Our Story
We opened La Volata at the end of 2014 with the goal of creating a neighborhood hang-out. We wanted to build a restaurant where you could get a fresh meal made from scratch, a great bottle of wine, some craft beer or a craft cocktail, but not have the formality associated with white-linen dining. Come as you are and join us for a drink!
The picture above was a pivotal point in constructing the "new side" of the restaurant. We all took turns smashing the wall down with hammers and a tomahawk, and I am certain that no one enjoyed that more than Ethan! Building the restaurant has been a real labor of love. I almost bit off more than I could chew in undertaking most of the finish work, including building all the tables, laying all the tile, painting and making the bottle lights. It's a constant work in progress because there are always ways to make it better.
Our Ingredients
We make everything at La Volata from scratch: our dough, our bread, our pasta, our sausage, our dressings, the syrup in your cocktail...everything. We are fortunate to have a number of local purveyors who provide us with some of our key ingredients: Lot 22 Olive Oil, Parliament Chocolate and Village Bread in Calimesa.
For our pizza dough and house-made pasta, we use 00 flour from Italy. Our bread flour is from Central Milling, grown organically and milled to order which means it is ultra-fresh. We bake our bread every morning right here in the pizza oven.
We use only humanely and organically raised meat at La Volata. Our chicken comes from Mary’s Farms, our pork from Niman Ranch and our beef is wagyu. The cured meat on your charcuterie plate and on your pizza are some of the best so we slice it fresh daily right here in the kitchen.
Our Beer & Wines
We are excited to provide you with ten rotating beer taps. This allows us to offer you a different craft beer virtually every time you walk through the door. If there is something new and interesting, we hope to be giving you your first taste!
As you can see by all the corks in the tables, we love a lotta wine! While some of our wines are names you’re familiar with, we hope to be able to introduce you to others that you’ve not yet tried, including some local wine from Sycamore Ranch and Wildwood Oak. Now that Lori is a Certified Sommelier, you can expect to see a broader wine list with lots of gems!
Our Oven
We are proud to be using a Stefano Ferrara wood fired pizza oven. It was built in Italy and shipped to Concord, Ca where is was tiled by master craftsmen. We burn locally sourced citrus to keep it hot. While we keep the oven at 900° to cook your pizza, we also use it at lower temperatures during the day to bake bread, roast vegetables, and cook our house-made sausage.
Our Pizza
At La Volata, we make authentic pizza napolitano. Our crust is made with 00 flour from Italy, salt, fresh yeast and water. It is always fresh and never comes from a box or a freezer. Each ball of dough is hand stretched into a 12” pizza, topped with fresh ingredients, and fired in a 900° pizza oven. Napolitano crust is thin and delicious so we don’t bury it under too many toppings.
The Proprietor
Lori lives up the street from La Volata and has a vested interest in helping to make this center a valuable addition to the neighborhood. Once in pharmaceutical sales, Lori now lives and breathes La Volata. She built the tables, made the bottle lights, installed all the tile, and painted the restaurant. She is a VPN certified Pizzaiola and occasionally jumps in to help out on the pizza station. Or she may be pouring your wine, having completed her Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. Chris now lives in Santa Barbara.
Their son, Ethan, is now an accomplished pizzaiolo, working the oven a few nights a week.
Our Chef
We are so fortunate to have a tremendously talented and locally sourced chef in our kitchen. Sean Readman attended Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School and has worked at some of the best restaurant and hotels in Redlands, San Diego, and Palm Springs.
He started his journey at La Volata in 2018 when he became our resident Pizzaiolo. Now, he leads our kitchen with pride and a forward thinking mindset, which inspires the whole crew to give their best work every single day.
Our Bar Manager
Our Sous Chef
Laurel started working for La Volata in 2018 and has brought so many fresh and unique ideas to the kitchen. Laurel has always been a diamond of an employee and continues to set the bar on quality and work ethic. With La Volata being her first real experience in a restaurant kitchen, it's amazing how much natural talent she has when it comes to recipe development and cooking. Laurel is also passionate about baking, as she worked alongside her aunt who is a pastry chef at The Four Seasons Hotel. She works alongside Sean in developing our seasonal menu and always finds unique ways to showcase her love for vegetables.
Our Assistant Manager
Sara has been a part of the La Volata family since December 2018 and has made our team so much sweeter. Sara consistently provides her guests with personable, attentive and knowledgable service. The passion and enthusiasm she has for her craft radiates in her friendly personality and strong work ethic. Recently, Sara has taken on the responsibility of curating our beer list and has made some stellar improvements! Keep an eye out for new fun beers on our list, and don't hesitate to ask Sara for her recommendations because she won't disappoint :)