Jessica Koslow

Boulevard Hospitality is debuting The Coco Club. The opening of this rooftop bar comes just one month after that of their Middle Eastern-style restaurant Layla in the dining room adjacent to the lobby of The Beacon by Sonder Hotel on Ocean Avenue.

Inspired by classic nightclubs of the past such as The Cocoanut Grove and The Coconut Club, The Coco Club blends the art deco accents that Miami is best known for with Santa Monica’s breezy beach vibes.

Whereas Layla offers an elevated dining experience downstairs, The Coco Club delivers light bites and handcrafted cocktails on the penthouse level, where guests sit at eye level with palm trees, gazing at the horizon with an unobstructed, glorious view from LAX to Malibu. . . .

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A beloved neighborhood restaurant is switching things up. Dinah’s Family Restaurant is moving to Culver Crossroads. The owners shuttered its location on the corner of Sepulveda and Centinela on April 30 after 65 years. 

“We’re in the very thick of it,” Mario Ernst, who owns Dinah’s with his wife, Teri, said.

“Emotionally, it’s really tough,” he continued. “We’ve been there since 1959. I’m 64. The restaurant was created a year before I was born. I’ve grown up in that place, so I have mixed emotions. I have great memories, but I am also excited about a change.” . . .

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Blueys is the neighborhood joint Dave and Sabrina Harper always dreamed of. Situated on the corner of Beethoven Street and Venice Boulevard, the restaurant has offered a laid-back atmosphere and really good coffee since December 2022. 

“Our goal is to serve healthy and affordable food that you can eat a couple of times a week,” Dave said.

“We get a lot of people commenting that what we’ve done is amazing for the community,” he continued. “We’re here for the community because we are part of it. You can dress down or up, come in board shorts. People can walk to us for morning coffee, come back for brunch, hang out writing emails. We also have people from Japan walking up to the counter and holding up a picture asking to try the sweet squash pancakes.” . . .

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On Saturday, Feb. 10, Seoulmates celebrated the opening of its second location at Colony Cooks in Santa Monica. The first 50 attendees received a limited-edition Korean spicy pork sando with house-made pickles on Ginza Nishikawa shokupan (Japanese milk bread), with a purchase. 

Owner Christina Hong said she s very fortunate to have a Korean mom who cooked authentic dishes as she was growing up. She fondly remembers her mom in the kitchen cooking without measuring cups, mimicking what she saw her mom do, and sitting around the table with her family eating dinner together every night. Preparing food was her mom’s version of sharing love. When she left home in Chicago to attend the University of Illinois a few hours away, she began to miss her mom’s dishes. 

“When it is gone, you appreciate it more,” Hong said. “I was missing home and Korean food.” . . .

Read the full article at The Argonaut.

Mon Ami, which opened in May on Ocean Avenue and features a menu inspired by countries by the Mediterranean Sea, launched a new happy hour menu on Jan. 9.

“As we get into the colder seasons, we wanted to phase out our brunch menu temporarily and give a boost to the earlier crowd that comes in,” explained Nas Negahban, owner/operator of Mon Ami and Pacific Coast Hospitality Group.

“We also wanted to test some new food and cocktail items that are getting some great feedback in the short time we have launched our happy hour menu. The PCH Burger and Mallorca Mule are the initial winners of the bunch thus far.” …

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Coffee Commissary rolled out its full menu at its first full-service café on the westside in Del Rey.

“We have coffee bars in Palms and Santa Monica, but this is our first kitchen on the westside,” said Eric Peters,
president of Coffee Commissary.

“Whenever we choose a neighborhood, we always consider how we can contribute to that community by creating a safe space for residents to gather and network. Del Rey is a such a beautiful and rich multigenerational neighborhood that we felt would benefit from a space like that.” 

According to Peters, Coffee Commissary launched its first coffee bar on Fairfax in 2009. At the time, specialty coffee was emerging in Los Angeles. They were the first specialty coffee shop in West Hollywood, and “arguably the first multi-roaster concept in Los Angeles,” Peters said. …

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Sugarfish is turning 15, and to celebrate its anniversary, all of its LA locations have rolled out the special 15 for 15 menu, available until Wednesday, Dec. 13.

Combining old favorites and new presentations, the menu consists of seven courses, including hand rolls, nigiri sushi and sashimi.

Sugarfish co-founder Jerry Greenberg met chef Kazunori Nozawa and his wife, Yumiko, at his Studio City restaurant, Sushi Nozawa, in 1995.

“I thought it was the best sushi I had had anywhere in the world,” Greenberg said.

He ate there so often that Greenberg and his wife became close friends with the Nozawas. Then, 10 years later, while on a trip to Italy, Kazunori invited Greenberg to open a sushi restaurant. Sugarfish was born with Tom Nozawa, Kazunori’s son; Lele Massimini; Cameron Broumand and Clement Mok. …

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Every Saturday afternoon around 2 p.m., Olga King arrives at the Playa Vista Farmers Market with two empty boxes in the backseat of her car. 

She will leave the market with leftover fruits and vegetables donated from vendors to distribute to families in Inglewood, the community where she lives. 

She has been a volunteer for FoodCycle LA for four years. Each day she drives to pickup locations, such as Whole Foods, Bristol Farms or Trader Joe’s, to collect surplus food. On this bright, sunny Saturday before Thanksgiving, she arrives at the weekly Playa Vista Farmers Market as it ends. She pulls her car to the curb on Village Drive where the market dead-ends at Millennium Drive, gets out, and ties the strings of her FoodCycle LA apron around her waist. …

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Boardwalk MdR houses retail spaces, outdoor plazas, a bank and marine office space. However, acres are dedicated to culinary spots — all of which are making their mark.

Dubbed “a getaway within the city,” Boardwalk MdR houses a series of eateries including Planta Cocina, UOVO, KazuNori, HiHo Cheeseburger and Alfred Coffee — all of which have marina views.

HiHo Cheeseburger serves 100% grass-fed Wagyu beef sourced from First Light Farms in New Zealand. The restaurant is one of the only places in Los Angeles that grounds its beef in-house, according to co-founder Matt Levin. …

Read the full article in The Argonaut.

Later this month, Santa Monica Brew Works will debut Next Day IPA.

Next Day IPA is brewed using raw, unkilned hop flowers rush delivered from the Yakima Valley in less than 24 hours. It will only be available from the Tasting Room on draft and in 16-ounce to-go four packs.

This comes on the heels of Santa Monica Brew Works’ gold medal at the 2023 Brewers Cup of California for its Dark Gold American-style dark lager. This is not the first time that the locally owned and operated craft brewery has won an award. …

Read the full article at The Argonaut.