La Nostra Storia

A plate of pasta topped with shaved cheese and truffle, the shadow of Bar Fortuna's window lettering cast across a sunlit marble table

Bowls of pasta and a glass of rosé set on a marble table in the dining room

bar fortuna is chef/owner brian bornemann’s homage to the historic bars he would discover while living, cooking and learning how to make pasta in italy. just down the street from his critically-acclaimed sustainable seafood restaurant and biodynamic wine bar, crudo e nudo, bar fortuna is a stylish, moody, and casual place to gather for incredible drinks with amazing food within his native ocean park neighborhood.

in the spirit of community, brian has gathered longtime local friends and collaborators to bring this drinking destination to life. a long white marble bar anchors the intimate space, so pop in for a perfectly stirred negroni (there are 5 variations), spritz or unique, seasonal cocktail from bar director noah castellanos. as the owner of santa monica’s one cedar coffee shop and with a career that spans coffee and cocktails, noah likes to bill himself as an “expert in all things liquid.” he also curates the 30+ esoteric amaro selection and soon, the morning to-go espresso program. wine director jd plotnick (michelin-starred schwa, lou’s wine shop, the source imports) curates one of the best cal-italian programs in the city, featuring young and emerging talent alongside legendary producers from both countries—all with an emphasis on approachability, and crafted with biodynamic and organic farming practices. the list also includes a rotating selection of rare and old wines jd has personally collected over 20+ years. ultimately, he “wants someone to be able to drink an affordable glass of wine, while the table next to them can buy a 40 year-old bottle of california cabernet or a rare barolo.”

Three Bar Fortuna team members laughing together at the marble bar, reading newspapers over trays of fresh pasta and cocktails

this timeless-feeling bar also has really thoughtful, comforting food that’s rooted in the locavore approach brian learned during his first cooking job in italy: everything is made exclusively with local or regional products, with zero imported italian ingredients. within this intimate space, satisfying bar snacks are fried up, a very wide range of fresh pasta is crafted daily and by hand, beautiful vegetables from the nearby santa monica farmers’ market are shaved into an array of seasonal salads, and a whole lamb or pig gets butchered in-house once a week for specials.

eventually in the mornings, order a quick espresso through a window or pick up fresh pasta by-the-pound from chef de cuisine jose morales, who has cooked and made pasta alongside brian for over a decade. soon, our daytime and lunch menu will feature a handful of antipasti, fresh pasta and schiacciata sandwiches.