The Biz Beat: La Pizza Spot in Campbell has deliciously playful cuisine

There’s something incongruous about seeing the faces of Cantinflas and El Chavo emblazoned on a food truck parked behind the Italian-themed La Pizza Spot in Campbell. But it offers a hint at the origin story of the newly opened restaurant.

Brothers Victor and Alex Villa landed their first restaurant jobs at the same location, back when it was Mama Mia’s. It’s also where Victor took Liliana Villa, La Pizza Spot’s manager and Victor’s wife, on their first date 15 years ago.

“This place is very close to my heart,” Liliana told San José Spotlight. “He asked me out for dinner, and I agreed. We sat at a back table, and we had calamari, which I had never had before in my life. All of the people working with him came over to tell me he was the coolest guy there.”

When owner Frank Leamy decided to sell Mama Mia’s last year, he reached out to the Villas to see if they were interested in taking over the location. Wanting to be sure the building would be cared for, he told them, “Who better to sell it to than someone who got their start with me here?”

The Villas had the built-in advantage of a turnkey operation, along with a wealth of high-end restaurant experience working at places like Andrew Welsh’s ASA restaurant in Los Gatos and The Basin in Saratoga.

“We credit (Andrew Welsh) for almost everything that we know,” Liliana said. “With him, respect for food mattered more than anything. You want to know where the produce is coming from; how the animals are fed.”

It took about five months to make the transition from old to new — freshening the decor, installing a point-of-sale system to replace the old-fashioned ticket carousel and, most importantly, bringing in chef Genaro Mendez, who was introduced by a mutual friend, to help design the menu. La Pizza Spot opened April 5.

The challenge was to create offerings that would appeal to customers accustomed to standard Italian dishes, while still putting their own spin on the dishes.

“We didn’t want to be traditional, because none of us are Italian,” Mendez told San José Spotlight. “We wanted something that was more on the playful side, like our Rosa Bread Bowl, which is one of our top sellers and kind of a social media thing.”

There are, in fact, two bread bowls — the Pesto and the Rosa — made with the same dough used in the pizzas. Filled with house-made gnocchi and oven-roasted tomatoes drowning in a bountiful amount of sauce, either basil pesto or creamy marinara, then topped with mozzarella and parmesan, it is hardy, bountiful and irresistible.

“At heart, it’s comfort food,” Liliana said. “What makes it great is that it’s the same concept as clam chowder bowls — you can pull apart the bread and dip it in the sauce. Everyone orders it, but no one can ever finish it because it’s huge, so it’s great to share.”

The divergence from standard Italian fare is also apparent in the appetizers, featuring dishes like the Crispy Shrimp Tempura, served with cilantro-lime mojo and a Calabrian sweet chili sauce, or the butter clams featuring nduja sausage, lemon butter and Fresno chilis.

For a ready-made slider that is enough for lunch, combine the House Meatball, a tender 7 ounces of beef and pancetta in a pool of marinara, with the fluffy and savory Rosemary Focaccia Muffin, served with a mix of Tuscan balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil and chili flakes.

Of course, the pizzas are the star of the show. Mendez said it took 18 tries to find the right recipe that would allow him to use imported Italian flour in the restaurant’s 50-year-old Roto-Flex oven.

“Those things are designed for Pizza Huts,” he said. “I haven’t seen one since I first started cooking. I take pride in that recipe because it was a real headache to find the right blend of two different kinds of flour.”

The results come as close as you can get to wood-fired, particularly in Mendez’s signature Spicy Pantalones Pizza topped with pepperoni, house-made fennel sausage, Calabrian chili and fresh jalapeños.

There’s also La Pizza Spot’s take on lasagna, a 15-layer masterpiece of bechamel and beef bolognese called “The Millionaire,” which Mendez said was a team collaboration.

“We were playing around with ingredients we already had,” he said. “We bake it, let it cool, cut it into bricks, sear it in a cast iron pan and then throw it back into the oven before we dress it. It’s a nice little dish that everybody got behind.”

Handwritten notes from customers, framed in the restrooms, attest to the immediate acceptance of La Pizza Spot by former Mama Mia’s customers and a host of people still discovering the place. A good part of that, Liliana said, is knowing customers’ tastes and providing them with good service.

“You have to know who’s coming to support you,” Liliana told San José Spotlight. “They come in hoping that you make their day better. Even if it’s just with a plate of food, if you are able to make them feel taken care of for just that minute, I think you won.”

Contact Robert Eliason at [email protected].

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at [email protected].