And while we’re on the subject of openings… It was back in March when I discovered that Carlo’s Bake Shop, of Cake Boss fame, was opening a branch at 1354 3rd St. Promenade in Downtown Santa Monica. So, for all you who have been eagerly awaiting a chance to get your hands on their confectionary creations, it is my pleasure to tell you that Carlo’s Bake Shop threw open their doors on Monday. Again, you’re welcome.
Ever since I first told you about the new project from the Voltaggio Brothers, that was coming to The Gallery at 1315 3rd Street Promenade, a great many of you have been anxiously checking for details. (Eater filled in the gaps.) Well… cue the stampede: Voltaggio STRFSH is now open as of two days ago. Currently, they are only open for lunch, but they plan on dinner service soon. The concept? You start with a choice of swordfish or salmon. Then choose a rub, a smear, and toppings before it all lands on a toasted potato roll. Or pick one of their already designed sandwiches. An ABC license is posted, so libations are on the way. You’re welcome.
About two years ago I told you about the impending arrival of Bowl of Heaven to the space at 725 Broadway. Sadly, they have vacated the yoga-centric community. But lament not, good people of Santa Monica! You can get your bowl fix at BoH‘s replacement, Enso Tea/Acai, which has another location in Las Vegas.
It wasn’t that long ago that I told you about the intention of Korean food chain Bibibop to take over erstwhile locations of Southeast Asian eatery ShopHouse. The Santa Monica branch of Bibibop Asian Grill, at 1401 Third St. Promenade, is now officially up and running. The concept is similar to ShopHouse‘s, where you build your bowl out of rice, noodles, or greens and then add a choice of protein, sauce, and various hot and cold toppings.
The last remaining tenant of the failed Market at Santa Monica Place is pulling out. Culinary educators The Gourmandise School are moving to a new third floor location in the mall, just to the right of the recently moved The Curious Palate. What’s next for The Market? I’ve heard whispers that it will be turned into a multi-use space, but I cannot confirm that, so we’ll just have to wait and see…
I noticed recent activity at the in-store restaurant on the third floor of Santa Monica Place’s outpost of Nordstrom. It appears that what was formerly Blue Stove is transforming into a “casually sophisticated” bistro, Bazille. It looks like they’re not too far from opening, but until then, you can compare menus here.
The other day I noticed an interesting sign recently installed on the upstairs space in The Gallery at 1315 3rd Street Promenade where Subway used to reside. Still covered with plastic, the sign resembles a license plate and bears an inscrutable jumble of consonants that appear to say “starfish”. It also bears a very famous name, Voltaggio. After much online searching, I was able to uncover only one single clue: On page 35 of the Downtown Santa Monica Annual Report (you’re welcome for searching this document, it’s written on the very last page.), you’ll see this single sentence, “Two new and exciting chef-driven concepts will follow, James Beard Award winner Dave Beran’s Dialogue and STRFSH by the Voltaggio Brothers.” And that’s as much as I can find…
Update: Eater has more details here.
Further Update: Voltaggio STRFSH is now open.
Well that took a long time… Well over a year ago, I first noticed that food truck folks Bobaritto were finally putting down roots at 1321 Third Street Promenade in Downtown Santa Monica. I’m not sure what the hold up was, but they have recently thrown open their doors and are dispensing sushi burritos, poke, and boba tea to the good people of Santa Monica.
Could the stumbling food scene in Santa Monica Place be recovering? Z Pastabar recently opened, The Curious Palate jumped locations but not the ship, and The Cheesecake Factory appears constantly busy. Yet there are still four cavernous restaurant spaces that remain idle. But soon you can make that three. Signs are up on the front of the space that used to house Pizza Antica informing us that Torrance’s craft beer specialists The Dudes’ Brewing Company will soon be moving in. We wish them the best of luck.
It was almost three years ago that I first noticed that a branch of Caffe Primo was intending on moving into the corner space at 7th and Arizona in Downtown Santa Monica, across the street from wildly popular Cassia. But all that appears to have changed. Recently, all the window announcements were pulled down, and a for lease sign has gone up on the vacant space. It looks like the West Hollywood location is gone as well. I’m not sure what happened, but I’ll keep watching to see what develops.
Bowls, those complicated combinations of über-healthy ingredients commingling in a container, remain hot commodities. The latest to try their hand at attracting the attention of the yoga set in Downtown Santa Monica is Backyard Bowls. With a smattering of locations across Santa Barbara and LA, they look fairly close to opening at 1317A 7th St. Expect a menu of açaí bowls, smoothies, hot porridges, and toasts, that you can read more about here.
It’s often been said that when God closes a frozen yogurt joint, he opens a fast food pasta restaurant… Here are the latest changes to the stumbling Santa Monica Place food scene. Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt has closed up shop just outside the food court. And plucky contender Z Pastabar has opened inside the food court, which is now completely occupied.
What was once a very quiet section of Downtown Santa Monica is quickly transforming into a restaurant destination. Just to the right of Cava and the upcoming HiHo, at 1320 2nd St. Suite A, a brand new handmade pasta joint calling itself Uovo Pasta will soon be joining the list. And it looks like they’re fairly close to opening…
Santa Monica Yacht Club closed its doors at 820 Santa Monica Blvd. a bit ago so Andrew Kirschner could focus his attention on Tar & Roses, his other restaurant a block away, at least according to the notice taped to the front door. Recently however, an ABC ownership change application has appeared and names the new restaurant as… Santa Monica Yacht Club. If you examine the application online, you can see that a familiar name is listed as an officer: Nyesha Arrington, who left Leona in Venice back in February to pursue other projects.
In a push to make banking more friendly, financial giant Capital One has been opening community cafés across the country. And now Santa Monica looks like their next target. Going into a brand new building on the corner of 4th and Broadway in Downtown Santa Monica, on what used to be an unsightly parking lot, the new Capital One Café will offer Peet’s beverages and “local pastry” in addition to internet and banking services.
Ever since the tragic demise of Santa Monica’s beloved branch of Border Grill, I’ve kept a careful watch on the space at 1445 4th St. I’ve been hearing whispers, and a design review mentioned something called Publique, but I couldn’t get confirmation. But then late last week the for lease signs came down, and an ABC application was posted on the front informing us the Le Zinc Bar (Zinqué) will be opening a restaurant called Publique. You can check out the design review, including plans for an open air patio, and an artist’s rendering here.
It takes a brave eatery to give it a go in the sputtering food scene that is Santa Monica Place. Apparently Westside Pavilion’s Z Pastabar believes it has what it takes. They are moving into the last open space in the food court. But that’s not all: The courageous carb purveyor is moving into the new Westfield Century City Shopping Center, and is opening locations across LA according to their website. As a grand opening promotion, the upcoming Santa Monica location is giving away free food if you download their app.
A great many of you have been carefully checking for information ever since I first told you about Santa Monica’s upcoming branch of North Italia, taking over the erstwhile Buca Di Beppo space at 1442 2nd St. in Downtown Santa Monica. You’ll be pleased to know that according to the notice on the door, North Italia will officially throw open its doors on May 30th. We wish them the best of luck.
It was back in February that I first noticed the plywood covering the old Seaside Grill space at 109 Broadway in Downtown Santa Monica. I was lucky enough to run into the owner, Marc Moubarak, who informed me that the name of the new restaurant was going to be Air Food, and the menu would be French. Air Food will officially open its doors on Wednesday, May 24th. Last Saturday night, I had an opportunity to have a look around during Air Food’s “VIP soft opening celebration”. The menu, designed by Chef Thierry, was still being finalized, but what was on offer on Saturday was decidedly French with some Asian influences. Scroll down on their Yelp page to read more information about the promising new restaurant. We wish them the best of luck.
It wasn’t that long ago that I told you about a branch of the rapidly expanding build-your-own Mediterranean restaurant Cava Grill was going to land in Downtown Santa Monica. Now they’re ready to open. And to celebrate, they’re giving away free lunches this Tuesday (5/23) from 12pm to 2pm at their new 1318 2nd Street location. Thank you Cava Grill!
Toddrickallen 