Santa Monica Gains an Italian Restaurant, Bakery With the Opening of La Puglia

La Puglia has opened its Santa Monica doors, at 1621 Wilshire Blvd, a company spokesperson confirmed over the weekend in an email to What Now Los Angeles — for takeout and delivery for now, of course. The southern Italian restaurant, bakery, juice bar, and cafe, replaces Nawab of India. The space has been vacant since 2017.

La Puglia is named for the southern region of Italy that forms the heel of the country’s “boot” along the Mediterranean coastline. “We prepare everything in-house from scratch selecting the best and freshest ingredients every day,” an advert seeking to hire La Puglia’s team posted in mid-December states. Its menu “celebrates Mediterranean cuisine through authentic recipes and top-class foods” from the region.

La Puglia’s offerings are vast. Bread made with organic stone-ground flour kicks off the menu with options like puccia with olives and contadino with sundried tomato. For breakfast, La Puglia serves a torta di mele (apple cake) and a cannolo, with all the usual coffee suspects: cappuccino, americano, espresso, macchiato, etc.

In addition to appetizers, there’s an entire bruschetta menu, vegetable side dishes, salads, and pizza, pasta, and entrees like a beef meatloaf with roasted potatoes. Desserts include tiramisu, and pressed juice and kombucha beverages to round out the offerings. The “La Puglia Store” retails sauces, an expansive list of olive oils, and other Italian goods. La Puglia is open daily from 8:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.