State of Play in Venice and Surroundings

[echoparkdirt]

I am moving from Redondo Beach to Venice, but I consider it moving 15 minutes closer to my cherished San Gabriel chinese haunts....

Anyways, what is the state of play in Venice and surroundings? Any favorite places?

I am partial to ethnic dives and tapas/drinks places....

Please help a hound out!

PS. the lamb and scallions at Mao's Kitchen isn't half bad

[Servorg]

You are pretty much in the (left of) center of a hell of a lot of places that you'll like. From the Abbott Kinney Venice vibe to Santa Monica to authentic Sinaoloan and Nayarit Mexican seafood in Mar Vista to the Sawtelle Little Tokyo line up

[Phurstluv]

Guess you just about covered it, SO.

For tapas & drinks, you forgot Salut, on Main St in SM. There's also lots of decent bars like Library Alehouse and Finn McCool's on Main St as well.

[Servorg]

Oh, there are places that I missed. I hope others chime in with places they think of that I didn't recall. For instance just remembered that I should have recommended La Cabaña in Venice. Then, of course, we didn't even talk about the taco trucks.

[Phurstluv]

Right. Hey is La Cabana any good? Go by it a lot and wondered....

EPD, when you tire of some of the hole in the wall places, there's some nice decent options as well:

Chinois on Main does an awesome lamb dish.
Il Piccolo Paradiso is tiny, hard to get in but wonderful.
Joe's in Venice is an institution - been there 20+ years and has a great prix fixe lunch for $18.
Lemonade is another great lunch spot, don't let the cafeteria vibe scare you, their short rib & mac & cheese sandwich was awesome.
And Chez Jay is a SM institution - don't know what's really good there but a decent dive bar, it's always been.
That's all I can think of for now.......have fun exploring your new digs!

[Servorg]

I used to have a thing for the nachos at La Cabaña, but then I began going low carb and kind of stepped away from it. They are a great late, late night spot though because you can get a sit down meal until 2:45 AM (and that's a rare thing on the westside).

[Phurstluv]

Good to know, thanks.

[Emme]

La Cabana is great fror nachos and margaritas :-)

[kauma]

Apropos LC - the patio!!!

[westsidegal]

chinois on main also does, what is in my opinion, the best fried catfish in town.
keep in mind, though, that this restaurant has fine-dining prices.

[lapizzamaven]

La Cabana does make great handmade tortillas...

[westsidegal]

respectfully disagree with the la cabana recommendation as a source of good food.
drink and chips, though, are ok there, especially very late at night.

[yogachik]

A valentine to you Servorg. Bookmarked this.

I would add Little Hong Kong Cafe on Sawtelle and Cache (bar menu is great). Chaya Venice, too (happy hour all night Sunday and Monday).

[Servorg]

Always fun when Place Links are working like advertised. Really funny because we just got back from eating at Little Hong Kong. Not at all crowded, although Sawtelle was hopping generally. Hope your VD dinner was good.

[westsidegal]

would recommend avoiding sushi at chaya venice on sundays.
all the other food though has been good.

[aventinus]

Honestly, I think the Venice food scene is disappointing. As far as ethnic restaurants go, I like some of the items at Mao's and China Beach for delivery--especially the latter. But for real Chinese, or real Vietnamese, or real Indian, or real Japanese, or real Middle Eastern, or real ethnic anything, Venice is not the place. Moreover, the upscale restaurants like Joes and Chaya are overrated in my opinion.

The coffee scene is good due to Intelligentsia. For pizza, Abbot's Pizza Company is notable for a unique bagel-y crust with gourmetish toppings.

[westsidegal]

abbot's pizza is good for bagel-y crust, antica pizzaria is good for neopolitan style (crust so thin you need to eat it with a fork and knife, wood-fired oven, fresh mozz, imported flour, imported tomatos)

[echoparkdirt]

OK, now we're talking. Where are your closest ethnic restaurant go-tos?
Never tried China Beach.
La Cabana is extremely mediocre, but fun to meet up in.

[kaitoz]

Hal's
Beechwood
Gjelina
Axe
Piccolo
Falafel guy and Pupusa lady on Westminster/Ocean Front Walk
Gaby's Mediterranean
Lemonade
3 Square
Hama
James Beach

just to name a few, all within walking distance of anywhere in Venice - yum!

[Phurstluv]

Um, most of those were already listed.......

And what's falafel guy and pupusa lady, a food truck?

[echoparkdirt]

Just tried Beechwood -- the atmosphere was fantastic for a casual date. lovely california informal lounge