Il Fornaio Triumphantly Returning To Santa Monica…

You may recall that a branch of Il Fornaio used to anchor the corner of Ocean Ave. and Colorado (where Del Frisco’s Grill now resides) until its closure many years ago.  But now it appears that the beloved Italian bakery/restaurant is about to make its return to Santa Monica.  The space at 401 Wilshire Blvd, suite 150, has just completed a major renovation, turning it into a bright and airy storefront with a large deck and a mid-century feel.  Recently an ABC application was affixed to the front informing us that this will be the location of Osteria Del Fornaio, a slightly different business name, but the applicant is listed as the Il Fornaio America Corporation, parent company of Il Fornaio and Canaletto Ristorante Veneto.  Right now, the space is completely gutted, so we may have to wait a while to find out more…

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Café De Mundo Bringing World-Inspired Coffee To Santa Monica

Santa Monica is white hot for new eateries right now…  Now it looks like they’re about to get a new neighborhood caffeine joint.  Construction appears to be nearing completion on Café de Mundo at 1502 Broadway.  Crafted coffee drinks “inspired by how the world drinks it” and Farmshop pastries and sandwiches will be on offer.  They’re shooting for a Fall opening.

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Tartine’s Santa Monica Location Will Be…

We first got tipped off about Tartine’s expansion into Santa Monica by Eater, but no location was given.  Then an excited reader recently spotted this, which seems to imply that Tartine will be landing in a new development on the corner of 20th and Arizona (1925 Arizona to be exact), site of the former Gates, Kingsley & Gates Moeller Murphy Funeral Directors building!  So I went by to check things out.  The funeral parlor closed a while ago, and the lot was sold.  The expansive corner space is currently under construction, and an application posted out front indicates that a five story building will eventually stand on the corner.  There’s no indication from the permits that Tartine will be part of the new development.  So I reached out to a rep for Tartine, who confirmed that yes, they will be opening at this location.  The medical/residential neighborhood at first seems an odd choice for San Francisco’s darling of rustic bread and pastries.  But remember that Susan Feniger’s and Mary Sue Milliken’s upcoming project Socalo is only a block away, and sleek The Rooster is two blocks away, so it appears the area is turning into a something of a food destination.

Kameo Shave Ice Joins Social Eats In The Gallery, Santa Monica

What was in distant memory once a dusty old Third Street Promenade tourist pit stop, The Gallery Food Hall, has been systematically transforming into a remarkable food destination over the past few years.  Joining such lofty names as STRFSH, Paperboy, Dialogue, and the fascinating Social Eats concept, there’s now another name to add to the list.  Kameo Shave Ice has opened in the old Everytable space on the ground floor.  But you’d better hurry, the website promises a “limited time” only.

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Pita House Sets Up Housekeeping In Santa Monica

About two years ago, the strip mall popular with SaMoHi students on the corner of Lincoln and Pico in Santa Monica underwent a major remodel.  Some of the storefronts mysteriously remain vacant, but it appears that is changing.  Work is fast and furious on a new restaurant moving into the corner location.  A new sign promises us that Pita House will soon be bringing us “Mediterranean cuisine”.

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ELA Greek Eats Landing In Venice

Construction is fast and furious on a new Greek restaurant landing in the strip mall on the corner of Rose and Lincoln in Venice.  A new sign lets us know that ELA Greek Eats is well underway.  ELA is a project from the man behind the erstwhile Waterloo & City in Culver City and Inotheke in Santa Monica, Carolos Tomazos.  We wish him the best of luck.

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Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine Now Open In Santa Monica/Brentwood

It was back in November that I told you about the impending arrival of Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine to the tricky location that was previously occupied by Kayndaves, at 262 26th St. in Santa Monica, across from the Brentwood Country Mart.  To those of you who have been following this story for updates, I have good news:  Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine has officially thrown open its doors for business.  This is their third location.  Look for an extensive menu featuring Nepali, Tibetan, and Indian food.  No liquor license yet, but they’ll let you bring in wine with no corkage.  We wish them every success…

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Pure Food Bringing Organic, Plant-Based Falafels To Santa Monica

I’ve been watching the space that used to house the little diner Tulip Cafe at 1314 Colorado Ave. in a desolate industrial part of Santa Monica.  It’s been idle for a while, then a notice appeared maybe a year or two ago that an experimental new eatery was moving in.  Then that notice disappeared.  Now a plucky new restaurant is going to give the quirky location a try.  A banner over the door announces that Pure Food will soon inhabit the diminutive space.  You can read the menu here, but it looks like falafels are the star of the show, as well as other Mediterranean specialties.

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Everytable Closes In Century City, Santa Monica

Trouble for Everytable?  With a visionary concept of bringing fresh, nutritious, made-from-scratch meals to a fast food world, Everytable ambitiously sought to transform the food scene along the lines of what McDonald’s did a half century ago.  But sadly, their location in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center is now vacant, and so is their spot in Santa Monica’s mercurial The Gallery.  Other locations appear to be open.

Everytable Century City…

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Everytable Santa Monica…

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Erin Mckenna’s Bakery Now Dishing Donuts In Santa Monica…

Back in August of last year, I told you about a new treat shop landing in the old Blue Plate space at 1415 Montana Ave.  You wouldn’t know it from the lack of signs, but Santa Monica’s branch of Erin McKenna’s Bakery opened over the weekend, joining locations in New York, Orlando, and on Larchmont.  Look for a menu of donuts, muffins, cakes, and other sweets, as well as breakfast and lunch items that are vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and kosher.

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SaMo PRIDE Events At The Gallery…

Downtown Santa Monica’s premier Food Hall The Gallery is hosting Pride events this weekend to correspond to the first ever SaMo PRIDE Festival.  All this week we are promised “unicorn food specials”.  On Friday (June 14), from 7pm-10pm on The Deck, there will be Drag Bingo hosted by Pandora Boxx with prizes and giveaways.  And on Saturday, during PRIDE on The Promenade, The Gallery will have food and drink booths set up.  Read more about the events here.

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Signs Of Life At Melisse…

LA fine dining legend Melisse closed it doors at 1104 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica back in March with a vague promise of reopening soon.  At the time, there were a lot of unanswered questions (including whether or not the name of the establishment would continue to be Melisse), and Chef Josiah Citrin wasn’t spilling the beans.  But things appear to be moving forward.  A note on their website promises a Fall 2019 opening and a “whole new menu and concept”.  And late last week a new ABC application appeared, hidden in the front entrance, that continues to name the business as “Melisse“.  I’ll keep watching…

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Carl’s Jr. Now Open In Santa Monica… You’re Welcome.

Every once in while, one of my posts attracts a great deal of interest for reasons I can’t completely understand.  That appears to be the case when I first told you about the closure of the Carl’s Jr. on the corner of Harvard and Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica.   Ever since then, a great many of you have been checking for updates, and even though they completed their remodel a bit ago, a lot of you are still asking me questions.  So here ya go… Carl’s Jr. is now open and dishing burgers and fried zucchini to the fast-food starved people of Santa Monica.

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Breadblok Landing On Montana Ave.

It was almost a year ago when I noticed that Spazio Caffe had vacated its space at 1511A Montana Ave. in Santa Monica.  After an extensive build-out, window paper is announcing a new tenant.  With locations in SoCal farmer’s markets, it appears that Breadblok is looking to get a brick-and-mortar.  Expect a menu of Provence-inspired artisan breads, pastries, and tartines that are “organic, gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free, gum-free, [and] refined sugar-free”.

Social Eats Bringing Choices To Downtown Santa Monica

It looks like they’ve figured out what to do with the last remaining open stalls in The Gallery Food Hall at 1350 Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.  With such high-profile tenants as Dialogue, STRFSH, and Paperboy Pizza, I’m sure they chose carefully.  At any rate, the still-undeveloped part of the first floor is now under plywood proudly declaring that Social Eats is moving in.  Social Eats is a K2 project (STRFSH, Paperboy, Nighthawk), and will be a collection of five different eateries, or so I’m told.  As you can see, expect beer and wine as well.

Update:  More on Social Eats here.

Update 2:  Social Eats opens July 19th, 11am.

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Viva Vegan Replaces Golden Mean In Santa Monica

I recently noticed a sign change at Santa Monica’s popular plant-based bastion Golden Mean Cafe, so I popped in to check out what was going on at their 1028 Wilshire Blvd space.  New owners have taken over from Golden Mean and renamed it Viva Vegan.  But besides the rebranding, I was assured that everything else will remain the same.  And yes, you can still get the much-lauded “works” burger.

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Le Petit Café Bids A Sad Adieu To Santa Monica…

The Lord giveth French restaurants, and the Lord taketh away French restaurants…  In sad news, it appears that after 25 years, quiet neighborhood charmer Le Petit Café will be closing their doors for good on May 11th.  Here is their gracious good-bye note to their devoted fans:

“It is with sadness that we inform you that our last day of business will be Saturday, May 11th, 2109. After much deliberation, we have decided to close. This was not an easy decision by any means, as Le Petit Cafe is our second home, our loyal employees and customers are our second family. ​We have had the pleasure of serving you all for these last 25 years and they are 25 years we will forever hold close to our hearts. Thank you for your support.

Affectuesement.

Robert Bourget.”

We wish them the best of luck…

À La Couch Delivering Delicious To Santa Monica Soon…

It looks like a new meal delivery shop is settling into the space at 2311 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica.  Window displays are announcing the impending arrival of À La Couch to the diminutive spot.  They describe themselves as a delivery restaurant group with “chef driven food concepts” which, if I understand, are separate restaurants with whom they partner such as MAC’D (a build-your-own macaroni and cheese restaurant with locations in San Francisco and Oregon), Holy Cluck (a specialty wing restaurant), and a bowl restaurant and a Keto Restaurant as well.  Sounds interesting…

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LDH Kitchen The Robata Closed In Santa Monica?

I first noticed that a new restaurant was coming to the erstwhile Cadet space at 2518 Wilshire Blvd. back in April of 2016.  It took a while, but LDH Kitchen The Robata opened in the Summer of 2018.  Known for their wild light displays, LDH Kitchen was a branch of massive Japanese lifestyle brand LDH (Love+Dream+Happiness).  Sadly, in less than a year, it appears that the love may be gone.  While I don’t have any confirmation that they’ve quit the location, I’ve noticed that the restaurant is dark in the evenings, and Yelp is listing as it as closed, so I think its safe to say that they have.  I’ll keep watching to see what develops…

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Shake Shack Coming To Santa Monica

I LOVE a good tip…  Ever since Panera disappeared from its space in the iconic building at 501 Wilshire Blvd., I’ve been hearing from mourning carb fans who are wondering what will take its place.  A reader passed on the skinny:  @retailroundrobin sent me a link to a real estate company Instagram post clearly showing that the space will soon be a branch of ever-poplar Shake Shack.  See for yourself here.