Italian Restaurant & Lounge · Santa Clara

Cosa Fai

"What are you doing tonight?" — an invitation to something unforgettable

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Our Story

Where Italian Tradition
Meets Modern Soul

Cosa Fai was born from a single question — "Cosa fai stasera?" — What are you doing tonight? It's the phrase that starts every great Italian evening: an invitation to gather, to linger, to let the night unfold.

Set inside the Ave Santa Clara development, our space blends sage-green millwork and warm caramel leather with lush greenery and soft globe lighting. The kitchen draws from generations of Italian craft — hand-rolled pasta, wood-fired preparations, ingredients sourced from the finest local purveyors and imported directly from Italy.

Beyond the plate, live jazz drifts through intimate lounge seating, craft cocktails are built with Italian amari and small-batch spirits, and a hidden speakeasy-style private dining room awaits those in the know.

"Cosa fai stasera?" — What are you doing tonight?

✦

"We don't just serve dinner. We orchestrate evenings — where every course tells a story, every cocktail has a soul, and the room itself feels like it was designed just for tonight."

— The Cosa Fai Philosophy

The Experience

Four Reasons to Stay All Night

🍝

The Kitchen

Wood-fired, hand-rolled, seasonally driven Italian cuisine crafted with imported ingredients and local farm partnerships.

Seats

🥃

The Bar

A 44-seat destination bar with Italian amari, small-batch spirits, and handcrafted cocktails beneath amber globe lights.

Bar Seats

🎷

Live Jazz

Thursday through Saturday, live jazz fills the lounge — turning dinner into an evening and an evening into a memory.

Nights Weekly

🌿

The Patio

A lush outdoor terrace with sage-green seating, warm wood accents, and trailing greenery under California sky.

Patio Seats

The Bar

Spirits, Jazz &
Late-Night Magic

Our bar isn't a prelude to dinner — it's a destination. Settle into caramel leather beneath warm pendant light while our mixologists craft cocktails that draw from Italian tradition and modern innovation.

With over 200 Italian wines, 40 amari, and a curated collection of rare spirits from Tuscany and Sicily — live jazz Thursday through Saturday transforms the space into something timeless.

Notte di Firenze

Aged gin, Cocchi Americano, blood orange, rosemary smoke

$19

Velvet Nero

Bourbon, Amaro Montenegro, espresso, dark chocolate bitters, vanilla

$21

Giardino Segreto

Mezcal, cucumber, elderflower, basil, lime, Maldon sea salt

$18

La Dolce Vita

Prosecco, Aperol, passionfruit, pink peppercorn, edible gold

$20

Private Dining

Behind the
Hidden Door

Through a speakeasy-style hidden entrance lies our Private Dining Room — an intimate, sound-insulated space with pendant lighting woven through trailing greenery. Whether it's a celebration for 16 or a lounge buyout for 60, every detail is curated to your vision.

Intimate PDR

Seats up to 16 guests with sliding privacy doors and hidden millwork entry

Lounge Buyout

Full bar & lounge for up to 60 guests with live jazz and cocktail service

Custom Menus

Chef-curated tasting menus and wine pairings tailored to your occasion

Wine Experiences

Sommelier-led tastings featuring rare Italian vintages and regional discoveries

Inquire About Events

Al Fresco

The Terrace

Thirty seats beneath California sky, wrapped in lush greenery and warm wood. Our al fresco terrace brings the Mediterranean to Santa Clara — sage-green furniture, trailing plants, and the kind of light that makes every evening golden.

Available for walk-ins or reservations, with the full cocktail and dinner menu served tableside. Sunday brunch on the patio is its own kind of ritual.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"Cosa Fai isn't just a restaurant — it's the kind of place where time slows down, the pasta is transcendent, and you find yourself canceling your next plans because you never want to leave the bar."

— Silicon Valley Magazine

Hours

Tuesday – Thursday · 5 PM – 10 PM
Friday – Saturday · 5 PM – Midnight
Sunday Brunch · 10 AM – 2 PM
Bar open late Fri & Sat

Location

Ave Santa Clara · Santa Clara, CA
Get Directions →

Contact

(408) 123-4567 · info@cosafai.com

Reservations

Your Table Awaits

Join us for an evening of exceptional Italian cuisine, handcrafted cocktails, and live jazz at Ave Santa Clara.

Cosa Fai

Where Italian Tradition
Meets Modern Soul