Chef Joshua Skenes just opened Lynx pizzeria in the Arts District. At conveyor-belt pizza prices, you get Michelin-caliber technique, but his last three LA restaurants closed within 18 months. Book now if you care about eating pizza engineered by a chef who once held three Michelin stars.
Skenes ran Saison in San Francisco, which began as a pop-up in 2009 and earned three Michelin stars. According to Eater correspondent Matthew Kang, a meal there ranks in his top five of all time. Now Skenes is back in Los Angeles with Lynx, located in the former Happies space in the Arts District.
Kang describes Lynx as part avant-garde art project, part new-school pizzeria, and part cocktail den. The pizzas are baked on a conveyor belt oven, the kind you'd see at Domino's, according to Skenes, who calls it one of the best ovens out there. The dough has a structure lighter than pan de cristal, the Spanish high-hydration loaf that shatters like glass.
One person can finish their own pie.
Lynx offers a Singapore chile crab pizza when available, which Kang calls an ingenious mashup. The raw white mushroom version dusted with Vacche Rosse Parmesan is another standout. According to Skenes, he's engineered a pizza dough that no one else really makes. Kang visited in late April and confirmed his experience with a return visit in early July, both times, Skenes's ability to reinvent familiar dishes in an indelible fashion came through.
The Skenes Pattern: Brilliance With an Expiration Date
Skenes opened Angler in Los Angeles in 2019. It quickly became one of Kang's favorite restaurants, the crispy Angler potato, the bleeding radicchio salad, roasted prawns, and soft serve topped with embered caramel remain core memories. But Angler closed a few years later, largely due to the pandemic and the restaurant's poor location on the ground floor of the Beverly Center. The San Francisco original remains open.
Skenes moved on to open Leopardo in Los Angeles in mid-2024, showcasing his take on neo-Neapolitan pizza baked in an oven that turned faster than a record player. The puffy-crusted pies were so impressive that Raphael Brion, then restaurant editor at Food and Wine, considered one of them among his best dishes of 2024. Kang went to Leopardo an inordinate number of times, and Eater considered it for an Eater Award. Leopardo closed in 2025.
In 2025, Skenes opened Happies Hand Made in the Arts District, initially oriented around a McDonald's cheeseburger-like burger, but miles better, according to Kang. Weeks later, the restaurant pivoted to chile-dusted chicken tenders and crisp waffles. Kang and many of Skenes's acolytes adored Happies. It closed without much warning after just a few months.
Skenes says both Leopardo and Happies were projects he did as favors for a friend, but Kang notes the explanation feels like there's something Skenes is unable to tell him. Still, Skenes says he's all in on Lynx, the first Los Angeles project that he feels confident attaching his name to.
That track record is the context for Lynx. Three LA restaurants in five years. All closed within 18 months. All critically acclaimed while they lasted. Kang hopes Lynx can leave a lasting mark on Los Angeles's dining scene, but given Skenes's track record in LA, he just wants it to stick around.
What Makes the Pizza Worth the Pilgrimage
The conveyor belt oven is the key. Skenes uses the same kind of oven you'd see at Domino's, which he calls one of the best ovens out there. The result is a pizza dough lighter than pan de cristal, the Spanish high-hydration loaf that shatters like glass. The structure is so light that one person can finish their own pie, which is rare for pizzas of this caliber.
The Singapore chile crab pizza, when available, is an ingenious mashup according to Kang. The raw white mushroom version dusted with snow-like Vacche Rosse Parmesan is another stroke of brilliance. Skenes says he's engineered a pizza dough that no one else really makes, and Kang agrees. The technique is Michelin-caliber, Skenes's ability to reinvent familiar dishes in an indelible fashion is on full display.
Lynx is located in the former Happies space in the Arts District. Kang describes it as an improved version of Leopardo. Skenes seems to love cats, the name Lynx follows Leopardo, but he regularly keeps his cute French bulldog in the dining room. The space feels like part avant-garde art project, part new-school pizzeria, and part cocktail den.
The Conveyor-Belt Oven That Changes Everything
The conveyor belt oven at Lynx is the same kind you'd see at Domino's. Skenes calls it one of the best ovens out there. The oven produces a pizza dough structure lighter than pan de cristal, the Spanish high-hydration loaf that shatters like glass. The result is a pie so light that one person can finish their own, which is unusual for pizzas of this technical caliber.
The oven at Leopardo turned faster than a record player, spitting out puffy-crusted pies. The conveyor belt oven at Lynx is a different approach, it produces a lighter, more delicate structure. The dough is engineered in a way that no one else really makes, according to Skenes. The technique is a departure from traditional neo-Neapolitan methods, which typically use wood-fired deck ovens.
The Singapore chile crab pizza and the raw white mushroom version with Vacche Rosse Parmesan showcase the oven's capabilities. The crust is light enough to let the toppings shine, but structured enough to hold up to the chile crab or the raw mushroom. The Vacche Rosse Parmesan is dusted like snow on the mushroom pizza, which Kang calls another stroke of brilliance.
Why Lynx Pizzeria Demands Your Attention Now
Skenes says Lynx is the first Los Angeles project that he feels confident attaching his name to. That's a shift from Leopardo and Happies, which he says were projects he did as favors for a friend. But the track record is the same, three LA restaurants in five years, all closed within 18 months. Kang hopes Lynx can leave a lasting mark on Los Angeles's dining scene, but given Skenes's track record in LA, he just wants it to stick around.
The pizza is worth the pilgrimage. Kang visited in late April and confirmed his experience with a return visit in early July. Both times, Skenes's ability to reinvent familiar dishes in an indelible fashion came through. The Singapore chile crab pizza is an ingenious mashup. The raw white mushroom version dusted with Vacche Rosse Parmesan is another stroke of brilliance. The dough is engineered in a way that no one else really makes, according to Skenes, and Kang agrees.
The Arts District location is the same space that housed Happies, which closed after just a few months. Lynx feels like an improved version of Leopardo, which closed in 2025. The conveyor belt oven is the same kind you'd see at Domino's, which Skenes calls one of the best ovens out there. The result is a pizza dough structure lighter than pan de cristal, the Spanish high-hydration loaf that shatters like glass.
Practical Details: How to Book Before It's Too Late
Lynx is located in the Arts District in the former Happies space. Kang describes it as part avant-garde art project, part new-school pizzeria, and part cocktail den. Skenes regularly keeps his cute French bulldog in the dining room. The space feels like an improved version of Leopardo.
The Singapore chile crab pizza is available when in stock. The raw white mushroom version dusted with Vacche Rosse Parmesan is a regular offering. The pizzas are light enough that one person can finish their own pie. The conveyor belt oven produces a dough structure lighter than pan de cristal, the Spanish high-hydration loaf that shatters like glass.
Skenes says he's all in on Lynx, the first Los Angeles project that he feels confident attaching his name to. But the track record is clear. Angler closed a few years after opening in 2019, largely due to the pandemic and the restaurant's poor location on the ground floor of the Beverly Center. Leopardo closed in 2025 after opening in mid-2024. Happies closed without much warning after just a few months in 2025. Kang hopes Lynx can leave a lasting mark on Los Angeles's dining scene, but given Skenes's track record in LA, he just wants it to stick around.
The Arts District is home to a growing number of high-caliber dining options. Lynx joins a competitive landscape where technical precision and ingredient sourcing matter. The Singapore chile crab pizza and the raw white mushroom version with Vacche Rosse Parmesan showcase Skenes's ability to reinvent familiar dishes in an indelible fashion. The conveyor belt oven is the key, the same kind you'd see at Domino's, which Skenes calls one of the best ovens out there.
Kang visited Lynx in late April and confirmed his experience with a return visit in early July. Both times, the pizza delivered Michelin-caliber technique at pizza prices. The dough is engineered in a way that no one else really makes, according to Skenes, and Kang agrees. The structure is lighter than pan de cristal, the Spanish high-hydration loaf that shatters like glass. One person can finish their own pie.
Lynx is the kind of opening that matters if you care about eating pizza engineered by a chef who once held three Michelin stars at Saison in San Francisco. The track record suggests a narrow window. Book now.
