Colapasta
1241 Fifth St, Ste 102
Santa Monica, CA 90401
https://colapasta.restaurant
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Only been to La Botte and Maccheroni Republic once each, but loved them. We’ve got a wealth of amazing pasta in SaMo now…
I’ve been to Colapasta three or four times now. I love the Gramigna Bolognese. The Pesto I find enjoyable but a bit unusual. The casunziei, the house speciality, are great, but too small of a portion size. Breasola appetizer is tasty but the burrata is not of the light fluffy creamy variety that reigns supreme–it had a bit more mass. Sweet corn summer soup is very tasty.
Restaurant is small and not particularly attractive, but I go for the pasta, not the ambiance. Best pasta in SaMo for the value, and also some of the best pasta period. Highly recommend.
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Tried it tonight and loved it. Had the house salad, lasagna, casunziei, and ragu.
Greens in the house salad are wonderful (and very, VERY woodsy). Dressing isn’t anything interesting, and I wouldn’t have minded if the dressing had been more acidic.
Misfocused while trying to take a shot of the lasagna. Gorgeous layers, and it was rich w/o being overwhelmingly so. If you’re looking for melty cheese, look elsewhere. @SpockSpork liked how the pasta sheets still had some bite.
I actually thought the casunziei was a decent size b/c I ate it very slowly since I was savoring each bite. Hard to go wrong w/ brown butter. Not really any detectable beet flavor.
@SpockSpork wanted a third dish. I was satiated after 2 and overly full about an hr after finishing the third… The ragu (presumably the same used in the lasagna) tastes very similar to the ragu at Uovo, but the texture is different (silky smooth). I’ve never had gramigna before and am not quite sure how it differs from, say, a bucatini. Perfectly al dente.
BTW, does anyone know what this vegetable is? I don’t know if I’ve ever had it b/f.
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Went for the first time last night and it is LEGIT. The casunziei were one of the best things I’ve had all year. I think it’s better (and certainly more low-key) than Uovo, and I like Uovo.
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Do they have their beer and wine license yet? Been taking an awfully long time, much longer than is typical. Beer & wine licenses are generally non-discretionary (i.e., meet requirements, pay, wait a little, and then you get one). I wonder if they screwed something up with the application.
Yes.
Yes they do have beer and wine now, though I was there with a sober friend so didn’t really check the list.
I read the Times review of this place and the casunziei sounded interesting so I told my wife who was going to Italy, and planning on going to Le Dolomiti, about the dish and that she had to try it,
Now, she claims I never told her it was beet pasta (she hates beets), I did, but she rarely listens to anything I say LOL, but she got them. And she loved them anyway.
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Went again tonight. Everything was great again, and corkage is $10. I can eat the casunziei every day.
Got takeout today and got a couple of the old standbys (casunziei and graminga bolognese–wife doesn’t eat pork so she loves that their bolognese is all beef) as well as a squid ink pasta with plenty of crab meat and loved it all.
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This place was top of my to-try list pre-COVID but never made it (pre- or intra-)
It’s terrific. Don’t miss it.
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Some of the pasta holds up decently to take out (not the lasagna, though, which is a shame). I think it’s well worth trying and love the place.
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Finally made it. Delightful little place.
Sweet Corn Soup and the Farmer’s Salad were a light, terrific way to prepare for the delicious pastas. Thought the soup was absolutely delicious and the salad was full of really “spicy” greens - really liked the understated dressing because the greens had so much flavor.
We got two pastas and enjoyed both, but preferred the Calamarata to the Maloreddus (which we thought had a touch too much saffron)
– Calamarata al Pomodoro, Stracciatella e Origano / Napoli (Calamarata Pasta with Traditional Tomato Sauce, Stracciatella Cheese and Oregano)
– Malloreddus alla Campidanese/ Sardegna (Semolina gnocco shaped pasta, sweet-and-sour pork sausage, tomato and saffron sauce, Broncha cheese)
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For those who don’t have to eat at 5 pm, there can be a bit of a line in the evenings. We went for lunch today (they’re open Friday and Saturday for lunch) and breezed in at noon. Same menu.
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