Long Beach's hottest new restaurant is an old-school pizza tavern - BERITAJA

Families, dates, solo diners and brew nerds are lining up about each time to acquisition Mooney’s Pizza Tavern, a caller Long Beach edifice that’s large connected nostalgia and Midwest comfort.

The pizzas travel ample and piping hot, location are vintage arcade games to play successful the waiting area, and for dessert, there’s house-made stiff custard.

“I grew up going to dine-in pizza places and loved it,” said proprietor Hal Mooney. “All of my family memories increasing up are going retired to eat. I’m not trying to beryllium thing different than what I ate increasing up and still emotion to this day. … [Mooney’s] is warm, and nostalgic to nary circumstantial era.”

Custom stained-glass lanterns astatine Mooney’s bent complete each booth.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

The Central Illinois autochthonal wanted to incorporated a number of tavern stalwarts, including squeakers — aliases fried food curds — imported from Wisconsin. He’s besides offering buttermilk-brined chickenhearted wings, four-meat meatballs, a classical cheeseburger, salads (which could beryllium ordered “family size”), a scope of house-made dips and dressings, and stiff custard successful 2 perpetually rotating flavors.

Mooney’s uses a operation of 5 flours for its pizzas, which travel successful 2 styles: the “classic round,” a California-style, fluffy-crust assortment disposable successful 12 and 18 inches; and the 14-inch cookware pizza, which arrives pinch a crispy furniture of food astatine the edges. Toppings see classical options specified arsenic pepperoni aliases supreme, aliases cheffier ingredients for illustration sausage and chard, eight-hour ragú, aliases the al pastor-inspired pastry slathered pinch pineapple sauce. Zinc and Pitfire seasoned Thomas McNamara is starring the kitchen.

As a cicerone and the laminitis of beer-tour institution LA Beer Hop, Mooney’s way overlapped pinch the pizza organization for years. But erstwhile he was hired to create the beverage paper for a pizza chain, he began learning the waste and acquisition and later put that knowledge to usage successful a section pizza pop-up called Crumb, which his friend still runs.

Mooney and his family moved to Long Beach during the pandemic and drove by their early edifice abstraction countless times. Eventually Mooney wondered: Could the long-vacant Huff’s diner flip to a tavern? He won the lease and group about building his dream — and first-ever — restaurant. He designed civilization stained-glass lamps that spell retired the restaurant’s sanction successful cursive. He turned the diner’s agelong room antagonistic into a bar, including seats that place the pizza oven and TV screens broadcasting unrecorded sports.

With 15 years successful the brew trade, Mooney offers 20 taps astatine the edifice and crafted a brew database that includes a rotation from his “bucket list,” a guideline to 100 beers he believes everyone should effort earlier they die. His tavern offers a passport for them, and erstwhile you’ve ordered 25 and 50, you person a prize astatine each benchmark; astatine 100, your sanction is printed connected a plaque. Meanwhile, Mooney’s vino database is afloat of biodynamic picks curated by consulting and lauded sommelier Ian Krupp of Anajak Thai Cuisine.

A pancetta-topped wedge salad, buttermilk-brined buffalo wings and “squeakers” food curds astatine Mooney’s.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

But Mooney besides needed the tavern to beryllium kid-friendly. Inspired by his 3- and 5-year-old kids, he installed 2 arcade cabinets that he originated from Button Mash; designed a smiling turtle mascot named Chef Pepp; and devised a look for caller lemonade, which is recovered connected about each array pinch children.

Mooney’s Pizza Tavern is besides serving intrigue: During construction, Mooney discovered an aged locked safe near down by erstwhile tenants. Since mid-April, he’s been raffling $5 tickets to triumph immoderate mightiness beryllium inside, and connected Sunday astatine 1 p.m., successful lieu of an charismatic ribbon-cutting ceremony, he and his squad will people the expansive opening by cracking the safe — pinch each proceeds from the raffle benefiting adjacent nonprofit Casa Youth Shelter. As of Wednesday, Mooney said he’s raised much than $10,000 for the charity.

If it’s empty, Mooney says, there’s ever pizza: The victor will person the balanced of a play proviso from the tavern. Mooney’s Pizza Tavern is unfastened regular from 4 to 10 p.m.; Sunday’s expansive opening marks the motorboat of its play hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

8105 E. Wardlow Rd., Long Beach, (562) 684-2220, mooneyspizza.com

Fried full snapper pinch chile-and-mandarinquat vinaigrette, mashed yuca and crockery astatine Chainsaw successful Melrose Hill.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Chainsaw

One of L.A.’s favourite nutrient pop-ups launched a brick-and-mortar cafe — and Chainsaw’s caller Melrose Hill outpost is already truthful celebrated that it’s expanding again this year. Chef-founder Karla Subero Pittol launched her meal bid of the aforesaid sanction retired of her Echo Park garage, wherever passim the pandemic she roasted full animals and served Venezuelan snacks specified arsenic arepas and empanadas and her celebrated icebox pies.

The antagonistic astatine Chainsaw successful Melrose Hill.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Subero Pittol — a Here’s Looking astatine You and Animal alumna — opened Chainsaw successful precocious 2025, primitively intended arsenic a abstraction for fans to find her celebrated desserts. But complete the past fewer months it’s go much of a Venezuelan cafe, wherever she showcased her practice first done thoroughfare foods for illustration those arepas and empanadas and past done much progressive dishes specified arsenic milanesas pinch tamarind barbecue sauce, lomo saltado pinch smoked herb and full fried fish.

“Venezuelans are coming successful in hordes,” she said. “I was like, ‘Where person you guys been my full life successful L.A.?’ I’ve ne'er known specified Venezuelan organization until I opened a Venezuelan restaurant.”

The java programme quickly expanded, too, pinch options specified arsenic the TikTok-viral flan-inspired cafe quesillo, of which they waste upward of 100 a time (a funny twist for Subero Pittol, who does not ain a TikTok account).

Now, pinch scant seating and lines down the block, Subero Pittol conscionable signed the lease connected the abstraction adjacent doorway and plans to grow pinch meal service, vino and brew later this year.

“On the different broadside is wherever I’ll decidedly fto my freak emblem fly,” she said. “I will do the nutrient that I don’t get to do astatine the cafe, fixed the daytime quality of it.”

Chainsaw is unfastened Thursday to Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

5022 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, chainsawla.com

Coucou’s paper riffs connected French fare pinch options specified arsenic the “haute dog,” a pork sausage pinch bulb marmalade, food fondue and pepperoncini.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Coucou Manhattan Beach

Playful bistro Coucou first opened successful Venice successful 2023 earlier expanding its oyster platters, steak frites and luxe basking dogs to West Hollywood the pursuing year. Now the edifice and barroom from the erstwhile Chez Tex owners is unfastened conscionable disconnected the Manhattan Beach pier pinch French-apéritif classics, zucchini beignets, one of the city’s champion burgers, gnocchi Parisienne, a fan-favorite soft-serve sundae, lobster spaghetti and different signatures from the Venice and West Hollywood locations. The newest Coucou opens 1 hr earlier than its predecessors and offers about 52 seats, pinch 10 astatine the barroom reserved for walk-ins. Coucou is unfastened successful Manhattan Beach Sunday to Thursday from 4 to 9:45 p.m. and connected Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10:45 p.m.

1131 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, 424-237-2024, coucou.la