Danny's Deli in Venice?

[hrhboo]

This place recently took over the space that used to house the Venice Cantina on Windward. I believe it's owned by the guys behind James Beach and the Canal Club. It appears to be hybrid upscale deli/sit-down restaurant/bar. Has anyone been?

[veniceslug1]

I just came from Danny's. Great lox, eggs, and onions. Outrageously priced. $12.50 for a small portion and a bagel. No potatoes.

[gtflier]

Why would you open a deli, and have all of the deli items suck? Everything here seems way overpriced. Even if the food was good, which it is most certainly not, it is too pricey for the lame sized portions they give you. They try and sell there stuff with dumb tag lines like quotes from magazines and special brands of food, but if you don't know how to cook things well, it doesn't matter. I go to restaurants to eat well, not just if I think the place is cute or cool. JB and canal club are the same way, gross!

[doctorjerry]

Danny’s Deli Restaurant in the heart of Venice Beach at 23 Windward Ave.

“If only the food was as good as the ambiance” would be my refrain. Unfortunately Danny’s doesn’t believe in serving hot soup. If that was the only complaint it might be attributed to my liking my soup hot, hot enough to burn the roof of my mouth. But alas, Danny’s likes their soups definitely on the cool side, barely north of warm and their chili very salty. We both tried the chili and quickly determined it was inedible and sent it back. This was the first time in over 5 years that I sent something back to the kitchen.

They asked what else they might bring us. I selected a bowl of the grilled vegetable soup while my friend Walter selected the half salami sandwich with soup. His sandwich was served on "white bread" (in a deli?) with a cup of the grilled vegetable soup. Again, the soup was lukewarm, but at least not salty, in fact, not much of anything. They must be adhering to the “Bland is Grand” motto. Good grilled vegetable soup is usually a mixture of pureed grilled vegetables in a tasty broth with small chunks of the same grilled vegetables floating around. This soup could easily have been bland pureed pea soup.

To add several insults to injury, when I asked for bread with the soup, it took a while. And when it arrived, no butter was offered. Even worse, while the bread was hand sliced, and not from a store bought loaf of sandwich bread, it was mushy and soft. It made Wonderbread look good. And then there came the bill problem. The waitress, although very pleasant and semi-efficient, forgot to remove the charges for the returned bowls of chili.

Danny, the owner manager who happened to be sitting in the booth next to us with an LA Times photographer, quickly pointed out that he was changing bread vendors. He said that the new bread would be crusty as one would hope and expect. He did not comment on the soup. The final bill with tip came to $14.00 each, money not very well spent.

[hrhboo]

I drink at Danny's very often but haven't eaten much of the food. The menu items I have tried have been good, not spectacular. I love hanging out there, it's a cool space and the staff is lovely but the food just misses the mark for me.

[Miss En Place]

I posted about this a few days ago (http://www.chowhound.com/topics/377630) and have since been back again for a frankly mediocre mediterranean plate (acrid hummous, tepid baba ghanoush) and a ho-hum cobb salad. Never tried the desserts.

[kevin]

i haven't been to james beach in quite a while, but i remember that their angus burger and fries were pretty good, and a coffee pot de creme. sadly, their special fried chicken was terrible.

is danny's supposed to be jewish-style? and how are the desserts, anything special above the call of black and whites, or cheesecake,etc.

[kevin]

danny's sounds bad, what style is it supposed to be/

[hrhboo]

It's supposed to be a comfort food menu with deli items. I only tried the latkes and enjoyed them. Most of all, I enjoyed the feel of the place and had a great time sitting at the bar. I guess for me it'll be one of those places (like James Beach) that I go to for the vibe rather than the food.

[gtflier]

I went to this place, and unfortunately, it sucks. It's truly amazing that there is no good place to get a great sandwich in venice, and this place is not only no different; it's worse. Their bread seems to be stale, (I went twice). The amount of meat they put in their sandwiches is way too little, especially for the ridiculous prices they are charging. I know when a place opens it takes a little time to work out the kinks, but the place wasn't that busy, and the food took awhile. Just isn't a solid place, not really good jewish, not really good anything. Better stuff at zelda's on westminster, or Jerry's deli for that matter.

[bulavinaka]

I don't know what you like in terms of sandwiches, but two places come to mind immediately for sandwiches in Venice. Stroh's Gourmet, 1239 Abbot Kinney, does pretty substantial sandwiches - my favorite was a pastrami with BBQ sauce and carmelized onions (and I'm not a fan of pastrami or bbq sauce in gnrl but saw lots of people ordering it), and they'll be glad to panini their sandwiches.

French Market Cafe does great sandwiches on fresh bagettes. Nothing fancy - usually ham, turkey, salami, roast beef, etc., but the baby greens are always fresh, and the bagettes are fantastic.

[hrhboo]

It's fun. It'll probably end up being like Canal Club which serves mediocre food but has been there for years and is always packed. Danny and James really seem to know how to make a place enjoyable and popular without serving the greatest food.

[hrhboo]

I went again tonight and had a cheese plate and chopped liver. I loved everything and everyone who works there is awesome. Still haven't tried much of the cooked food, but they apparently use organic hormone-free ingredients which makes them alright in my book.

[hrhboo]

I checked out Danny's Deli last night and had a great time. I sat at the bar and ordered the latkes. I have never had a real Jewish grandmother fry latkes for me, but these were pretty damn good.

The menu is quite large and included traditional deli fare in addition to comfort food classics. It's a lovely space and the people who work there are as nice as can be. I'd like to try more of their dishes soon, since I was on my own last night I didn't get to sample much.

I spoke to Danny the owner about the complete lack of buzz surrounding the place. Apparently this was intentional to give them a chance to slowly work out their kinks before being mobbed. It's a very welcome addition to the neighborhood.

[adair66]

My wife and I have been to Danny's a couple of times. We're big James Beach fans (not so much the Canal Club), and Danny's was decent. They don't have any outdoor tables, which is a shame for a Boardwalk location. I think it will take a little while to hit their stride (menu is an odd mix of casual & more upscale fare, and the bartender told us they've been in the weeds consistently as they get the kinks worked out), but it's worth a visit.

[hrhboo]

Thanks for the helpful info, I'll check it out tonight! That location never seems to do well for some reason, and the space is huge. I'm rooting for it to do well since that area is in dire need of more good spots.

[kevin]

sounds like a good possibility. has anyone been to Robin's Nest, right next door to James Beach, do they serve good sandwiches too? it seems like it might be a pint-sized surfas.

[hrhboo]

I shop there a lot. I don't think they make sandwiches but they carry a good basic range of products including good cheeses and nibbles like cookies, crackers, chocolate etc. The Market Gourmet on Abbot Kinney is more of a pint-sized Surfas.