originally opened to feed the people of venice in 1979, and doing a fine job of just that until early 2015, it was under new direction of former superba snack bar chef jason neroni that a substantial three hour brunch was enjoyed with four friends on saturday morning, the expansive all-day space showing neroni to have more than just refreshed the restaurant but also to have grown his ideas by several degrees.
for years a champion of california cuisine rooted in ideas meant to serve the community and tourists from far and wide, the refreshed rose café features the same open airiness of the first food + bread and divided into sections including bakeshop, barista bar, open kitchen and covered patio the feel is modern yet fitting while the soundtrack ranges beastie boys to pearl jam at a volume common to los angeles’ dining trends.
admittedly a bit stretched in service, the restaurant at capacity by ten o’clock, it was at a table across from the bakery that our party was sat on entry and having laughed off the $8 valet charge in favor of free street parking that money was put to good use with eighteen items spread over four courses.
in many ways taking notes from superba, while gjustsa’s popularity also seems referenced by the popular pastry counter up front, it was with two wooden boards of baked goods that our meal duly started and although a bit hit n’ miss as a result of occasionally getting *too* fancy, the milk jam beignet and blueberry kouign amann each warrant mention largely due to the quality of their respective fillings.
eating with a few that harbor dietary restrictions, but not really “avoiding” anything except a pricy carbonara, first courses from the kitchen were selected to incorporate “bites, snacks, apps” plus “farmer’s market” sections and beginning with creamy local burrata helping to meld smoked pork to citrus the beet hummus proved even better as warm naan provides a pillowy delivery device for the earthy spread punched up with crispy chickpeas, sumac, pickled peppers and feta.
impressed by the sizable portion of fried chicken and biscuits, equally so by carrots roasted until wrinkly and sweet, course two could best be described as “italian breakfast,” as thick flapjacks were delivered too late to be properly enjoyed while the french toast fell far short of the high standard set by superba, canele or others, the housemade spaghetti garnering favorable comparisons to scarpetta or union thanks to the tomato sugo while “killer bee” pizza was blistered, bold and balanced with pepperoni, pickled chilies and honey.
noting a transition from breakfast pastry to dessert at eleven am, six new items joining the fray, there another $20 was invested on a to-go order packaged carefully after photographing, the bread pudding allowed to warm in the car with dark chocolate chunks gently melting while neither the all-natural red velvet cake nor the crusted tart lasted long, the former rich with cocoa and far less sweet than others while the later literally melted into pools of creamy almond notes around bursting berries.