Forma Restaurant & Cheese Bar

Loved the ambience of this restaurant. Was much nicer and more modern than I had been expecting. Didn’t make a reservation but found seating at the bar easily. Sat in front of the woman who prepares the cheese plates who gave us good recommendations on a couple of different cheese options to try. They have a large selection of cheeses it was hard to just choose a couple! Will have to go back to try some others. I ordered the cacio e Pepe that was tossed in the cheese wheel, still wished it had some more cheese or some sort of sauce. I actually preferred this dish as a leftover than in the restaurant. Do not order this dish if you are not a fan of pepper!

Forma is great. Have been here twice, took my girlfriend here for some wine and cheese before we headed to dinner at tar and roses. Great selection of both wine and cheese, very helpful wait staff. After seeing everyone’s food coming out I had to come back, everything looked fantastic. We came back a couple weeks later. I got the tortellini, was best pasta dish I’ve ever had. I don’t remember what my girlfriend got but she stole half my plate because it was so good. Waiter was awesome again, helped us pick some cheeses and a nice bottle of wine to go with food. Bill wasn’t bad either, think total came to about $ 125 after tax. Very reasonable for the experience and delicious food. Will definitely come back.

Unbelievable Italian food
Everything super fresh made on demand
Even the cheese for your pizza carved right before they cook it ridiculous
Top Italian restaurant by far
Extremely intimate atmosphere great for a date night and amazing food

I used to think that a place like this can only be found in Europe, I am so glad that Forma restaurant brought it here. How do I describe this place. It’s simple but elegant, nice and quiet. Good service and best of all is the food. I ordered the Turtellini, it was so good, the texture of the cheese is so smooth, the combination of the mushroom, the sauce and the pasta itself is to die for. My friend ordered Fetucine Bolognese and it was equally as good as the Turtellini. I highly recommend this place.

I love the food and service here and I am definitely coming back again soon!
We ordered the spaghetti carbonara, filet of sole, clam pasta, mozzarella knots and asparagus. Everything tastes perfect, except the spaghetti carbonara may be just a little bit too salty.
The mozzarella knots come with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and roasted zucchini. The zucchini makes the dish extra flavorful! The asparagus is boiled very well, and is served with Italian dressing.
Filet of sole is my favorite entrée. The fish is lightly fried with break crusts covering it, and tastes very tender and fresh.
They have valet parking in the front for 6 or 8 dollars (can’t remember exactly) but there are a plenty of street parking spots nearby. This place can get a little bit crowded after 7 so reserve your table if you can!

I thought I was a huge cheese fan.
Turned out I just liked your typical parmesan, Mozzarella, pepper jack wombo combo. I’m an average guy, what can I say?
I’m not going to pretend that I’m some cheese connoisseur and relish the finer details of the cheese. This place was just another restaurant that needed to be tried for me. Although a fan of the ambiance and location, the food in my opinion, was just not that impressive.
The cured pork cheeks in the spaghetti carbonara were too salty and it single-​handedly offset the whole dish. I personally like my guanciale a little more subtle. The tortellini, roasted cauliflower and bread were okay and tasted typical.
My personal favorite was the filet mignon tartare. Piled with a paper-​thin slices of parmigiano, the avocado and chile peppers with the combination of raw beef was greatly refreshing. Big thumbs up for that dish.
We had two servers. The last one that attended us was excellent. The first one was… somewhat indifferent.
When the pasta is tossed around into the cheese wheel, it is done in the back of the restaurant. So if you want to get a better look or squirming to take a picture, you have to make your journey to the table display. It’s the only place in the restaurant that has bright lighting so it conveys a divine effect like the ascension to the high cheese heavens. Just this time, I didn’t get picked by the cheese gods.

This place is perfect if you’re looking for a typical Santa Monica Montana vibe with small plates and a stuck up atmosphere. Enjoy the cheese… nothing impressed me here. We finished our dinner at a different local spot and left after our appetizers.

Fantastic restaurant for atmosphere, service and food. Had the bruscella that is a fantastic bread salad with mango, feta and tomatoes. Amazing. Cheese is to dye for and they make their own. Highly recommend this restaurant when u are in Santa Monica on Montana Ave!!!

Every time I go out to eat, I ask my dining companions how many stars they feel the place deserves. This was the very first time the entire group voted a resounding 5 stars! No surprise at all, everything at Forma from the service to the food was absolute perfection.
It’s a small place, but attention has been given to every little detail from the floors to the dish-​ware, and it all has a very mod Italian vibe. If you are a cheese fiend like me, you’ll go crazy over the cheese cave in the back. You must walk by and check it out! The whole place has a faint cheese smell, so don’t bring any cheese haters along (maybe discontinue that relationship. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life).
The menu is small as well, but in a way where you feel each item was well thought out and the menu was curated to perfection. All the pastas are tossed in a cheese wheel and you definitely taste the difference! I just wish they did it at your table so you could watch the magic happen. We loved absolutely every single thing we tried:
Fried artichokes: not quite what I was expecting but very delightful. Baby shredded artichokes, lightly fried, tossed with goat cheddar cheese (yum!), shredded marche, snow peas, and walnuts plus a very delicious and refreshing dressing.
Cacio e Pepe: more like cacio e delicious! Quite possibly the most delicious pasta I’ve ever had. Perfectly cooked, simple, but over the top flavorful yumminess with the ooey gooey warm cheese. I want to go back again every day this week!
Truffle mushroom tortellini: I couldn’t eat a whole bowl of this, but my husband did and loved it. Very rich with the cream, truffle, and cheese, but worth it!
Jidori chicken sandwich: not the biggest hit on the menu, but still extremely flavorful and delicious, made on perfectly fresh, crusty on the outside, soft on the inside bread. Accompanied by delicious fries.
Service was friendly and attentive. The wines were delicious. There’s street parking and valet. Really there’s no reason for you not to go. Go today, get the pasta, and thank me after you’re done drooling.

I’m a huge lover of cheese and a huge lover of pasta, so when you put the two together; this just might be the most heavenly hybrid ever!
After seeing millions of pasta cooked in cheese wheels (and also from Chrissy Teigen), my friend and I have been meaning to come to Forma for the longest time. I finally decided that today was the day and made a reservation for two the same day for 7:30pm. Street parking wasn’t too difficult and although the restaurant was pretty crowded, we were seated immediately in a quaint table for two with the reservations. We came here solely for the pasta in a cheese wheel, which has four options: Spaghetti Cacio E Pepe, Fettuccine Bolognese, Spaghetti Carbonara, and Tortellini. We immediately chose the Carbonara ($ 25) and Tortellini ($ 25) although their service was lagging a bit. The portions were average, but the heaviness of the cream and cheese will definitely fill you up. As a fan of Carbonara, it was tasty but a little too al dente for me. The flavor was on the lighter end, but the cured pork cheek bits were crisp and flavorful. The raw egg was a nice little twist here to mix into your pasta afterwards on your own. But the real winner here is the Tortellini. Oh my goodness, every bite tasted like heaven. It has such a strong mushroom medley fused with the truffle oil aroma. The stuffing of the cheese was a wonderful burst of cheese as if there wasn’t enough cheesy-​goodness in the creamy sauce already! The tortellini has welcomed me to a new type of pasta, thank you.
For the real experience of watching the pasta being mixed in the cheese wheel, you’d have to head towards the back of the restaurant to watch. To be honest, it was pretty awkward standing there taking pictures of the work of art, but definitely an awesome experience.

It was the perfect place to celebrate our thirty five years of marriage and reminisce on the good things we had; the Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe and Fettuccine al Ragù certainly helped, but what topped our very pleasant lunch was the amazing Nutella mousse!: to die for, actually, no, to repeat and have a second one!!!
Elena: it was so great to see you again, congratulations for your new job, they got the best with you there!

My review is based on take-​out, I haven’t had the chance to dine in just yet.
When I first saw my food I was a little disappointed because it appeared as if the portions were smaller because of the take-​out containers. I was later surprised by how full I was after finishing my food :) I was however disappointed that I was given any utensils to eat with…
I ordered the Tortellini and the boyfriend got the Spaghetti. We both enjoyed the tortellini, although I thought that it could use a bit more cheese. The spaghetti on the other hand was nothing special. The only thing we liked about it was the bits of pork that were cooked to perfection. I would have been totally satisfied with a bowl of the pork bits.

Forma is not your pro forma pasta palace. All of a sudden there is a Roman phalanx of Italian spots in LA to chose from. Forma can be proud of being truly cheesy. Okay, it’s not 100% Italian, but neither is Sardinia and yet both are Italian enough to qualify. The pasta is all house made, the portions would fill any gladiator, and all are well executed (the pasta, not the gladiators). So, there is a roasted Jidori chicken and a cheese burger and they belong on the menu, which makes Forma a pro.
Its a swingin’ little box of Euro sensibility and style. Just two colors decorate this cube. Burnt Sienna and Cream with tilted mirrors on the wall so you can see Kanye reach for Kim under the table or check your coif while you chew from across the room.
There is a cheese ripening cave instead of an open kitchen. Forma takes its cheese seriously with about 55 varieties on offer, it isn’t the equal of Artisanal in New York with over 200 cheese choices, but nevertheless, it is the most wonderful cheese forward place anywhere in LA.
There are four hollowed out Parmesan wheels big enough to bath a Sheep dog or a grandchild under 12. Your pasta is mixed with it’s sauce in the Parm-​o-​bowl before it comes to your table steaming hot. Gimmick or something unusually good? Stay tuned and read on.
The Vibe: Who goes there? The entire neighborhood. The place was jammed to the ceiling on a Sunday at 5:00 PM. A mix of ladies with shampoo damp hair or those little cotton rods betwixt the toes from the myriad Hair and Nail salons that line Montana Ave. Mamma’s in pajamas, dudes fresh from their «The Bachelor» audition, enough pinkie rings to impress or embarrass Tony Soprano and foodies who still grieve for the now de-Funcke’d Bucato.
The Food: Delizioso! It’s micro brewery beer and wine only, although all well selected, as apparently it is harder to get a full liquor license in Santa Monica than to find an Italian war hero. Have a glass of the Bulussi Proseco or the Bisol Rose and mix, match and share.
The Crispy Artichokes were a mound of individual fried leaves. They weren’t baby artichokes, they were embryos and each leaf was indeed a crisp chip and lovely with the shredded Marche, Fennel, Sow Peas, Walnuts, and Goat Cheddar.
The Mushy Peas (Hey, England is close to Italy, ain’t it?), mixed with Mushy Chard, Mushy Red Onions, Mushy Peperocino, and non-​mushy grilled bread to use as a shovel and leave the plate spotless when the busser comes for it.
The Mussels were as fat and plumb as a blind date recommended by your Mum. All laying on crushed San Marzano Tomatoes, Fresh Peperocino and N’duja sausage spread in a tidal pool of spicy broth. More bread and a straw, please. Why schlep to Bestia and beg for a table when you can keeep close to home and beg for a table here. That broth was so good when I ran out of bread, I used my gym sock to sop up every drop.
Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is their signature hillock of house made pasta. Simple and elegant and so easy to mess it up and end up with a gooey glop of melted cheese on rubbery noodles. Mixing the few ingredients in the cheese tub imparted a glisten of Parm-​essence which truly made a difference. Here it is Cacio e perfetto.
Dessert: If it was up to me, I would have ordered the the Honey Yogurt Semifreddo with Amaretti and Fabbri Wild Cherries. It wasn’t up to me.
Cheese to please, please. Tete da Moines, Yum cubed. Langres and yes, the Cheese Fairy, Kate, found a hidden wedge of Eppoisses (not for amateurs, this is eaten by trained professionals only on a closed track). She composed a wonderful plate with all the fixin’s plus calligraphied all the names on little markers. Now how cool was she to do that? Very. A talented wench and an esperto di formaggi and she was willing to do that in public too. Not to be missed by discriminating diners.
Form up and form a line for Forma.

Finally checked this place off my list! :) I took my best friend here for a belated birthday dinner and it was a pretty good experience. Parking wasn’t too bad since I came here on a Sunday so free metered parking, some street parking in surrounding neighborhoods, and valet as well.
Dishes of the night:
Pizza Bread– I can never say no to burrata and prosciutto so had to order this. Part of the pizza was very burnt on the bottom so that was disappointing, but it was good for the most part. It is a little difficult to eat since the arugula and prosciutto are just lightly placed on top.
Tortellini– My favorite dish of the night! This is one of their dishes that is tossed in a wheel of cheese and there was a lot of flavor from the mushrooms and truffle oil without being overly salty.
Braised Short Ribs with ravioli– Wish this dish had more than 4 pieces of ravioli. They were good and had a side of a pile of braised short ribs, which were also flavorful and tender.
Papparadelle Wild Boar Ragu: Probably my least favorite item of the night. Compared to the other dishes, it was probably the least flavorful and a little underwhelming.
Overall, an enjoyable dinner and you can watch them as they toss the pastas in the cheese wheel. Would come back!

If you love pasta and cheese, this is the place to be. I saw it on Chrissy Teigen’s IG (John Legend’s wife), and we were around Santa Monica at the time. I had to try it. The place is pretty small. You can definitely hear other conversations when it’s crowded. There is a bar area in the front and the cheese wheels in the back.
My husband and I shared the mussels for appetizer. The flavor of the broth was great, and the crostini went well soaked in the broth. Wish it came with a little more mussels.
My husband ordered the pork belly sandwich. There was an overwhelming amount of fried onions on it but good flavor otherwise. It also came with pickled veggies, which my husband said was potent. I got the homemade papardelle with wild boar ragu. Homemade pasta was delish, and the ragu was perfectly cooked and flavored.
The service was decent. I didn’t see a parking lot, so we parked on the street.

We had a great dining experience at Forma. I echo much of the praises deservedly ascribed in other reviews. But I do want to commend the restaurant in an area beyond food and ambiance. The service was beyond good. Despite a very busy and full restaurant, the hostess and manager went out of their way more than once to accomodate some special needs of someone in our party. They really treated us well.
On the food side, everything was delicious starting with the roasted veggie plate and burrata starters. The sole was as good as I’ve ever tasted; fresh fish, perfectly seasoned and crusted. Despite my low-​carb inclinations, I had to try their specialty ‘Dalla Forma’, pasta tossed in huge cheese wheels of parmesan, romano and cheeder wheels. I opted for the osso buco risotto tossed in parmesan. A whole block of osso buco sat in the middle of the plate surrounded by a cheesy risotto infused with the flavors of the braised veal shank. An extraordinary taste experience. In a nod to my low-​carb diet, I ate only about half of the risotto portion. Believe me it took incredible will power.

Cute restaurant in great neighborhood of Santa Monica. Love the décor and the warm atmosphere of the place. If you come here you gotta try the cheeses and home made pasta. If you’ve never experienced a cheese wheel then you have to see you pasta get tossed in here.
FOOD:
Slow Cooked split peas — tasted a little gritty and kind of like grinded chickpeas. Not my
favorite.
Fresh Burrata Cheese — the cheese was really fresh and served of top of rapini and a sliced of grilled bread. Very tasty.
Polenta «Fondue» — Yummy polenta with cheese and mushrooms. Yes please. Not sure how they categorize this as a fondue but sure. Great texture and flavor.
Pappardelle wild boar Ragu — My favorite dish of the night. House made pasta was definitely al dente. The wild boar was very soft and tasted just like soft meat. The sauce was very savory.
Spaghetti «cacio e Pepe» — Fresh cheese from the cheese wheel made all the difference. This is the exact dish you would want it you like your pasta cheesy. I didn’t think I liked it as much but I wanted more after I left the restaurant.
Potato Fries — The perfect fries. Not too thin and not too thick. And… it was crunchy!
DESSERT:
Nutella Bread Pudding — Full of ooey gooey goodness. It’s like half flan and half soufflé. It was a little eggy but still really liked it.
I didn’t get to try all the cheese and will save it for next time. The backside of the menu was full of cheeses. The service was decent. The busboys were great taking your plates away but my waiter wasn’t so easy to catch everytime I needed something.
Parking: They have valet but I was able to find street parking in the evening.

This place is a gem of restaurant. It embraces the American Dream of a restauranteur fulfilling his dreams. This dining experience was found by the help of fellow Unilocaler, Dawn. Thanks I read your review and had to give it a go!
Alrighty, at first I thought is was just a wine and cheese bar. But it is so much more. Granted the cheese menu is wonderful with I believe over 100 different types and styles of cheese. Though the main menu is really spectacular. I spoke for a moment to the cheese monger and he shared how they finish the pastas in the wheels of cheese in the back of the restaurant. The result of this is out of this world.
I enjoyed the rustic bread, octopus over lentils, sole with fried artichokes, pappardelle with wild boar ragu, Mt tam and humboldt fog cheese with nuts, dried fruits and honey accompaniments.
Highlights: the octopus was tender and perfect, the sole with shaved fried artichokes was one of be best sole dishes I’ve ever had. The pappardelle noodles were unbelievable.
I will be back for every meal period and already sent a note to my bosses that I want them to experience this place with me also.
Bravo! Chow…

I’m absolutely obsessed with this place. Why?
1. It’s in a great location
2. The wine and cheese selection is extensive and all on point
3. Amazing customer service
4. Delicious, delicious, delicious.
The waitstaff were extremely friendly and made my friend and me feel right at home. They didn’t mind us taking a million pictures of their pasta in their cheesewheels, it was fantastic.
What did I get? Various cheeses, wine, truffle tortellini, beef tartare, and the bread pudding– all very good! Overall great experience and I cannot wait to come back here.

Great form at Forma~ Newly opened in 2015.
* APP — Fries = perfectly-​fried thick fries
* GET — Filet Mignon Tartare = light and delish, 2 large tartare bites
* GET — Gigli Pesto = perfectly al dente creamy pasta with good pesto sauce
* GET — Pappardelle Wild Boar Ragu = really good except my friend’s dish was served semi-​cold, although everything was served all at once
* GET — Risotto Forma = thick rich risotto with veal
** GET — Filet of Sole = OH SO GOOD, lightly fried battered, cooked to perfection
* GET — Lime Tart = good dessert to end on
* YES — Indoor restaurant specializing in Italian fare & cheeses
* YES — Table & full-​bar seating
* YES — Friendly service by our waitress Valentina
* YES — Warm lively atmosphere, perfect for fun dinner out with friends or dates
* IFF — Check out that cheese table in the back!
* FYI — Metered street parking & valet available
* FYI — Takes reservations
* FYI — Accepts credit cards