Colapasta Restaurant — Restaurant in Santa Monica

DREAM PASTA ! My wife and I are big Italian food fans....we know our pizza and we know our pasta. On Friday we were up in Santa Monica overnight to take in a concert at the El Rey Theatre in LA. But beforehand we intended to have dinner somewhere in Santa Monica. GREAT FIND ! My wife found this Italian restaurant online with fabulous reviews...the house made pasta sounded perfect. BUT ! They didn't take reservations so we decided to turn up close to opening time at 5pm. BONUS ! The Ambrose Hotel on 20th St where we always stay when in Santa Monica provided a Tesla house car with a driver to bring us here...and pick us up. A friendly hostess named Bianca welcomed us warmly when we turned up and said she would be our server. When we entered the restaurant I nodded at a guy wearing a facial mask behind the counter...turns out he was Stefano the owner / chef. We were seated at a table with a direct view of Stefano who was working away behind the counter. Having recently returned from a 2 week vacation in New York where there is no shortage of fine Italian restaurants we were hoping this eatery would be up to scratch. AND ! After our first trip to Italy late last year we were looking at pasta & pizza in a whole new way. The restaurant was not big but it had a certain coziness which we liked. There was also an outdoor patio. ALL NEW ! For our first dining experience here we leaned on our sweet server Bianca a bit to help us with our selections. FIRST UP ! I asked Bianca about their beer offerings....and heard a few imported varieties I was not familiar with. After showing me a couple of different bottled beers I chose a Schonramer Pils...a German beer which turned out to be very enjoyable. Bianca also brought us glasses of cold water. And then we ordered 1 x Jerusalem Artichoke Soup, 1 x Bresaola Arugula e Burrata ( thinly-sliced aged beef, arugula and burrata ) for our starters. MAINS ! My wife couldn't resist the Lasagna Classica al Ragu / Emilia ( classic beef ragu lasagna )...a lover of a great lasagna. Now there were some very interesting items on the menu...I asked Bianca for something a bit spicy and her suggestion was Colonne di Pompeii / Vesuvio ( extra long fusilli pasta, arrabbiata - spicy tomato sauce ) and add the Burrata. We asked about the house made Focaccia which is not officially on the menu...we will have it. While we were ordering our dinner I couldn't help notice how quickly the restaurant filled up inside....remember no reservations so the regulars know to arrive early. FAST SERVICE ! Our starters arrived faster than a speeding train thanks to Andrew the happy food runner...and they looked amazing. My wife loved her artichoke soup and I had to agree it tasted very flavorsome. My thinly-sliced aged beef, very fresh arugula and burrata was a tastebud masterpiece. It was nice that they gave us enough time to enjoy our starters. I happened to look at the meals our next door diners were enjoying and yes....the guy was lapping up the Colonne di Pompeii / Vesuvio with Burrata ( what I had ordered ) and did it look good. I couldn't wait for mine to arrive. WHAM BAM ! Next minute Andrew delivered everything to our table at once....what a feast for hungry eyes ! My wife thought her delicious lasagna was up there with the very best. WOW ! On the other hand I was literally amazed at the sheer size of the extra long fusilli pasta....not to mention the delicious spicy tomato sauce. The creamy burrata took it into outer space ! We loved the crispy house made focaccia. So my wife and I agreed the house made pasta here was as good as it gets. Bianca had been checking in on us regularly without becoming a nuisance...the sign of a very good server. DESSERT ! As we said to Bianca when we first arrived..we want the total dinner experience. So a couple of Cortados, a Tiramisu and a Licorice Buddino will do us fine. Our cute little cortados arrived fast and tasted very invigorating. We totally enjoyed our house made desserts. Before leaving I had a nice chat with Stefano the owner / chef. YOU WILL...

AWARD WINNING RESTAURANT ! My wife and I pencilled in a return dinner visit here after our sensational first visit late last year. NOT A SIMPLE THING ! Not living anywhere near Santa Monica we had to plan ahead. ITALIAN VACATION ! What could be better than a fabulous Italian dinner in Southern California the day before we commenced our 2 week Italian vacation. GOOD IDEA ! Our plan was to fly out of LAX so we stayed overnight at our fav place...The Ambrose Hotel. A limo driver brought us and all our luggage from San Clemente to the hotel at around 3pm on Tuesday, March 18th. After freshening up and enjoying an ice cold Santa Monica Brew Works IPA it was time to head out to dinner. LUCKY US ! The Ambrose Hotel provides a Tesla house car with driver to take us to dinner and bring us back. NO RESERVATIONS ! We were dropped off a few minutes before 5pm...opening time and waited outside like everyone else for the doors to open. It is not a large restaurant and being highly regarded for its delectable hand made pasta....fills up fast after opening. We took our table at the same spot as our first visit....within view of Stefano the owner / chef hand crafting his famous pasta. And he looked quite pleased to see us again. A server named Ivette soon dropped by to take our dinner order. FIRST UP ! I asked Ivette about the bottled craft beer on offer. I settled on an Italian Baladin Nazionale Blonde Ale - 6.5% abv which turned out to be fine. For appetizers my wife chose the Zuppa di Granoturco ( sweet corn soup ) while I went for the same as on our first visit....Bresaola Arugula e Burrata ( thinly -sliced aged beef, arugula and burrata ). Within the blink of an eye the place was packed out and there was a line outside. PASTA ! We ordered 1 x Gramigna Bolognese / Emilia ( gramigna pasta with traditional beef ragu ) and 1 x Squid Ink Babette / Veneto ( squid ink bavette with fresh crab in a lightly spiced tomato sauce ). MEANTIME ! My wife totally enjoyed her delightful Sweet Corn Soup and my Bresaola Arugula e Burrata tasted fabulous ! Another server named Luisa ( Stefano's daughter ) brought out our pasta dishes. Everything tasted very good. DESSERT ! I asked Luisa for 2 Cortados and a Licorice Buddino for me. As we were leaving I had a nice chat with Stefano the owner / chef. ANOTHER EXCELLENT DINING...

Update - May 2025

I love the food here but was very unhappy with the service my boyfriend and I experienced. There is no reservation system so it’s first come, first serve. We placed our names and were told that the wait would be an hour, so we went for a walk. We came back after 40 minutes and apparently they already called our name, so they told us that we would be next. However, they ended up letting five parties ahead of us and we ultimately waited an hour and a half just to get a table. The hostess forgot my name so we were seated ultimately last. We then waited even longer to get service at the table, so we ended up ordering close to closing time, which wasn’t ideal for anyone involved.

Again, the food is delicious so I will give credit where it’s due, but I’d suggest to train the employees to have better communication and clarity with seating order.

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Quaint, authentic Italian restaurant just off Third St Promenade. Came here for lunch on a Monday with a coworker and got seated immediately. There’s indoor and outdoor seating and the service was quick to bring our menus. The menu itself is pretty limited as it’s focused on pastas. I liked that since it takes away the complexities of decision making. Prices ranged from $12-14. There’s a couple of antipastos but we just ordered the pastas. I got the calamarata and my coworker got the gnocchi. Both were excellent. Food came out in about 10-15 min and the server had the best Italian pronunciation of the dishes. We are outside and it felt like we were in an outdoor cafe in Europe. The plates looked small but the portions were surprisingly more filling than I thought. I loved the texture of the pasta. It’s handmade and you can tell it’s made with high quality ingredients. The sauce was evenly spread out and the cheese that was on it was so soft and light. The gnocchi was similarly quite delicious and tasted very fresh. They brought out the check quickly and brought the machine so you could pay at your table. They do accept credit card. Overall such a lovely quick lunch. I would come...