With a cozy interior and predictable preparations of well-known classics, Cosetta satisfies but fails to excite.

The Santa Monica restaurant, which opened April 1 on Ocean Park Boulevard and primarily specializes in a blend of Californian and Italian cuisine, is the creation of Zach Pollack. The chef’s previous restaurants – Alimento in Silver Lake, California, and Cosa Buona in Echo Park, California – both closed within in the last year. Although Cosetta’s dishes are pleasant and the decorations are serene, the price point at the establishment – where appetizers start at $15 and side dishes begin at $10 – renders the restaurant impractical for students who lack the resources of a full-time income or customers hoping for a delicious but casual dining experience.

The indoor dining room welcomes patrons to a well-lit space, where an angular ceiling slopes toward a wall of windows that leads to the outdoor patio area. The abundance of natural light was essential to offset the somewhat cramped layout of the tables, which were close enough that overhearing the conversations and complaints of a neighbor ad nauseam during a meal was inevitable. Contributing to the awkwardness of the ambiance was how bizarrely faint the music was, since a more robust set of tunes in the background would have helped cultivate a more intimate vibe.

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By comparison, the inclusion of olive trees both inside and outside – along with smaller naturalistic plantings throughout the restaurant and vines dangling from the shelves of the forest-colored bar – imbued the space with a welcoming level of sophistication. Likewise, the opaque screen separating the covered outdoor patio from the bustling traffic on Ocean Park Boulevard was a wise choice to partially insulate patrons from the street’s noise. Even if the attempt at whisking customers away to Italy was not feasible, the space was aesthetically pleasing with cushioned benches, mint-colored chairs and a firepit.

At the server’s recommendation, the meal started out with a petite dish of the smoked mozzarella sticks as a “small plate” – the menu’s name for appetizers. The cheesy snacks were an underwhelming portion of four pieces for the steep price of $16. Despite the costly charge, the mozzarella sticks were reliably comforting and tasty. The batter provided a decadent crunch and the rich, creamy cheese was simultaneously mouth-watering and fun to gobble down as it stretched into long, playful strands. The marinara sauce the sticks were served with as a dipping sauce carried a smoky flavor that rounded out the bite.

The margherita pizza, an 11-inch circle priced at $20, followed. Countless restaurants try their hand at crafting a unique take on this fairly simple dish – an unenviable challenge, since there is only so much reinvention that can be done with tomato, mozzarella and basil. The Cosetta rendition of a margherita pizza was suitably tasty but far from revolutionary, as both the sauce and the cheese were indistinguishable and bland. The crust was far more successful, somehow managing to be thin and tender at the saucy part of each slice and delightfully puffy around the pizza’s outer edges. The dough tasted incredibly fresh, slightly sweet and was imbued with wood-fired flavor, providing the type of crust to justify wolfing down each slice’s last morsel.

Another appetizer worth trying was the chicken wings alla Buffalo, NY. The gorgonzola dip was unremarkable, and the chicken was difficult to separate from the bone in some places despite maintaining a pleasant level of moisture. That said, the sauce the wings were coated in was much more vibrant, bringing the heat while infusing notes of sweetness. For lovers of chicken wings, this $17 plate – complemented with carrots and celery – would be more than satisfactory.

The $12 chocolate peanut butter budino closed out the meal as a dessert recommended by the server. Of all the dishes sampled during this visit to Cosetta, it was easily the one most worth ordering again because of its rich flavor and smooth, luscious texture. A hearty scoop of salted pretzels and roasted peanuts topped the creamy pudding, which was served unassumingly in a short glass. Fulfilling upon the promise of a peanut butter dessert is no easy feat and all too often falls into the mediocrity of serving a treat that fails to capture peanut butter’s magnetic essence, but this budino soared thanks to its divine nuttiness and strong peanut butter taste. The entire dish took the best parts of a chocolate peanut butter pie and put them into a cup, even if the inclusion of a dollop of slightly-sour whipped cream could have been removed.

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Of course, the experience at Cosetta was enhanced by the quality of the service, as all of the staff was consistently attentive and friendly. Although dining in at about 5:15 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon is admittedly not a peak time for a restaurant dinner service, it must be noted that the food at Cosetta was prepared remarkably quickly and consistently hit the table while still piping hot within five to 10 minutes of an order being placed. The consistent commitment to fire dishes efficiently will be a vital component for Cosetta’s future longevity.

Taking the meal as a whole, Cosetta is charming in some respects but not enough to warrant an immediate return. Even with a consistently yummy menu, the restaurant falls short of providing a truly original take on Californian or Italian cuisine and overcharges for tasty but dainty portions. An invitation from a friend or colleague for a meal at Cosetta is easily worth accepting with the expectation that an enjoyable time will be had. However, the eatery does not stand out enough from other restaurants in the same culinary category – or from the dozens of superior places to eat in Santa Monica – to actively choose it out of one’s own accord.

Cosetta tries to make fine-dining seem friendly to all, just not for the right price.