Words by Christopher Ferguson, RA | Photos by Baptiste Despois
A Recipe for Success
Five years in, Love Supreme Pizza Bar has settled into a cozier, more social rhythm on Manor Road.
By dusk, Love Supreme has found a comfortable hum. Conversation carries between the new banquettes, complemented by the sounds of upbeat jazz and lighting dim enough to make the large dining room feel quite intimate.
That balance has come gradually. The restaurant opened at the tail end of the pandemic, when owners and brothers Ryan and Wade McElroy brought Russell Victorioso and Paulina Cline to Austin from Los Angeles. Today, Russell leads the kitchen while Paulina, his wife and the general manager, oversees the front of house.
Originally bright and built around counter service, darker paint and a gradual transition to full service have evolved the restaurant’s aesthetic. “Since we opened, the goal has always been to eventually get to where we are today,” Paulina says with a grin. “It took a good five years.”
– Paula Cline, General Manager
“Even if it’s for a quick drink or bite, seeing our community of regulars bloom is what keeps us going and motivated.”
Russell’s menu carries some history of its own. Raised in New York, and later living in Ohio and Los Angeles, he picked up regional influences along the way. He describes Love Supreme’s pizza as “an amalgamation of all the different kinds of pizza we like to eat,” with New York, Neapolitan, and Midwestern tavern-style traditions all finding a place.
Some of the most memorable plates come from elsewhere on the menu. Russell traces the wings to late nights in Los Angeles’s Koreatown, where he frequented a Korean wing spots after his shifts. Love Supreme’s version is fried twice: “The first fry locks in the crust, and then the second fry fills in the juiciness and really brings home that crunch.”
The Antipasta has become another favorite, with marinated artichokes, pepperoncini and sun-dried tomatoes dressed in vinaigrette over what Russell calls a “really silky basil puree,” finished with basil oil steeped with garlic and crushed red pepper. Served with grilled sourdough, the heat sits within the basil, garlic and brine rather than lingering after them.
Out front, Paulina is equally deliberate about the culture surrounding the food, prioritizing staff tenure, advancement, and relationships between servers and regulars. “People come for community, conversation, and we have this beautiful vessel to do it in,” she says. “Hospitality begins with making people feel fed, seen, heard, and welcomed, and that starts with the staff.”
Paulina sees that culture in regulars who come in to see particular servers, including some she’s only meeting for the first time. It’s a small measure of how much has changed in five years. When the lights dim and the room fills up, she says, “It gets a bit cozy. It makes you want to stay.”
Did you know? Love Supreme serves a thin, square-cut tavern-style pizza every Tuesday, inspired by Russell’s college years in Ohio.
Stay tuned! The team is developing a new pasta-forward concept that Russell describes as “Texas meets Italian.”
Contact:
(512) 296-2655
lovesupremepizzabar.com
info@lovesupremepizzabar.com
@lovesupremepizzabar
