Cento Pasta Bar Marries Fresh Handmade Pasta with Inventive Neighborhood Flavors

Cento Pasta Bar started as Avner Levi’s pop-up and has matured into a West Adams brick-and-mortar that keeps fresh, lively pasta front and center. The restaurant’s focused menu and approachable creativity make it a neighborhood anchor for pasta lovers who want technique without pretension.

Cento’s menu emphasizes handmade dough and vibrant sauces. Standout dishes include a spicy pomodoro rigatoni finished with Calabrian chile and ricotta, a squid-ink mafaldine threaded with ’nduja, shrimp, and jalapeño, and a gem-Caesar–style pasta that riffs on the classic salad. Desserts keep the playfulness alive: banana-pudding tiramisu closes a meal with familiar comfort and a clever twist.

The dining room layout reinforces the menu’s two personas. Outside, a romantic garden patio wrapped around an olive tree and strung with fairy lights offers a picture-perfect spot for date nights and long, relaxed dinners. Inside, an austere dining room frames views into the kitchen, keeping the focus on pasta-making technique and the rhythm of service. The mix of cozy outdoor ambiance and pared-back indoor cooking theater makes Cento suitable for both celebratory meals and weeknight comfort.

Practical details matter for neighborhood diners. Cento provides valet alongside street parking options for guests, easing the logistics of dining in West Adams. The compact menu and pasta-first approach also mean service moves at a pace that fits both lingering conversations and quicker dinners depending on the room.

For the local pasta community, Cento demonstrates how fresh pasta can be both familiar and adventurous. The rigatoni’s balance of heat and ricotta is a reminder that bold flavors can coexist with comfort, while the squid-ink mafaldine shows how regional ingredients like ’nduja and jalapeño can push texture and spice without overwhelming the noodle’s shape and bite. Cento’s gem-Caesar–style plate signals that leafy salads and Romaine’s crunch can translate into the pasta world, offering crossover dishes that broaden what diners expect from an Italian-focused neighborhood spot.

Cento Pasta Bar’s evolution from pop-up to West Adams staple matters because it models a sustainable, community-minded approach to pasta: handmade dough, thoughtful flavor pairings, and a setting that feels local rather than locked in a formula. For West Adams residents and anyone who cares about where their noodles come from, Cento offers both a dependable bowl and a few surprises worth trying on repeat.