Francesco Bacco wants you to fall in love with his pizza, and while the name suggests a brief dalliance, he says once you taste it, you’ll be in a long term relationship with his pies.
“We wanted to get it like, kind of more playful,” he said of his new restaurant Pizza Fling which is a double entendre referencing the famously twirled nature of pizza dough. “But, you know, pizza love, pizza relationship, or like, something that was that fun, and that gives you that feeling that you want to come back because it’s a little secret.”
Bacco and his wife Serena Fanti recently opened Pizza Fling in a small space just 27 steps from their Berkeley Street home. The venture emerged after Bacco was unable to work at his regular restaurant job for two months when the January fires affected his workplace, while his wife’s nannying position in the Palisades was disrupted when the family she worked for lost their home.
“We were always home. We saw this little spot in this little food gallery empty, and we kept thinking, why don’t we open a pizza place?” Bacco said. “We’ve got to find a way that we don’t have to rely on anybody else.”
Bacco, originally from near Bologna in northern Italy, moved to Los Angeles eight years ago with Fanti. His background spans from semi-professional basketball in Italy to restaurant management, where he oversaw four pizza establishments in a 20-mile radius around his hometown. In Santa Monica, he worked at Locanda Portofino on 11th and Montana and currently works at Giorgio Baldi on West Channel and Pacific Coast Highway.
The couple’s restaurant experience proved crucial in their decision to open Pizza Fling. Bacco’s wife previously managed restaurants in Los Angeles, giving them both hospitality industry knowledge.
A key advantage came through family connections. Bacco’s father-in-law works in logistics, enabling them to import fresh ingredients directly from Italy and store them in a warehouse near Los Angeles International Airport. The couple retrieves supplies multiple times weekly providing them with several secret ingredients including a special blend of Italian flour and Italian spicy salami.
Pizza Fling differentiates itself through two distinct crust styles uncommon in the Los Angeles market. The thin crust follows Roman style, while the thick crust is described as airy and crunchy rather than wet like traditional Neapolitan pizza.
Both crusts use exclusively Italian flour blends designed for digestibility. The thin crust combines five different flours creating what Bacco calls a “very low gluten network,” making it suitable for gluten-intolerant customers, though not for those with celiac disease.
“I’ve been intolerant to gluten for a long time,” Bacco explained. “This recipe is actually perfect, because I could have this pizza many times, and I never felt bad.”
The beverage selection features Italian options alongside American staples, including Italian lemonade, Chinotto (a bitter cola alternative), Gazzosa (a less-sweet Sprite alternative), and blood orange soda instead of Fanta. The restaurant serves light mineral water from northern Rome.
Pizza Fling’s branding deliberately breaks from traditional pizza restaurant color schemes. Rather than the typical red, green and white palette, the restaurant uses pink and green colors throughout its packaging and décor, including distinctive pink pizza boxes.
“We wanted to bring a cool and fun branding to something that is very Italian based,” Bacco said.
The neighborhood has responded positively to the new establishment, according to Bacco, who said residents were excited to have something new in their community. Local business owners, including friends at nearby establishments, have been particularly supportive.
Pizza Fling is located at 3032 Wilshire Blvd in the same space as several other restaurant concepts. For more information visit, https://pizzafling.com.
editor@smdp.com