Antico’s Pizza And Ice Cream May Be LA’s Best To-Go Duo

Plenty of restaurants have made changes since COVID closures hit LA in March. Fine-dining spots started offering takeout. Top-rated restaurants began selling groceries. A bulgogi hut became a Korean fried chicken paradise.

And then there’s Antico, the high-end Italian restaurant that turned itself into the best pizza and ice cream shop in town.

This Beverly Blvd. spot never served pizza before the pandemic hit, but it seems like they’ve been making them forever. They weigh approximately as much as corgi, are made with their incredible focaccia, and come with innovative-yet-classic toppings. Their version of a pepperoni pizza involves salame piccante, spicy Calabrian chili, and roasted sweet peppers. Their sausage pie is elevated with house-made sweet Italian sausage and charred broccolini, and the much-maligned Hawaiian Pizza - called the Pineapple Express - features pineapple, speck, and pickled jalapeños. We say it all the time, but it’s especially true at Antico: You really can’t go wrong with any of them.

photo credit: Brett Keating

And if you’ve been on Instagram in the last year, you’ve probably seen Antico’s remarkable ice cream. It’s some of the best in town - in fact, it’s number two on our Ice Cream Power Rankings. Whether you get seasonal fruit flavors like plum, strawberry, or mango, or their classic honeycomb, you’re in for custard-y, salty, hand-spun ice cream that will change the way you evaluate all the other frozen desserts in your life.

On their own, either Antico’s pizza or ice cream would be good enough to warrant a drive across town. But together, they make for one of LA’s best takeout duos. Here’s everything you need to order.

What to Order

photo credit: Brett Keating

Dinner For Four - Whether we’re alone, with our S.O., or in a small group, this is our move at Antico every time - it involves a full-size pizza, a Caesar salad, a pint of ice cream, and a bottle of wine for $75. And unlike some other places, when they say this can feed four, they really mean it.

photo credit: Antico

Pineapple Express Pizza - The focaccia was one of our favorite things about Antico pre-COVID, so it makes sense that they’ve turned their incredible house-baked bread into pizzas. You’ll be happy with whichever one you get, but our favorite is - deep breath as we wait to be shouted at from every corner of the internet - the Pineapple Express. The spicy pickled jalapeños, greasy, salty speck, and, yes, pineapple, balance out the pie really well.

photo credit: Brett Keating

Honeycomb Ice Cream - We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again… this might be the best ice cream in Los Angeles. The flavors change seasonally, but the sweet and tart plum, the almond-forward horchata, and the classic, salty and sweet honeycomb are all damn near perfect.

Caesar Salad - We wish there were croutons instead of breadcrumbs, but the dressing here is still a winner. It’s nearly as thick as mayonnaise, well-balanced, a bit fishy from the anchovies (just how we like it), and perfect on the crunchy romaine.