Unconventional MOZARELLA BAR comes to Los Angeles

Who knew cheese could be juicy? The Obikà Mozzarella Bar in the Century City Westfield Mall is proving to new customers that juicy cheese can be pretty darn delicious despite the way it sounds.

Mozzarella di Bufala Experience – with the classic and affumicata Mozzarella di Bufala cheeses. - Photo courtesy of Wagstaff Worldwide, Inc.

The Mozzarella Bar opened Sept. 15, but it’s one of 13 restaurants in the international Obikà chain that boasts locations in Tokyo, New York and, of course, Italy.

Despite the fact that the Century City Obikà is located between a bookstore and a dress shop, it manages to create a comfortable and classy atmosphere.

Its modern design is inviting, with walls lined with wine bottles and a striking chalkboard displaying information about the restaurant’s signature mozzarella.

A few large communal tables create a family feel right away. The rest of the restaurant is set in tables for two or four, making it a great place for an interesting first date.

The long, sleek open bar processes most of the dishes — instead of the actual kitchen — and one can see the cheese floating in bowls of  water right upon walking into Obikà.

There weren’t more than two or three empty seats in the restaurant on the night of Sept. 18 but it didn’t feel crowded. Tables weren’t so close that you could eat your neighbor’s dinner — though neighboring tables were eager to see what everyone else  ordered.

Since Obikà opened recently, no one was a “regular” and no one had any set recommendations as far as what to order — not even the waiter, who, although friendly, was slow and generally uninformative.

Appetizers are simple and scarcely seen on tables. Salads, served in glass mixing bowls, were described as “a bunch of lettuce” according to the couple at the next table. Opting for cheese instead of  lettuce isn’t an incredibly difficult choice at a mozzarella bar anyway.

Obikà’s cunzato bread offerings remain a mystery. True carb-o-holics will revel in the special bread section on the menu, but if you’re expecting a bruschetta-like dish when ordering something bread-related, you’re at the wrong place.

Cunzato bread seemed a mystery to the employees at Obikà too, who said that it was “just like your grandmother would make” or “like cornbread but not corn, but it’s baked specially for us.”

Whatever cunzato bread is, it’s not very appealing. With the texture of a crumbly dry muffin soaked in something, even the tomato, olive, caper and cheese topping couldn’t save the bread. It leaves diners longing for the crunch of a baguette.

Main courses are largely vegetarian and of course involve cheese. Spinach and ricotta ravioli seemed like a sure bet but although the filling was rich and definitely delicious, an overly hard pasta killed the dish’s potential.

The true star is the Mozzarella di Buffala Campana, which is imported from Italy three times a week and has the status of denomination of protected origin. This means the European Union guarantees and protects its local production in the Campania region of Italy.

At Obikà, one can order the Mozzarella di Buffala Experience, a platter that lets you try a bit of everything, or a la carte. The mozzarella comes in three variations: classica (delicate), affumicata (smoked) or stracciatella di burrata (sweet and creamy). Sides and accompaniments include various types of cured meats and salamis, grilled vegetables and pestos. The meats balance nicely with smooth creamy cheeses and the vegetables fail to assert themselves, but the real flavor lies in the basil pesto, which is delicious enough to lick out of the bowl.

Then there is the juicy cheese. It’s soft, but not overly so, and has the distinctly sweet taste of mozzarella. It’s also chewy, moist and absolutely nothing like the hard mozzarella sold at the grocery store. Although the classica is definitely the way to go for those less adventurous, the sweet and creamy is very delicate, to the point of liquidity, and does not overwhelm the pallet.  Smoked cheeses have a decidedly more pungent flavor, which might be too strong for a person who isn’t a cheese connoisseur. Most customers preferred the classica for its simply great taste.

The cheese even comes in rolls, with different types of meats or lettuce between thin layers. A smoked wild Alaskan salmon and arugula mozzarella roll was the favorite of the night with the smoky deep flavored fish complimenting the tangy, pure cheese perfectly.

Even though the service was slow and it seemed all of the employees in the restaurant hadn’t quite figured it out yet, the bread was mediocre, and the entrée left a bit to be desired, the mozzarella is worth a return trip if nothing else. Would someone crave Obikà? It’s hard to say. But that juicy cheese was so darn good.