but ever since we were introduced to Masa, we’ve been going there instead (and we now live closer). We’ve only eaten there once and from what I remember, the service is good.
Lots of Meat is always really good. Get that. And call 45 min before you want to pick up your pizza.

I love Masa!
THE AMBIANCE:
When you walk into Masa you are walking into what looks like your Italian grandmother’s large dining room. It also feels like an inside patio. There are different colored chairs, tablecloths, lights, and things hanging on the walls. It’s fantastic. You feel like you have been invited into someone’s cozy home for dinner.
THE FOOD:
The deep dish pizza is their signature dish and it is delicious. I have eaten at Masa on many occasions and throughout the years and I have to say that the deep dish remains consistently delicious. The last time I dined in we had the Lots of Meat deep dish pizza (Masa’s Sweet Italian Sausage & Pepperoni). Although you’re going to be stuffed from the deep dish pizza itself, I would suggest you share their Caesar Salad to start. The lettuce is thick and fresh, the cheese slices are generous, and the flavors are there. You can take the leftover pizza home to enjoy later.
THE TIPS:
Deep dish pizzas take about 45 minutes to cook.

Great Chicago deep dish pizza on the West Coast. After trying some of Chicago’s great deep dish offerings a few months ago, I can wholeheartedly agree that Masa definitely stands up to true Chicago pizza.
/​/​LOCATION /​/​Echo Park a block away from the new Blue Bottle Coffee location.
/​/​SERVICE /​/​As laid back as the employees look, they take good service seriously. Everyone was over-​the-​top courteous and helpful. Our water glasses were never empty and they genuinely took pride in their work. Very impressed.
/​/​PARKING /​/​Metered street. Good luck, may the force be with you. Best at lunch time on the weekends.
/​/​FOOD /​/​
+ Deep dish pizza: Takes 40 minutes to make and the waiters are great about letting you know. Order asap when you are seated! The pre-​set combos are «deals» and cannot be modified. If none of those tickle your fancy, then create your own small or large pizza, but be warned, can get pricey depending on how many toppings you add. They do not skimp on ingredients and the crust has the perfect crunch!

An amazing experience! We were in L.A. for the day, so we decided, based on a friend’s recommendations, to try this deep dish pizza place. I had high hopes and was NOT let down by Masa of Echo Park. We came in without any reservations and waited about 45 minutes, but was given the option to order a pizza ahead of time if we chose to.
We waited and ordered 2 large deep dishes: traditional, and lots of meat.
Also got a green salad and the famous bread pudding.
The salad was big enough to share with four people because that’s exactly what we did.
Then came the pizzas, and the waitress was so right, we overestimated our power of eating down the pizzas. They were thick with meat, cheese, and tomato sauce. The crust was amazing, crunchy and I’d gobble it up even if just served by itself. We ended up with an entire pizza worth of slices leftover.
The bread pudding was also warm, soft and sweet. A great dessert that was gone in less than ten minutes.
Our service was great, and we ended up leaving fat and happy. Oh I wish that place was open close to my city. I’ll definitely go back the next time I’m close by.

Parking: behind Masa there is public parking where you pay for each spot at the machine. Weekend is free!
This place is not great for big crowds unless you made a reservation. I didn’t go with a big crowd nor was it super busy but the staff was really swamped so I wouldn’t bring a crowd there.
The outside looks like a coffee shop. It fooled us that it was a pizzeria as well. I got the meat lover’s pizza. It is a pepperoni filled pie with a sausage patty pie top. The pizza sadly didn’t live up to expectation. It was a bit dry compared to a real Chicago style pizza. It is definitely not the best pizza I ever had and definitely not the best Chicago style pizza I ever had but the place was cozy and had a ma and pop feel.
I was really hoping for some awesomeness cause of the reviews on Unilocal but it is overrated. I have to admit it is one of the few places I know that serves Chicago style pizza in Los Angeles.

I came here a year ago not knowing what to expect. My boyfriend and I came during lunch hours and it was not packed at all. We ordered a small Pizza and bread pudding for dessert. We did not know that the deep dish pizzas take up to 45 minutes to make! We were both starving and hangry; ended up filling ourselves up with the complimentary bread.
Fast forward to present day. We decided to order take out and call ahead. We placed our order (small pizza mushroom, half sausage, half olives). Drove out to echo park 30 minutes later and the pizza was still not ready. The restaurant was packed with a small line (it was a Monday night!) We ended up waiting an additional 20 minutes which we did not mind.
The pizza was so good! It was hot and gooey with cheese. The bread was thick and buttery. Overall worth the wait. I recommend calling ahead and taking it to go. Makes it easier so you don’t have to keep feeding the meter and wait at the restaurant for your pizza to be ready.

Coming here on a Sunday is wonderful because there is free street parking. Granted, I had to park a couple blocks away… but it was free! We had a reservation so we were seated fairly quickly.
Our group shared the following:
– MOZZARELLA STICKS: Deep fried & served with marinara sauce
Decent. Can’t really go wrong with these.
– NICOISE SALAD: Albacore tuna marinated in extra virgin olive oil and herbs over romaine lettuce, hardboiled egg, steamed potatoes, black olives, green beans and tomato — topped with sauteed garlic chips, a filet of anchovy and basil-​herb dressing.
We actually wanted a different salad, but it had nuts that couldn’t be taken out (in the dressing) so we had to go with this one. I’m not a fan of tuna so I avoided it and just ate the other items.
– LOTS OF MEAT CHICAGO DEEP DISH PIZZA: Masa’s Secret Recipe Sweet Italian Sausage & Pepperoni… lots of it
Now THIS was delicious! Masa definitely does their pizza well. I really liked this pizza.
Their menu has four desserts listed, but we were unable to try any. I really wanted the CHocolate Silk Crème Brulee since I love crème brûlée, but they were out of it for the night. All the other desserts had nuts that could not be removed so we left without dessert… which I guess was good since we were pretty stuffed from the pizza. I am sad though that all the non-​pizza items that I wanted here have nuts in them – this place is not very Esther-​friendly :(But the deep dish pizza is really good, so I would definitely come back for that.
4 stars just for the pizza… although we did also have a really nice server :)

Probably the best Chicago style pizza in Los Angeles, but order it as soon as you sit down because it will take 40 minutes to cook. We opted for the traditional which has Italian sausage and mushrooms. The smaller $ 15.95 size was huge — they say it serves 2 – 3 but it could easily serve 4 – 5 if you have it with a side salad. There were only two of us so we had enough leftovers for dinner the next night. It is legit Chicago style pizza, so if you are a fan, definitely worth the wait.
We started with the garlic bread, which is served with marinara sauce to dip (love that). It was a generous serving size and pretty good, but definitely could have used more garlic. It is garlic bread after all.
The manchego salad (compressed salad of organic baby lettuces, dates, granny smith apples, caramelized walnuts, Manchego cheese and pear dressing, drizzled with a balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil) was very flavorful and had enough going on that I really enjoyed eating it (I tend to eat around the lettuce when I order a salad, but not the case here).
I also love that they are open late. Definitely somewhere to eat when you want a «hearty» meal!
BONUS: Dreama Walker (from Don’t Trust the B.) was at the table next to us!

After seeing all the raving reviews from friends and coworkers. I finally made a dinner reservation. This would be my first time trying a Chicago style pizza. Upon arrival, they will ask that you order your deep dish pizza first before seating. This will allow enough time for the pizza to cook (around 40 – 45 min).
Please be warned … a small pizza is good for 2 – 3 people. We didn’t listen to the server and decided to order a medium pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza with extra cheese between 3 people. The pizza looked and tasted just as we expected. The best part watching as the cheese melted and stringed along each slice of pizza! The pizza was loaded with sauce and was extremely dense. Each bite was layered in cheese and toppings. My brother who can normally finish an entire pizza was pretty stuffed with just 2 slices. 2 «hefty» slices! In addition to the pizza, we ordered the Machego salad which is also highly recommended. It was very refreshing and sweet mixed in berries and nuts. We also tried their homemade spinach artichoke dip with peppers that made it extra yummy!
Overall, I had a really good experience. I would probably skip out on the sausage as they were kind of dry. We ordered extra cheese because from some photos and reviews it looked as if the pizza was all sauce. We didn’t think some extra cheese would hurt but I would just go with a regular pizza next time.

Came here for take-​out after hearing how good their Deep Dish Pizzas were– supposedly the best in LA. Parking is in a lot nearby that is paid/​meter.
We picked up the Classic Deep Dish (thin, pancake-​like covering of sausage on top of cheese) with some pineapples added. The overall size was huge! I got the large due to the value (2x size for a few bucks more). I liked the overall cheesy-​ness of the pizza but wish the sausage were better blended into the pizza instead of like a one large pepperoni-​ish topping.
We also got their bread pudding– which was amazing. I like most styles of bread pudding. This one was more spongey and reminded me of a «butter mochi» if you know what that is. The flavor was very good, and I ate it with ice cream I had at home which was good.
I’m not sure if this is the best deep dish pizza I had, but certainly was enjoyable!

4 stars cuz its wayyy too loud for me and i was basically yelling so people could hear me lol.
We were here last night and Kevin was our waiter very attentive and good recommendations, i love when waiters ask you if its your first time and you are not lost looking at the menu and what you should get ?
I was starving so we started off with Cheesy sticks and their famous garlic bread still hungry also add a soup for me please :).
We decided what pizza to get and our waiter told us it would take 45 min to me it was worth the wait lots of meat with lots of cheese just perfection, we never had Chicago deep style pizza before so it was good .
Their soup was good but i wouldnt order that again .
Dont forget about dessert give me a break please !!! So dessert arrived like 30
Min later or maybe more than that which it was perfect for all of us .
Will i go back to Masa? Yes absolutely, im glad i still have left overs :)