restaurant review: forma in santa monica

A new restaurant recently opened in Santa Monica and a business colleague Mr. Sazy Rock met at a conference a while back invited us to check it out. I was very pleased with the invitation and to have eaten at Forma. Forma has received some press when it opened. But, it seems like it really should have received more as I will explain below.

The Scene

Located on Santa Monica's fancy shopping street - Montana Avenue - the restaurant was very busy on a Friday evening. Okay, it was packed. Inevitably, it was very buzzy. Diners were dressed nicely but jeans were completely acceptable. If you can, try and get a table close to the back of the restaurant. That's where staff finish the pasta and risotto in cheese wheels. I would have loved to just watch (and eat that) all day. 

Finishing a pasta order.

restaurant review: cassia in santa monica, california

When Chef Bryan Ng shutdown his downtown Los Angeles restaurant called, Spice Table, due to a subway extension, I was a bit sad. That restaurant had plenty of Singaporean / Malaysian / Vietnamese dishes on offer that I really enjoyed, and missed. Luckily, he decided to open in Santa Monica. The recently opened Cassia has some of the old menu items found at Spice Table and some brand new ones. 

The Scene

The Scene.

When Mr. Sazy Rock and I arrived around 7:30 pm and the place was packed. The big, open room also meant that it was loud. Luckily, older persons that we were, the host showed us to a table in the back room that had a wall, which shielded us from a lot of the noise. The tables were also arranged quite close together so we ended up making friends with a group seated next to our table. Beware about sharing confidences as your table neighbors will likely be able to hear you.

twilight concerts at santa monica pier - starting July 10th!

One of our favorite summer things to do is to bring a picnic to the Twilight Concerts at Santa Monica Pier.  This year the free Thursday night concerts will start on July 10th until September 11th, from 7-10 pm.

The lineup this year includes: