1212 Santa Monica
Cuisine: American Italian
Location: Santa Monica, CA
1212 Santa Monica is a unique American Italian restaurant located in the heart of Downtown Santa Monica on the Third Street Promenade. Italian native Executive Chef Oliver Malmsten has carefully curated a menu that highlights the palette and diversity of the SoCal landscape, fusing it with the classic tastes of Italy. Complimenting the food, our beverage program includes an expansive selection of wines and creative cocktails to enhance your dining experience. Visit us for your next date night, private event, or night out on the town!
Chef Oliver Malmsten
Oliver Sebastian Malmsten has an original story. He was born in Italy from Swedish parents and raised in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. He was lucky enough to grow up with Italian farmers who immediately gave him contact with true culinary traditions. Fresh seasonal vegetables grown with love, homemade bread and fresh handmade pastas were the order of the day. From here begins his passion for food that will lead him to enter this world on a professional level and to want to share his knowledge of him wherever he would go.
At the age of 13 the curiosity to know his own origins led him to Sweden and already at the age of 14 he was working in a military canteen learning the basics of cooking techniques. From there begins the stairway to success, entering to work among the best kitchens in Stockholm. After completing his hotel studies, he decides to aim even higher and deepen his knowledge by returning to his beloved Italy and starting his journey in starred restaurants. From Castello Banfi (1 michelin star) to Trussardi alla Scala in Milan (2 michelin stars) up to being part of the achievement of the first michelin star at the I Portici restaurant in Bologna in 2011. But as they say, there’s no two without three and then decides to go to London to have an experience in one of the best restaurants in the world, Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant (3 Michelin stars). This last experience was fundamental for Oliver to understand how he would like to pursue his career in the future.
Interested in the world of TV, he is selected as a competitor in the Italian show Hell’s Kitchen where he has a different experience than usual with the starred Chef Carlo Cracco. From then on he was able to open new luxury realities as Executive Chef in Tuscany, from boutique hotels to 5-star luxury hotels in Florence where he will be able to give personality to his idea of cooking and make himself known also by opening his own restaurant in the marvelous Chianti countryside. Now Oliver’s goal is to bring all his baggage of 20 years of culinary experiences here to America, where he is convinced he can make the difference between Italian restaurants, hand down and make known his traditional and original Tuscan recipes.
