Wine and Dine Al Fresco This Season
Community-focused Deluca Pasta has refreshed its outdoor space and is accepting holiday bookings.
By Maureen Kingsley
The El Segundo-based Italian eatery Deluca Pasta, located in the southwestern part of town on a historic block of Richmond Street, has been serving up handmade pasta, seasonal appetizers and entrées, and thoughtfully chosen wines since it rebranded and reopened in June 2018. In the intervening year and a half, the restaurant has forged partnerships with local businesses, offered unique food-and-wine pairing events, hosted a number of talented musicians, and participated in such community endeavors as Art Walk and The Fair on Richmond Street. The latest buzz at Deluca is that the multipurpose back patio, used for dinner seating, special events, and live music, has been expanded and remodeled.
“With this remodel, we were looking to create a larger, more attractive, more usable space,” says Jen Goaring-Diver, director of operations at Deluca. She adds that the renovated patio now seats 40 and features sunshades and outdoor heaters to keep guests comfortable. “These changes will provide a better experience for our guests for private events, too,” Jen adds. “The patio is brighter and more open now.” The outdoor space can be booked for holiday and private events, as can the entire restaurant, inside and out. For events such as these, Jen explains, she works with customers to develop the exact experience they are after: an event menu can be highly customized with a number of choices, or kept straightforward and simple. Likewise, the wine bar can be open, if desired, with service and selections provided by Deluca staff. “We’re very flexible,” Jen says. She welcomes bookings for private events of all sizes: everything from small, intimate birthday parties to large, corporate holiday parties.
Ultimately, Jen says, the back patio will be enclosed with its own separate wine bar, which will provide even greater options for guests booking private events.
Flights of Fancy
In addition to the upgraded outdoor space, Deluca Pasta is now offering wine flights (pictured below) that allow guests to “enjoy little tastes of various wines, so they can experiment without having to order a full glass or bottle,” Jen explains. The flights come in five varieties and rotate seasonally, and they are discounted by $2 on Thursdays.
Pasta flights are available as well, for those wishing to sample a variety of the restaurant’s signature handmade pasta without full commitment, or for those with smaller appetites.
New to the main dinner menu this season are such interesting, wintry dishes as wild-mushroom toast, tomato-gorgonzola soup, and a ravioli made with coppa ham, mascarpone, and apple-butter Chardonnay sauce.
Deluca offers daily happy hour and daily specials, and kids eat free every Monday.
Get in Touch
To book a private event or reserve a table, or to simply ask any questions you might have about the space, the menu, or the wine selections, contact Deluca Pasta’s director of operations Jen Goaring-Diver at 310-640-7600 or reservations@delucapasta.com.
This story appears in the November 2019 issue of The El Segundo Scene.