Brian Bornemann’s new Santa Monica bar opens October 21 with five Negroni variations, handmade pasta and an Italian sensibility close to home. Start with a Negroni and fried cheese. Leave room for pasta. At Bar Fortuna, opening October 21 on Santa Monica’s Main Street, chef-owner Brian Bornemann has built a place that accommodates both the quick drink and the evening that keeps finding reasons to continue.
Just a block from his seafood restaurant Crudo e Nudo, the new cocktail and wine bar draws on the historic Italian bars Bornemann encountered while living and cooking abroad. Its long white marble counter offers the natural starting point: five variations on the Negroni, an amaro selection and a wine list connecting California and Italy.
The food gives the drinks some competition. Fried scamorza and zucchini carpaccio sit alongside handmade pastas and a changing butcher’s cut. According to the opening announcement, a whole lamb or pig is butchered in-house each week, supplying sauces and specials that allow the kitchen to work beyond a fixed roster of familiar cuts.
That approach makes the bar interesting as a dinner destination. A plate of pasta can become the center of the evening, while a few snacks allow a shorter visit without the ceremony of a full restaurant booking.
The current menu lists fried scamorza at $16 and zucchini carpaccio at $17. Pasta options include $24 paccheri with guanciale and tomato conserva and $39 lobster tagliolini, giving diners several routes between a modest order and a more substantial meal.
For Ocean Park, the opening adds another place to settle into the neighborhood after the beach crowds thin. The sensible first move is to book an evening table, order something bitter and something crisp, and let the kitchen make its case for staying.
For more information about the restaurant, visit barfortuna.com
Location: 2917 Main Street, Santa Monica
Hours: Wednesday–Thursday, 5–10 p.m.; Friday–Sunday, noon–10 p.m., with late bites and bar service until midnight. Reservations 5–9:30 p.m.; confirm opening-week hours when booking. À la carte pricing.
Photo credits: Photo courtesy of Bar Fortuna
