Its bleacher-style seating is perfect for watching the baristas whip up a matcha latte or grind single-origin beans that might be sourced from Rwanda or El Salvador.ĭown the street, the Bay Area-based Blue Bottle outpost draws in coffee lovers with its gleaming Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machine beneath a slowly-shifting LED display, meant to mimic the blue Venice sky. Coffee and Cocktailsįor a pick-me-up, head to the airy, loft-like Intellgentsia. The small-but-mighty storefront is still doling out real-die pies with both classic toppings and wilder combos (think chicken curry pizza with pineapple and more). Dubbed a “vegetable slaughterhouse,” the Venice offshoot of the NYC original offers up stone oven-baked pizzas, veggie-packed salads and bowls, a killer housemade buckwheat-and-bean burger, plus smoothies and fresh-pressed juices.Īnd while AK may have changed plenty over the years, 25-year-old slice spot Abbot’s Pizza, hasn’t. Speaking of brunch, there’s perhaps no better venue on the street for daytime noshing than The Butcher’s Daughter, a white-washed space with soaring ceilings, copper accents, a wood-topped bar, and plenty of hanging plants. If you don’t manage to snag a reservation, try Yours Truly, a newly revamped neighborhood eatery where chef Vartan Abgaryan gets innovative with seasonal veggies and seafood layered with international influences, including Delicata squash laced with harissa, octopus chicarron, and Nashville hot shrimp paired with Japanese milk bread.Īnd whether you’re a dedicated vegan or not, you’ll likely find yourself wowed by the offerings at Matthew Kenney’s minimalist Plant Food + Wine, where the superstar chef has created his own lineup of faux cheeses along with inventive plates of kelp noodle cacio e pepe, mushroom pate, and rice-based bacon at brunch. (It’s the same space that once housed the late Joe Miller’s seasonal eatery Joe’s, often credited with launching Venice’s dining scene and spearheading the city’s farm-to-table movement.) Felix Trattoria has officially become one of the city’s toughest reservations, thanks to Funke’s acclaimed regional specialties like spaghetti with bottarga and his signature pappardelle tossed in a chunky lamb Bolognese. Or, on the south end of the street, pasta master Evan Funke crafts next-level noodles in his climate-controlled, glass encased “pasta lab” within Felix Trattoria. For a quick fix, Gjelina Take Away offers counter-service pizzas, salads, and sandwiches along with breakfast fare. It’s here where chef Travis Lett churns out unique wood-roasted vegetable plates and perfectly puffy pizzas decked out with toppings of tomato confit, stinging nettles, and squash blossoms, depending on the season. If you’ve got time for just one meal on the block, make it at the quintessential Venice restaurant Gjelina, with its rustic-sexy dining room and adjacent patio that’s been packed from morning till midnight for more than a decade. Here are our top picks for shopping, sipping, and dining on this unforgettable street. A slew of bustling restaurants helmed by top chefs has made the block one of the city’s top dining destinations, and with its charming boutiques, Instagrammable street art, events, and people-watching, Abbot Kinney Boulevard is a can’t-miss stop for any visitor to LA. Today, Abbot Kinney Boulevard is still one of the hippest streets in all of Los Angeles. The 2007 arrival of frozen yogurt franchise Pinkberry is often cited as the catalyst that - for better or worse - began the gentrification of Abbot Kinney, and once GQ magazine named it “The Coolest Block in America” five years later, the street shot to international fame as high-end, big-name brands clamored to move in. Once a semi-gritty artists’ enclave, the street saw a handful of locally-owned restaurants, boutiques, and galleries pop up in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, which slowly brought in an expanded clientele from outside the neighborhood. Named for the developer, conservationist, and tobacco magnate who founded Venice back in the early 1900s, the mile-long commercial stretch has undergone lots of changes over the years. Venice Beach’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard, just a short drive from the Fairmont Miramar, has long been one of the Westside’s most iconic, eclectic, and eye-catching streets.
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