It takes a great deal of courage to open a restaurant in capricious Westwood Village. Eateries come and go faster than you can find a parking space. Sadly, it appears that Barbacoa Mexican Grill has thrown in the towel and vacated its space at 1030 Glendon Ave. No word on a replacement, and if you’ve developed a craving for their healthy brand of Mexican fare, you might have to drive a while as most of their other locations are in Utah.
It was only about a month ago I noticed that yet another poke restaurant was opening in voracious El Segundo. Wasting no time, California chain Poke Bar has moved in and is now dishing raw fish in the old Ugly Pie Company space at 2161B El Segundo Blvd. (next to Farmer Boys) . Read more and check out menus here.
I first noticed that something new was coming to the space at 11916 Wilshire Blvd. that formerly housed the fusty Western Los Angeles fixture Divita’s Pizzeria back in January, when window paper promised a new restaurant and wine bar brought to us by Vincent and Chase. Then in June, Divita’s iconic sign was changed and let us know the name of the new wine bar: Belle Vie Food & Wine. On Tuesday, Belle Vie (which means “beautiful life” in French) threw open its doors for the first time. The new eatery is helmed by Vincent Samarco and Cedric Nicolas, both of whom have cut their teeth in Paris restaurants. Expect a French-leaning menu (moules, frites, charcuteries, fromages, French wines) that also includes a few surprises like mac and cheese, gravlax, devilled eggs, and “Burgundy tacos“, all served in a cozy, neighborhood bistro and bar with warm service. Check out their website and read more here.
Neighborhood artisanal hand-crafted coffee and espresso expert Caffe Luxxe is turning 10 years old. To celebrate, they’ve created a special 10th Anniversary Blend, that you can sample for free starting today (Wednesday). And according to their website, tomorrow (August 4th) they will be handing out “FREE drinks all day” at all three locations in Santa Monica and Brentwood.
Back in August, I noticed that the windows of an erstwhile hair salon at 412 N. Bedford in Beverly Hills had been papered over with announcements that superfood bowl specialists Rawberri would soon be inhabiting the space. Well, something must have fallen trough… Recently, the announcements came down and a for lease sign went up. Apparently the space is again leased. I’ve no idea what may be coming, but I’ll keep watching.
The food scene in aerospace-centric El Segundo continues to expand. It was back in October that I told you about the impending arrival of a branch of mini-chain The Hummus Republic to the space in The Edge complex at 827 N. Douglas St. You’ll be happy to know that the “build your own” fast/casual Mediterranean grill recently opened. Read more and check out menus here.
Ever since I first told you about the upcoming arrival of Honeyboba to the space at 11573 W. Santa Monica Blvd. (corner of Federal) in West LA, a great many of you have been carefully tracking its progress. So here’s welcome news: Honeyboba is now open providing this neck of the woods with boba, egg pudding, coffee jelly, grass jelly, teas, and smoothies. Why it took so long is anyone’s guess…
Recently, French body care line L’Occitane vacated its diminutive jewel box space at 1301 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Wasting no time whatsoever, signs have gone up in the window indicating that Florida-based French pastry chain Le Macaron will soon be moving in, making this the LA area’s first branch. The window promises coffee, croissants, gelato, chocolates, and of course, macarons, or as they describe them, “a mouthful of heaven”.
I just noticed that Chicken Dijon at 2224 Sawtelle Blvd. in West Los Angeles has officially flown the coop. And replacing it? A branch of Orange County’s purveyor of Taiwanese poultry Popcorn Chicken.
Just what you need as the temperature continues to climb… Back in September of last year, I first noticed that a new shop offering a frozen alternative to yogurt was moving into the space at 729 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. After what seems like a long time, the Frozen Fruit Company is now up and running. Originally hailing from the UK, FFC offers a soft serve made entirely from fruit in flavors such as pineapple & passion fruit, mango & strawberry, raspberry & orange that you can read more about here.
We all know that since opening, the food scene at Santa Monica Place has had its share of troubles. The much-anticipated Market now sits mostly empty and largely untouched, as do a number of other restaurant spaces, even as the wildly popular Cheesecake Factory continues to be a big draw. Into this chaos, one plucky new eatery is making a courageous bid. Mall staple Great Khan’s Mongolian Grill is now open in the food court. We wish them luck.
Remember back in October of last year, when we were informed by Eater that Il Grano, Western LA’s fine Italian restaurant known for its truffle menus (and consequently La Bottega Marino next door) were closing? Since then, I’ve been watching things carefully. Recently, the façade was redone, and the windows papered over indicating that a new establishment was taking over. And now we know what is coming to the space at 11359 Santa Monica Boulevard. It turns out, the upcoming restaurant will be a new venture named The Nickel Bar, brought to you by the same people behind Studio City’s The Woodman and Cocina Condesa. I had a chance to speak to a rep, who gave me the skinny on the upcoming bar/restaurant. The focus here is local sourcing for drinks/food in a cozy neighborhood environment with a prominent bar. And while they’re still working things out, the menu will feature New York style pizza. We wish them the best of luck. Look for a projected August 1st opening.
This is a bit of a mystery… It appears that Santa Monica’s branch of perennially popular fast/fresh Mexican chain Poquito Mas has closed up shop at 2025 Wilshire Blvd., next to Veggie Grill. As you can tell from the photo, the space hasn’t yet lined up a new tenant, but I’ll keep watching.
I recently noticed a banner attached to the front of the space at 12801 Inglewood Ave. (corner of El Segundo) in Hawthorne announcing that Verylicious Yogurt will soon be arriving. This particular corner has become a bit of a destination recently, owing to Eater‘s nod to new Chinese-American restaurant sensation Chubby Rice. Not a great deal of information out there yet on the new icy treat shop, just a Facebook page, but I’ll keep watching.
Could this be a sign of the times? Cast your memory back to a simpler age, when frozen yogurt was king and Pinkberry its crowned prince. Things seem to have changed somewhat. I just noticed that the branch of Pinkberry at 11711 Gorham Ave. in Brentwood has closed its doors, only to be replaced by a branch of uberhealthy Pressed Juicery. Now that’s gotta hurt…
After a long and thorough remodel, the food court at 1315 Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica otherwise known as The Gallery, finally reopened earlier this year and began to sputter back to life. However, there appears to be a challenge to its triumphant return: After reopening recently, McDonald’s, long the corner-stone of The Gallery, has mysteriously disappeared. This leaves only Subway currently open, but there does seem to be a great deal of activity in some of the other stalls. I’ll keep watching.
It was only back in March when I noticed that Asian shaved ice shop Sweet Crush had closed its doors at 11753 San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood. Wasting no time whatsoever, Moo Greek Yogurt quickly moved in and threw open their doors this week. Moo offers a menu of home-made yogurt gelato and yogurt bowls in a variety of sweet and savory options as well as build-your-own.
It was back in March when I first noticed that a new coffee and bread spot was going into the space at 9667 1/2 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Mr. B Bakery is now fully up and running. The self-described “Euro/Asian fusion bakery” offers an astonishingly vast menu of coffee, tea and milk tea, boba, and baked goods that you can read more about here.
It was back in August of last year that I told you about the first listed restaurant going into the giant Elevon complex still in development on the corner of Mariposa and Douglas in El Segundo. At the time, the paper in the windows indicated that it would be a branch of Bowl of Heaven, the purveyors of all things acai. However, due to some corporate maneuverings within the parent company, this location at 731 N. Douglas is now independent from the BoH empire and now goes by the name of Bowlology. It recently opened, and offers what you might guess: juices, smoothies, and acai bowls. But there’s one big difference: Yes folks its poke-palooza west of the 405! Bowlology also offers a selection of prefab poke bowls, and only just a block away from the also recently opened Ono Poke. Why should anyone have to walk more than a block for poke?
Toddrickallen 