Cheap and tasty dinner in Culver City? Nearer to 10 than 405...

[mbeaudry]

Message

[jennp]

Cafe Brasil is my favorite place to eat in Culver City... (two locations... one on Venice, the other on Washington)

www.cafe-brasil.com

enjoy!

[schmamo]

I went to Novecento (on Main near Bottlerock) for dinner last week and the gnocchi was exceptional. Add a glass of wine to that, a pretty decently sized side salad, some tasty bread and dipping sauce and you have a complete meal for under $25 in a very quaint restaurant filled with people conversing in Italian. Loved it.

[bruinike]

2nd the rec for Novecento. My friends and I call the dipping sauce for the foccacia bread they serve you liquid gold. Addicting! I usually get the special grilled fish of the day with vegetables and potatoes. Very reasonably priced.

[love2chow]

Thai Boom on Venice near Overland!! You will love it (especially the Pineapple Fried Rice!)

[nosh]

Thai Boom is on the north side of Venice at Midvale, between Overland and Sepulveda. Friendly service, topnotch food. I like the yellow curry, the stirfried eggplant with chicken, and their special shrimp in dry curry butter. Excellent, well-presented chicken satay too. Superior to any neighborhood Thai I've had in L.A. outside of Thaitown up on Hollywood.

[HungryLaw]

My recommendations would be:

Mama Mia's on the corner of National and Motor Ave (it's on Motor)... fantastic pizza at very reasonable prices. The place doesn't look fancy at all and just walking by one would probably walk past it, but the pizza is amazing. The service is a bit cold, but the food more than makes up for it.

Otherwise, La Dijonaise and Tender Greens are nice options.

[gadflier]

Let's focus on off the 10, so Washington:

La Dijonaise Cafe, across from Beacon, at Helms.
Honey Kettle for super cheap, and tasty (but can only be eaten at, say, semi-annually).

Have only tried Santa Maria's once.

Would suggest you see what everyone else says about Ugo as it fits the bill, but I haven't been yet.

[Jeryy]

Still looking? My two absolute favorites in Culver City are Versailles (Cuban) at Motor and Venice and Pacifico (Mexican seafood) just East of Venice and Main St. Both are fabulous and reasonable (not cheap.) Versailles chicken is maybe the best eight buck meal in Los Angeles, if not the world. Pacifico has a swell patio, excellent whole fried fish ( the Huachenango on the menu) and cold beer. I'm getting hungry just writing about it.

Jeryy

Jeryy

[glutton]

To each his own, but there is a fair amount of dissension on this board about the quality of Versailles and Pacifico. Personally, I find Versailles to be overly greasy and I found Pacifico to serve gringo Mexican food. As my dad used to always tell me, that's why they make 31 flavors -- everybody has different tastes and that's just fine.

[Jeryy]

I would never suggest that Pacifico's is authentic - it's barely Mexican at all. But it has fresh seafood, some of it raw bar, some of it very well prepared. Authenticity is often overrated. I'll take delicious over authentic any time.

As for Versailles there's been a line-up to get in every night for the last twenty years. You can say the same about Pinks, of course. But no one in my family or wide circle of friend have ever been less than delighted by Versailles.

[bulavinaka]

I guess it's all about personal preference, but I stopped going to Versailles back in the early 90s because it was just too salty and greasy for me... I do admit that the food smells great, the service was usually friendly and prompt, and the Moros Y Cristianos was delicious, but I found the locations in Palms/Culver City and Fairfax areas tend to use too much salt and fat in their dishes.

El Rincon Criollo on Sepulveda in Culver City is a small family-run eatery that serves up versions of Cuban food that seem more conservative on the salt and fat. Give them a shot, maybe for lunch. I think you'll find them to be a nice alternative to Versailles.

El Rincon Criollo
4361 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
310-397-9295

[herculesmulligan]

Metro Diner at Washington Place and Sepulveda. Go for the special menu.

[Jeryy]

The Indo Cafe on National, just West of Motor - Indonesian food very well prepared. Lots of fresh flavor, nice atmosphere, very reasonable.

[michellemabelle]

We like Giovanni's in a strip mall on Venice and Hughes for cheap and tasty. Also, all the culver city restaurants like Beacon, Ugo(with cool wine bar next door), Meltdown (the grilled cheese place) in downtown Culver City are all good.

[brekkie_fan]

second Beacon.......but based on other recs, i think it might not be cheap enough?

[califsassygirl]

Apple Pan on Pico and Overland, Paco's Taco's on Centinela and Washington.

[nosh]

Thai Boom, on Venice between Overland and Sepulveda. Hu's Szechwan, at National and National near Motor. Victor Jr's, on Washington across from the studios. Versailles, on Venice near Motor.

[glutton]

You cannot get any closer to the 10 freeway than Sabor a Mexico. And it qualifies as "cheap and tasty" easily.

[hrhboo]

Second this rec!

[PaulF]

The question posed reads like ad copy for Sabor:

Cheap and tasty dinner in Culver City ... Nearer to 10 than 405...

[JeetJet]

Ya. Maybe my response should simply be -- "Rutts...Nearer to 405 than 10....Sorry...Cheap and tasty...Breakfast, lunch, dinner.... "

But I like talking about Rutts too much, so...

I like Rutts. Big meals, low costs and good food.

For breakfast I like the King size bacon Royale but you must order it with fried rice – not regular rice. It is nice that they offer three sizes for this breakfast. It can make ordering a little confusing but in the end you can decide whether to eat a Jr., Regular or King size portion for breakfast but just don’t forget to order FRIED RICE.
.
For lunch I like Rutts fsh plates or the Loco Moco. They do have a dinner menu but I have never gone for dinner. If I did go for dinner I would probably order more of the above but don’t let that stop you from reading further down their menu. Oh ya, I do like the burger also – island style.

RUTTS HAWAIIAN CAFÉ
12114 WASHINGTON BLVD,
LOS ANGELES, CA 90066
310-398-6326
http://www.ruttscafes.com/

[PaulF]

Rutts is cool ... we go all the time.

I get the Royale "Atkins style."

[JeetJet]

"Atkins style" ??? My Dr. was just talking to me about that last week. He also said something about going to Palm Beach??? Now, what is a Royale "Atkins style?"

[PaulF]

Atkins style means no rice, extra veggies.I don't personally adhere to a strict Atkins, no/low carb regimen, but I try not to eat too much starch. So I get the Royale's without the rice and the bun. Love it.

Rutt's is a good place. We're in there quite a bit. We used to like going for breakfast on the weekend, but it's crowded after a while. Nice place.

[JeetJet]

Maybe it is just me, but I read, "Cheap and Nasty ... dinner in Culver City ... " Well, Maybe its just my taste, or a mind-set...

Now, about that Atkins style eating. I guess I will need to buy a Atkins book and spend more time reading / lees time eating and that will be a start.

Need a book...until then...Honey's Kettle...Good chicken....biscuits....9537 Culver Blvd....Culver City, CA 90232....[phone]....

http://honeyskettle.com/

[ckbear]

try l'hermitage - pretty reasonably priced. alternatively, alot of people seem to like tender greens, although i haven't yet had the pleasure of trying it.