Another Italian Contender Stirs Up the Westside’s Pasta Scene Next Week

While every neighborhood, and just about every restaurant, has been struggling under the current strain of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it seems that Venice has emerged as a continually-hot place to not only dine, but to open new restaurants. The next newcomer is Forma, opening in the former Chaya space at the corner of Main and Navy on Monday.

Westsiders will know Forma as a cheese and pasta-focused Italian destination, with a popular original location on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. The five-year-old restaurant loves to make cacio e pepe out of a scooped-out wheel of pecorino, plus dishes like wild boar ragout and grilled Spanish octopus. There are standalone cheese and charcuterie boards to start, and lots of wine and cocktails of course.

Given the lack of indoor dining at the moment around Los Angeles County, this new Venice Forma will focus on all things al fresco, with a massive front patio that comprises almost half of all the available seating inside the 5,000-square-foot space. Roll up doors add even more airflow, meaning the cheese bar inside will still be in full view of the dining public.

The new Forma opens for service on Monday night at 110 Navy Street, keeping evening hours only to start from 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily. The restaurant joins other Venice newcomers including the similarly pasta-focused Ospi down the street on Pacific Avenue, and Vartan Abgaryan’s new Post Script parking lot restaurant over on Abbot Kinney.

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Andrea D’Agosto

Andrea D’Agosto

Andrea D’Agosto

Andrea D’Agosto