With each passing year, those cheesy Hallmark cards carry more and more weight. As it turns out, the simple things in life are what matter most: Sipping cocktails by a pool, getting too competitive at family game night, staying in bed a little longer on the weekends. Or maybe just eating some pizza and cake with friends. And if there's an ideal place to do that last one, it's Quarter Sheets.

The Echo Park pizza parlor really only does two things: pan-style pizza and dessert. And it executes both of them at an extremely high level in a warm, old-school space where you can hang out for hours. 

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Like many new LA restaurants, Quarter Sheets began as a pandemic-era pop-up offering takeout through Instagram. These days, you can find them at a permanent brick-and-mortar off Sunset Blvd. They still run a fierce takeout operation—as evidenced by the crowds waiting on the sidewalk who sell out pre-orders daily—but if you have the chance to dine in here, you should. Not only do you get access to a few dishes that aren’t available for takeout, you’ll also eat them in a charming, retro room that feels like a cross between a funky wine bar and a '90s-era pizza joint that you might’ve gone to after a soccer game. A rotating list of four to five natural wines doesn’t hurt the situation either.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Allegiances to different pizza styles run deep—you might prefer thin crust, Neapolitan, greasy NY slices, etc.—which is what makes arguing about which is the best one entertaining. But generally, there’s less ambiguity about whether a certain style is executed to perfection. At Quarter Sheets, you’ll find pan-style pizza in its peak form: a buttery, inch-high crust, and a spongy, focaccia-like interior that absorbs the flavors of the toppings. For customers who walk in to order, they also sell a Sicilian-style "corner slice," which comes out slightly thinner and with a crust so crisp, one time we bit into it and the table next to us looked over and said, “Wow, we heard that from here.” These are hefty pizzas, but the crust is so light and airy that taking a full one down with two to three friends won’t feel like a failed mission of testing your stomach capacity. And that’s a good thing, because there’s still dessert coming. 

However intense Quarter Sheets’ pizza fans are, its dessert lovers are equally passionate. And it’s not difficult to see why. While it’s a fool's errand to chase specific desserts here—menu specials change weekly—you can feel comforted that whatever list of treats is stapled up on the wall that day is going to be incredible. It could be a spongy princess cake, peach-blackberry slab pie, or citrusy ricotta cheesecake. Either way, as you and your friends fork through what hits your table, listening to an oldies playlist filled with the likes of Ruby Johnson and Buddy Knox and re-upping on orange wine, it’ll be hard to ignore the feeling of blissful simplicity. After all, a little Hallmark moment never hurt anyone.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Pepperoni

Quarter Sheets rotates pizza specials almost every week, but you can always depend on the pepperoni to hang around. The crust is thick and crunchy with a lusciously soft interior—it’s a pan-style masterpiece made even better by the crispy little cups of pepperoni on top. You can get it as an individual slice, but even when ordering for one, we usually go for a full pie. Leftover fridge pizza for the week? There are worse things.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Sicilian Corners

It might seem counterintuitive to call a slice of pizza that changes weekly one of the best in LA, but we’re doing it. And that’s because no matter what the toppings are—whether it’s burrata with hot peppers or barbecue chicken—the crispy, crunchy crust stays consistently perfect. Sicilian Corners are only available for dine-in/walk-ups, so if you ordered takeout, add one to your order when you arrive.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Butter Beans

This dish is only available when you dine-in, and that’s reason enough to park it inside for a few hours. It’s a simple salad—plump butter beans topped with feta, sungold tomatoes, celery, and Persian mint—full of things that taste like they were picked from the garden five minutes ago. It’s also a great complement to the many pizzas you’re going to order.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Dessert

If, god forbid, Quarter Sheets decided to stop selling pizza one day, we’d still come here weekly just for dessert. Specials change all the time, so don’t get too upset if your favorite cake suddenly isn’t around anymore. In our experience, the best dessert at Quarter Sheets is the one that’s on the menu that day (like this personal-sized citrus ricotta cheesecake on a graham cracker crust).