Jackson Kalb—the chef and owner of Italian hotspot Ospi Brentwood—is much more than just a local restaurateur. He is a hometown homegrown talent, whose roots in the area run deep. A native of Pacific Palisades, where his parents still reside today, Kalb attended Brentwood School for middle and high school, and it is there that his love of cooking began.
“At age 11, I decided that I wanted to start a catering business,” Kalb explains. “I had no family ties to the business and my parents were not good home cooks. There was just something in me that was drawn to cooking.”
The ambitious adolescent began catering for family friends for the cost of the food plus $30 an event. At one such party, a guest asked Kalb if he wanted to meet a real chef. That chef just happened to be Josiah Citrin, and the restaurant was Michelin-starred French eatery Mélisse. “Somehow, Josiah thought I was going to work there for the day,” Kalb recalls of their meeting. “I believe his very first words to me were, ‘Where are your pants?!’ because I was wearing shorts. In a sweaty panic, I ran back to my mom begging her to drive us home to get some pants.”
Citrin took Kalb under his wing, and Kalb ended up apprenticing at the restaurant until he graduated from high school. It was a first-rate education that has set the tone for his entire career. “Josiah is one of the kindest, strong-hearted men I’ve ever met,” Kalb says of his mentor. “He continues to be a second father figure to me to this day.”
Kalb went on to study at Cornell University’s famed School of Hotel Administration, worked at Grant Achatz’s Alinea and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, and became a culinary manager for the Hillstone Restaurant Group. Finally, after meeting his wife, Melissa, and a brief interlude in Italy, where he developed his love of Italian cuisine, Kalb returned home to Los Angeles. In 2017, he became executive chef at Bottlefish in Brentwood Gardens—the very space where Ospi now resides.
“For many reasons, which I won’t get into, it wasn’t the best experience,” Kalb says. The silver lining is that this led Kalb and his wife to open their own Italian restaurant, Jame, in a tiny strip mall space in El Segundo (the couple lives there with their two children). The neighborhood spot—known for hand-rolled pastas and local, market-driven ingredients—became an instant success, and Kalb’s restaurant empire was born.
Today, Kalb’s Memento Mori Hospitality group oversees an impressive portfolio that includes Jame and Ospi Venice, which opened during the pandemic and quickly gained a cult following for its delicious super thin and crispy Romana Tonda-style pizza. He also launched hotspots Jemma Hollywood and Jemma Pizzeria in the Palisades and achieved some fame as a contestant on Top Chef in 2022. And then of course, there is Ospi here in Brentwood.
Kalb had wanted to open a restaurant in the area, and when the Bottlefish space became available, he saw it as a full circle moment. “Leaving the space about six years earlier as a failed chef and returning as a restaurant owner after experiencing some business success, was and still is, a surreal experience,” he says.
In May 2023, Kalb opened Jemma di Mare, a seafood-centric Italian eatery. The restaurant was embraced by the Brentwood community, but Kalb began to realize that there was a deeper desire among patrons for a more authentic, home-style Italian dining experience. “I felt a yearning to return to the essence of my culinary journey,” Kalb says. “To bring my most beloved creations into the forefront.”
In late August, Jemma di Mare quietly closed and reemerged as Ospi. The renowned, painstakingly handmade pastas remain (try the spicy rigatoni and linguine vongole), however, Kalb is finally serving up his famous Ospi pizza. “The dough took years to develop,” the chef says of the secret to his perfectly crisp and light creations. “We like to joke that our pizza is low carb because it’s about half the weight of a normal pizza dough.” Standouts include Capione—made of soppressata, honey and chili—and Hapa, a tongue-and-cheek take on Hawaiian-style pizza featuring pepperoni, roasted pineapple and jalapeno. Rounding out the menu are healthy choices such as kale salad and dry-aged branzino, as well as mouthwatering butter chicken and hand-pulled mozzarella prepared in a number of ways, from simple olive oil and salt to seasonal options paired with local ingredients. Children’s meals are readily available, and a spritz cart makes the rounds during brunch. “Ospi is the exact vibe I look for in a restaurant,” Kalb explains. “Really excellent food and service without any fussiness. We like to say that it should feel like your favorite dinner party, and I hope all guests experience the same joy when they dine.” So, what are you waiting for? Book a reservation now.
Ospi Brentwood, 11677 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 200; 424-317-0007; ospi.com
At age 11, I decided that I wanted to start a catering business. There was just something in me that was drawn to cooking.
Ospi is the exact vibe I look for in a restaurant.