The Rose Venice, Felix Trattoria and Gjelina highlighted by Open Table
By Kerry Slater
Three Venice restaurants have been named among the 22 greatest restaurants in Los Angeles.
Recently Open Table published an article titled “Los Angeles’s 22 Greatest Restaurants”. Among the eateries included were three in Venice: The Rose Venice, Felix Trattoria and Gjelina.
A longtime Venice staple, The Rose (formally The Rose Cafe), located at 220 Rose Ave, is helmed by Chef Jason Neroni. In its write-up on the restaurant, Open Table highlight both the bakery and also main dishes, including Hawaiian prawns.
“It’s hard to consider Venice without thinking about The Rose, the sprawling food compound that’s been an integral part of neighborhood life there since it opened in 1979. The restaurant’s ability to reflect its home over the past few decades is key to its longevity, and a reason people return again and again. Today, The Rose maintains some of old Venice’s eccentricity in the modernized digs, serving residents and visitors round the clock items such as avocado toast and a latté via the takeout counter and coffee bar, fresh bread at the bakery, and sit-down dinners with mains such as hearth-roasted Hawaiian prawns swimming in sweet-and-sour crab glaze and butter,” reads the Open Table blurb.
Felix Trattoria, from chef Evan Funke, has made a name for itself at 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd for having some of the best pasta in Los Angeles.
“There is no shortage of fresh pasta in Los Angeles these days, but no restaurant elevates it to an art form quite like Felix, where chef Evan Funke makes a kaleidoscope of shapes in a glass-walled, temperature controlled pasta “lab.” Funke’s single-minded pursuit of pasta perfection landed him a cookbook deal on the subject, a spot on Eater’s best new restaurants list in 2017, and Felix the reputation as one of the city’s definitive restaurants. Diners can travel Italy from the North to the country’s islands via the restaurant’s menu, eating through geographically organized pastas such as linguini with lemon and asparagus, covered in a shower of pecorino,” Open Table writes.
Gjelina, located at 1427 Abbot Kinney Blvd, was founded in 2008 by Fran Camaj. Since then, Gjelina has become one of the most popular eateries on the street while expanding with other ventures including deli-bakery Gjusta and restaurant Valle.
“Los Angeles’s penchant for all-day cafés and avocado toast has risen to the level of stereotype, but Gjelina is the mother of the genre — when the restaurant opened in 2008, there was nothing else like it in the city. And to this day, the restaurant’s wooden communal tables, industrial chic stools, and effortlessly stylish crowds invite anyone who visits to indulge in the fantasy of California cool. But more importantly, Gjelina pioneered the type of eating that Angelenos take for granted today, where a wood-burning oven cranks out creative pizzas alongside a variety of vegetable-forward small plates, such as charred romanesco cauliflower spiked with anchovies, capers, Fresno chiles, and mint,” reads the Open Table blurb.
The only other Westside eatery to be included on the list was Birdie G’s in Santa Monica.
