Restaurant: Obica Santa Monica
Location: 606 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 393-6633
Date: April 10, 2016
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Solid (modern) neighborhood Italian
Obica is a new casual addition to the Santa Monica downtown, replacing Hostaria del Piccolo, right next to the (also new) Inotheke. I went once to the Century City version with my Italian wine class and found it quite good.
I swear that when I went the Century City one was spelled Obika with a K and this one with a C. Go figure, it actually changed — I’m not going crazy.
The space is sleek and modern, avec bar.
And the hard surfaces + nice wood decor style.
Il menu.
Acciughe di Sciacca. Sciacca Anchovies and Sundried Tomatoes. Salty but good. Particularly with…
Burrata al Tartufo. With Black Truffle. Putting this and the anchovies together on bread was excellent.
Pici pomodoro. One of my favorite pasta shapes, little hand made twists.
Schiaffoni di Gragnano. Paccheri Pasta with tomato sauce. Basil. Mozzarella di Bufala.
Pappardelle al Ragu di Anatra e Arancia. Homemade rosemary pasta with Tuscan style duck ragu. Orange Zest. A nice interesting pasta.
The dessert menu.
Chocolate gelato.
Semifreddo al Croccante Salato. Salted Caramel Brittle, Zabaglione gelato. I love semifredo. Although the Zabaglione didn’t have that Masala/citrus flavor that I like.
Overall, Obica is a solid casual Italian and a nice edition. I have to try more menu items but it’s closer to what you’d get at a mid level place in Italy than all the Italian American places.