Locale - Italian Cruditè & Bar In Roma

I came for lunch and it was quiet when we first arrived. But by 2 o'clock, it was busy The olive oil bread was delicious, as was the branzino. They have a short wine list, but everything you could need.

Cute spot in Santa Monica that does have that “local” feel. Came here for an early dinner with my family and we had a great time. The meal was leisurely and relaxed. We ordered the charcuterie board to share for the apps and it had a nice mix from local farms alongside a salad. I had the brick chicken, which is apparently a restaurant favorite. My boyfriend really liked his bolognese pasta and my dad similarly enjoyed his cavatelli. Portions are reasonable and we ended the meal with a chocolate budino. I had a pumpkin spice latte which ended up just being a tea with a lot of milk. We sat outside and the vibes were very chill. Our waitress was friendly and a lot of families with young kids were also sitting on the patio.

As a long time customer of Local, I must admit this review is a bit biased. There is nothing quite like sitting at the bar in front of the wood fire, and watching the chef make you an olive oil flat bread, or your favorite pizza. Also quite possibly the best wine selection in the area. And if you are not feeling the fire today, there is a lovely patio out front, and a tasty array of pasta to choose from.

Great food and atmosphere, one of our local favorites. I would have given 5 stars. However, I recently ordered a Sprite to go for my son, and they charged $4.43 for a 12 ounce can. Ridiculous.

I loved it here! Didn’t have any expectations going in but service was excellent, and each menu item was so delicious and flavorful. Some portions maybe even too large lol. I swear the mussel dish came with like 25 mussels at least. The burrata and peaches came with the most delicious and soft sourdough which also paired well with the mussels and butter. Also loved the artichoke hearts. We got the mushroom pizza and tagliatelle, but were so full by then but it was great for leftovers the next day. We also got two desserts, an affogato and chocolate budino w/ mascarpone (which was like a chocolate pudding thing), not too sweet which I liked. I’ll definitely be back to try more things

Wonderful local restaurant, GREAT food & the atmosphere is just perfect. Service is always outstanding as well. We have yet to be disappointed with any dish, & consistently enjoy our dining experience. Great cocktails, mocktails & wine list too :). This local gem should be on your restaurant bucket list if you live anywhere on the westside, are visiting the westside- & especially if you live IN Santa Monica. You won’t be disappointed!

Great food and drinks! Fast and friendly service. The seafood is super fresh. Everything was well prepared. Awesome place!

Neighborhood gem! Everyone who works here is also very friendly. I love the ricotta cavatelli and chicken Milanese

Update: 7/27/2025. I am a local. I live 2-3 blocks from this restaurant. My wife and have been walking over and eating here for years since its inception. And yet, no one seems to know us, nor remember us. It's weird. Compared to other places that we frequent regularly, we often receive a warm smile upon our return, or even a "welcome back" or "good to see you again" by our servers and wait staff. We hoped LOCAL would be our local hangout. Nope. I realize now, after years, that we've never really felt welcomed. Not warm. Yet, we'd still come back time after time for our favorite dishes: But now they've changed this too. Frustrated, I've changed my ratings. They've changed my favorite mushroom truffle pizza (it came cold) and the mussels "lost its chili flakes bite" (plus super tiny tiny mussels this time.) At least the manager removed the mushroom pizza from our bill. That's good service. On top of this, one of the hostesses is not very friendly, depends which one you get. I always expect that a hostess should make you feel welcome. A warm smile and greeting. Nope. Our waitress was friendly, but new. Not my local favorite anymore. I'm hoping they'll improve. I was routing for Local to be my favorite local restaurant. ORIGINAL REVIEW: One of my favorites new restaurants on Ocean Park, only a few blocks away from my house. It's great to have such a nice restaurant within walking distance. Not only convenient but excellent food, cocktails and wines. One of my favorites is the mussels with sourdough bread. Great for sharing, but you must pay extra for the toasted sourdough bread which you must have to dip into the wonderful seafood broth (perfectly spiced and seasoned.) The second is the mushroom truffle pizza. Ghisallo, known for their pizza, is a block or 2 away, but i think Local's pizza is better. Better cheeses, less oily, crispier, thinner crust. The best IMO. Lastly, the 24 oz bone-in aged ribeye. This is a great dish to share. I love the chef's version of this classic dish. Again, other places can serve bone-in ribeye steak, but the smoky, grilled flavor is amazing. The only negative is that sometimes the ribeye may have a lot of fat. Sometimes, I'm cutting away 20% of the steak. I'll have to search back and find a picture of their ribeye and post it. Overall, as a local, I enjoy eating here and trying their different dishes. They're all pretty good. Coming out of the pandemic, they had the best outdoor patio seating arrangement: cozy, front patio and a large parking lot patio, all with ample patio heaters. I prefer the indoor seating but it can get really loud when busy. I also gave only 4-stars for service, because sometimes, they seem understaffed. The service staff are good and friendly, but can be overwhelmed during peak hours. Thus we eat early and leave early, often taking our leftovers and walking back home. It's great to take a nice walk after dinner.