Pa’La is Now Fancy, and Might Be Even Better
Before Source, Claudio Urciuoli had this idea that amazing food should be cheap and served on paper plates. That idea became Pa’La, and I remember lots of Instagram posts starring the sexiest looking cannellini beans imaginable. Then he left, Jason Alford took over, and he has slowly (then quickly) transformed Pa’La into a higher-end situation, keeping the same quality DNA, but replacing paper for ceramic and Instagrammed cannellini beans for foie gras. You’re now looking at one of the nicer seasonal “world food” places in town.
Where: The original tiny location is on 24th street by where the 51 and 202 come together (it’s open for lunch and dinner), and the fancy location is in downtown by Symphony Hall
Website: palakitchen.com
Reservations: Tock (Downtown), Tock (24th St.)
Tip: The downtown location is much fancier than the 24th St. location. Dress accordingly.
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Pa'La has undergone an evolution, with a new team taking over the kitchen. Thankfully, the commitment to quality food remains. At the small bungalow on 24th Street, chef and owner Claudio Urciuoli served delicious bites on paper plates for five years. His casual cafe was a destination for a chill lunch on the shade-dappled patio. But now, chef Jason Alford has taken over and brought in chef Nick Bennett to lead the kitchen. The plates are now ceramic, the cutlery is metal and the vibe is elevated. Pa'La is more of a date night destination now, where customers can splurge on a special occasion.
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Urciuoli may have moved on, but Jason Alford and Nick Bennett — Alford’s man in charge of the 24th Street location — have taken up the mantle at Pa'La with aplomb. Stellar sourcing and simple preparations still rule the day at Pa’La, and no dish makes that more clear than the chuletero. A $60 pork steak might be the antithesis of Urciuoli’s everyman pricing, but let us be clear — the chuletero is worth every penny of that and more. It’s shipped in from Spain, where pigs are practically different animals from the ones we raise in the States. This ribeye more closely resembles red meat, and the kitchen treats it that way — cooking it with wood fire until it sizzles, but maintaining a deep ruby red at the core. It is robust and tender and juicy and completely reframes your notion of what pork can be.
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It’s no surprise that Alford, once executive chef of the swanky (and expensive) Roka Akor, has carried through Urciuoli’s commitment to top-notch sourcing. But $20 sandwiches and $60 imported pork steaks, while a good value considering their quality, are hardly the $9 pizzas and sandwiches of Pa’La’s early days.
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Those who need to peruse a menu online prior to heading to a restaurant, take note: Pa’Ladoesn’t exactly roll like that. The wood-fired Italian fusion restaurant with two locations is all about ingredients that are available daily, which means a menu might be available on the restaurant’s Instagram, but that’s about it. Instead, just trust that if you like seafood and well-prepared food, you’ll enjoy Pa’La. With an emphasis on tapas and small bites meant to be shared, diners get the chance to experience the variety of what Pa’La offers, alongside sandwiches and expertly prepared entrees.
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Since its 2021 inception, Pa’La Downtown evolved into a different animal from it’s simpler and far more humble predecessor Pa’La, which opened on 24th Street in 2017. Both are seafood-centric and Italian-influenced. Both cook almost everything in a wood-burning oven, but Pa’La Downtown offers full-service, breakable dinnerware (not paper plates), cocktails, and an artsy vibe that draws a younger, hipper crowd. The food is also a little edgier. Executive chef and Roka Akor alum Jason Alford offers tapas, small bites, and share plates that give classic Italian dishes a touch of Japanese inflection.
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Standing on the busy city sidewalk outside Pa’La Downtown, I wonder for a second if I’m in the right place. It’s nothing like the original Pa’La Wood-Fired Cooking on 24th Street, a cozy historical cottage almost Zen-like in its spareness. Under the same ownership – star chef Claudio Urciuoli and restaurateur Omar Alvarez – the refurbished two-story space exudes a sexy, retro-industrial vibe and caters to the kind of young, upscale diners who demand craft cocktails and all the other amenities attached to a full-service restaurant.
Those hip urbanites get their wish here – along with a slightly manic atmosphere. But I’m not complaining, not when the food is often so crazy-good.
