Zach Pollack

Cosa Buona - Los Angeles, CA

An L.A. native, Pollack’s culinary curiosity began 6,000 miles away in Florence, Italy while studying abroad for a degree in architecture from Brown University. Pollack credits the Florentine central market for igniting a passion for food so profound, it deflected his career trajectory straight into the kitchen. He returned home to work for chef Neal Fraser at GRACE, a temple of New American cuisine. Though Grace’s globally inspired menu and French technique intrigued Pollack, they also confirmed for him that his deepest culinary ambitions lay in Italian cuisine specifically.

Pollack’s newfound focus brought him back to Italy where he landed jobs and apprenticeships ranging from Michelin-starred ristoranti to a diminutive salumeria in Umbria and a pig farm in rural Sardegna. After two years working and eating throughout Italy, Pollack returned to L.A. to work with chef David Myers at the venerable Sona restaurant, where he was both challenged and inspired by the avant-garde menu and Myers’ precision and clean style of cooking.

In 2011, Pollack partnered with chef Steve Samson to open Sotto, focusing on the regional cuisines of Southern Italy. In 2014, he struck out on his own to open Alimento in Silver Lake, which he followed up with his pizzeria concept, Cosa Buona, in 2017. Pollack is currently working on his most ambitious project yet, opening in Santa Monica at the end of the year.

Pollack has been honored as a ‘Rising Star’ by StarChefs, a ‘30 Under 30’ by Forbes, and a James Beard nominee. His restaurants have been recognized on lists including GQ’s ‘25 Most Outstanding Restaurants’, Esquire’s ‘Best Restaurants in America’, #1 on LA Magazine’s ‘Best New Restaurants’, and Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best, and have been featured in numerous periodicals including Food+Wine, the Wall Street Journal, Bon Appétit, and the New York Times.