Cento Pasta Bar

Perhaps my expectations were too high, I was disappointed. The Uni Spaghetti was just ok likely because uni is not my cup of tea. Hubby’s Carbonara was flavorful, but too salty. Although the price seems reasonable, the portion is small. I had the 3-​course option for $ 24 which includes beer/​wine, antipasto and entrée. It would be $ 18 without uni pasta. The Tartare was delicious. However, both of us had to run to the restroom at night. To be fair, the food might have nothing to do with it.

Wow wow wow. Never have I had such great pasta. Its like sex in your mouth. Its very intimate.
I highly recommend.

The food was incredible! Hands down the best pasta I have had in LA, or the USA, for that matter (second only to Italy). The ambiance is the perfect low key, no frills, neighborhood joint. Highly recommended!
Recap of our meal:
Fennel Salad: fresh, crisp and had just the right amount of citrus and tang
Brown Butter Burrata Crostini: SO good! The bread was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, the burrata melted perfectly in to the toast but held its consistency, the brown butter just seeped in to the concoction, and somehow the peas it was garnished with brought it all together to be this little taste of heaven
Salt Cod Gnocchi: I am not a huge salty fish person, but it was great. The gnocchi perfectly cooked and the the fish flavor was complimented well with the cream fraiche garnish
Beet Pasta: Plate lickingly delicious! I am not sure what the magic ingredient was, but the beets with the homemade pasta and the fresh goat cheese was to die for. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, the goat cheese was fresh and delicious (not too mushy, not too strong), and the sweetness of the beets shined through just right. I could eat this every day… literally!

We had such a great lunch at Cento Pasta Bar that many hours later, we are still talking about it. Everything is perfect… the ambience, the music, the service… and the food is divine! We had the menu touristico, antipasto+pasta+vino! great value !! The crostino with burrata and peas is rich and flavorful, the fennel salad is refreshingly tasty! The uni spaghetti is soooo good, there is no word to describe it. True gem of a restaurant amongst so many mediocre restaurants in DTLA… some restaurants has the ambience but food is ok, some has good food but no ambience… Cento Pasta Bar has everything !!

Best thing we had there was the lengua — which is problematic when you’re a «pasta bar.» Either they don’t make their own pasta or they were having an off day. Everything was edible, but average. With so many good new restaurants around, these guys really need to step up their game to compete for my wallet and calorie allocation.

Located inside Mignon, this little gem is only open during lunch and can seat only less than 20 people inside. Very intimate setting and barstools all around.
The menu is pretty simple with two appetizer options and three pasta options. I ordered the combo aka Menu Turistico which comes with the appetizer, pasta, and choice of wine or beer.
–Beef Tongue: ⁵⁄₅ So fresh and the meat melts in your mouth. The mix of citrus and meat was a winning combination.
–Uni Spaghetti: 4.5÷5 Looks quite small but leaves you pretty full. The pasta was made al dente with pieces of uni inside. Definitely more on the seafood taste because of the uni.
–White wine: ⁴⁄₅ The pairing of this wine and the spaghetti was on point. Crisp and had a slightly musky undertone.

I love it! I was talking about the uni spaghetti. Hands down one of the better uni pastas I’ve had. Yes, up there with the Bestia version and better than Republique, Faith & Flower, EMC. The uni is abundant in this dish and it’s nice and creamy. Honestly, was tempted to ask if they had some French bread to wipe that plate clean.
Cento Pasta Bar is a pop up restaurant located at Mignon. Mignon is a wine bar cozy and eclectic in its own way. It’s located in the sunken part of 6^th Street adjacent to Black Sheep and Cole’s.
Along with the uni spaghetti, I had a fennel salad what had a nice tart vinaigrette and sliced oranges and onions. This salad was pretty good too.
Keep in mind, this place is a wine bar. There isn’t a full kitchen and the pasta is made from poratable burner.
Definitely a must try if you’re a pasta lover. Menu changes weekly with only a few pasta, salads to choose from, however, this uni spaghetti is regularly on the menu. Seating is at the bar with only two small tables.
Hours for this pop up are limited. Tuesday thru Friday from 11 am to 3 pm.

It’s very good, it’s properly priced and it’s still somewhat of a hidden gem. The only problem is the hours aren’t conducive for your average 9−5er. Tuesday through Friday for now, 11am-​3pm lunch service only. If you can make it you’ll be rewarded with a weekly-​ish changing menu that highlights fantastic handmade (sometimes specialty imported) pastas and seasonal ingredients. The menu is small and tight, the flavors are big and bold, the ‘menu turistico’ of antipasti, pasta and glass of wine for $ ¹⁸⁄₂₄ can’t be beat!
One guy knows wine and food (Papilles, RiceBar, and Mignon), one guy knows pasta and food (formerly of Bestia and Sotto). Both are all about a good meal and a good experience. I call that a Vietnamese situation, Nguyen-​Nguyen.

My roots are from Italy even if I’m French and let me tell you that’s the type of Italian of food I like! Simple good and so tasty! No b.s. Around the food just the produce itself. So close to what I eat in Italy and compare to the Italian restaurant in LA I think it’s the most authentic one!
And I can see in the cook eyes that he enjoys every meal he cooks!

I just moved to Los Angeles from Bordeaux, adapting to the food here was quite challenging. There are a few good places in downtown but nothing compares to cento. The food is great but it’s more than that, it’s the feel of the place. Feels like home, it’s warm, it’s human, it has an identity but most importantly a soul, something hard to find in this city…

If you crave impeccable Italian food, homemade pastas prepared in accordance with the highest standards, antipastos and desserts, consider this your spot. Menu is kept simple and changes weekly. Expect two Crostino options, one Insalata, and three pastas to choose from. We absolutely adored each and every dish we sampled. From the Spaghetti cooked perfectly al dente tossed with Uni, Chiles, Garlic and topped with Burrata, to the Fagioloni with Porcini, Parmigiano, and Truffles, we sure made an effort to savor each bite.
Prices are incredibly reasonable: $ 6 for Appetizers, $ 9 to $ 14 for main, or opt for the trifecta of app, pasta, and vino or beer for $ 18, $ 24 for Uni. Modestly priced, remarkably flavorful dishes served in an intimate ambiance with limited seating. We absolutely adore the space and cuisine at Cento Pasta Bar.
Only downside are operational hours, open for lunch service only and hosted at Mignon Wine Bar Tuesdays thru Friday from 11 to 3 pm.

If you live/​work or work in downtown you are one metropolitan SOB and your reward for being so hip is having access to this T-​F lunch pop up.
Cento offers DTLAers a mid-​day meal more often found at stuffy white linen tablecloth Italian restaurants without the pomp and circumstance, hefty price tag, or nap-​inducing pasta coma.
The intimate, horse-​shoe bar seats less than 20. It’s not ideal for parties larger than three (foursomes might be fine, but harder to sit all together and harder to chat as a group without leaving one person out). They can get you in and out of there in less than 30 minutes, which is pretty remarkable for their tiny but mighty operation (not to mention the quality of the dishes).
The menu changes weekly, but it’s simple: two crostini options, two to three pasta options (two spaghettis usually), and two desserts. Burrata is the one add on. You can order a la carte, or take advantage of their stellar $ 18 deal (choice of crostini, pasta, and dessert or glass of wine). That price jumps to $ 24 for uni pasta (still modest for the buttery beauty).
I was dining with a friend so we were able to try one of everything:
Chicken liver crostini: I think I’m coming around to chicken liver, so while not my first choice, it was solid and I found myself nibbling away at it without noticing
White bean crostini: so fresh, so light-​everything you’d want out of a starter like this
Uni, crab, basil spaghetti with burrata: sea stunners mixed in a bed of perfectly cooked al dente noodles (burrata makes everything better, but you can forgo if you don’t want to take away from the uni)
Beet spaghetti with chives, goat cheese, ricotta, and poppy seed: I don’t know where else you can find this and I’m pretty sure even if you told me, it wouldn’t hold a candle to this magical dish
Dessert: Panettone. I scoffed when this was brought to us, as it looked like discarded fruit cake, but this Italian bread was all kinds of sweet, all kinds of moist, and down right delectable.
Wine: it’s a wine bar at night so… not a hard sell!
If you don’t live/​work or work in DTLA then I think you have a cold coming on (cough, cough) and you need to take a sick day STAT so you can check this place out.

Came here to have lunch with my brother today because he’s been raving about the food they serve. Right when we walked in, the 2 owners already recognized him and welcomed him back and was super friendly.
Unfortunately they were all out of the uni pasta which means we need to get there sooner,(we got there around 2pm and they close at 3pm) but the other dishes they had were really good!
We got the:
–Crostino with burrata and peas: so yummy I wanted to order another. Peas weren’t mushy and lots of parmesan shavings.
-‘Nduja & Arugula pasta: super spicy but really good. Pasta was cooked at a perfect al dente with a nice amount of the pork sausage.
–gnocchi with shaved foie gras: this was like butter in a good way. The gnocchi was made fresh and was just little soft cushions of yumminess. The foie gras shavings melt in from the heat of the pasta which creates the buttery-​ness.
Overall, I’m definitely coming back. Their menu is small but they seem to change it up a bit. Thanks for a great lunch Cento!

Cento Pasta bar is a lunch time residency at Mignon. It’s also my go-​to lunch spot in DTLA! Homemade pastas and sauces –most of the menu is $ 10 or less. Great wine selection, friendly service, you really can’t ask for more. Plus the dishes change weekly from Uni, Crab Pasta to Beet Spaghetti with goat cheese and poppy seeds. Avner has worked at some of the best pasta spots in LA — Bestia, Sotto, Superba and it shows in his cooking.

Took one bite of the gnocchi
Two bites of sausage (just to make sure)
Didn’t bother with the peas
Put my fork down
Paid $ 9 and walked out
Gnocchi was overcooked — super mushy
Sausage was bland, bland, bland
And the sauce boring
Looks way better than it tastes
Disappointed

Cento Pasta Bar is a casual lunchtime pop-​up at Mignon bringing artisanal pastas to us at affordable prices. It officially launched its indefinite residency on December 8^th, but will only be open on Tuesday-​Friday, from 11am — 3pm. That makes it out of reach for people like me who work far away during those days and hours. So, I made a point of going twice so far during this holiday break.
Cento Pasta Bar is a partnership between Santos Uy (of Mignon, Papilles and Rice Bar) and Avner Lavi, a former pasta cook at Bestia and Sotto. The small menu, which will change frequently, features 2 antipastos, 3 – 4 pastas and a homemade dessert. Right now, pastas are $ 9 except for the one with uni (still cheap at $ 14). There’s also red and white wine by the glass for $ 6.
So far, I’ve tried the INSALATA of fennel, onion and citrus (don’t get this if you’re only lukewarm on fennel) and four of their pastas (in order of most to least favorite):
* I FAGIOLONI PAESANI — I’ve never had a pasta like this. I loved this shape and the porcini ragu sauce was amazing.
* GNOCCHI — These ricotta gnocchi were like little delicate pillows.
* SPAGHETTI — The uni, crab and basil are all mixed together, with the latter two more prominent in my opinion. It’s a good dish, but don’t expect to find whole pieces of uni.
* TAGLIATELLE — This one had a sauce of chestnut and short rib ragu. It was a bit too sweet for me so of the four it was my least favorite.
If you’ve never been to Mignon, it’s an intimate wine bar. All of the seating is around the bar and the cooking takes place right there as well. Dishes are done quickly so once you’re seated and your order is taken you’ll soon be enjoying some really fine pasta!