Getaway: Rose Avenue, Venice in Full Bloom

Author:Lindsey Shook

A once sleepy (some say sketchy) stretch of Rose Avenue that begins at the famed Venice Whole Foods parking lot now boasts a number of stylish new snacky establishments, giving nearby Abbot Kinney a bit of competition. While they definitely have things in common—local designers, local food, and a clientele of locals—Oscar’s Cerveteca, Moon Juice, and Superba Snack Bar each has a flavor and style all its own.

Oscar Hermosillo’s namesake restaurant, Oscar’s Cerveteca is a remodeled 1,260-square-foot house a couple doors down from his wildly popular Venice Beach Wines. Like its predecessor, Oscar’s features a patio that is always packed. Female architect duo Tatiana Barhar and Sarai Grenell of Verdego (Venice Retail Design Group) used reclaimed wood for the siding, fencing, and seating. The grayish brown of the wood contrasts with an elegant white marble, also reclaimed, of the counters and patio tables, creating the perfect environment to nosh on a meal of sides like plantains, fried pickles, and Mexican corn on the cob.

We highly recommend checking out the 400-square-foot Moon Juice, even if you’re not the cleansing type. Designed by Stephen Vitalich Architects, the juice and nut milk bar is hard to miss, with its Bedrock-esque white stone façade and cartoonish blue sign. Inside you’ll find a cozy modern space with hexagonal Moroccan concrete tile floor and a rusticated timber ceiling. Along with their immaculate juices and milks owner (and former L.A. Times Magazine food editor) Amanda Chantal Bacon offers an assortment of organic and wild snacks, all simply presented and ready to go.

Most recently opened is a “pastaria” named after our favorite meal (snacks): Superba Snack Bar, designed by another female architect duo, Catherine Johnson and Rebecca Rudolph of Design, Bitches. Like its predecessor Paul Hibler’s Pitfire Pizza, the restaurant features floor to ceiling stacking glass doors with a view onto the patio and the street beyond, from which the designers draw inspiration. Bright turquoise tiles and the occasional colorful poncho fabric blanket draped over a dark-colored chair soften the darker, more industrial details. The space somehow reminds us of a summer afternoon at the swimming pool, a college library, and an exclusive Mediterranean hideaway, which we think is quite a feat. Johnson and Rudolph explain, “Our design goal was to mix inspiration from diverse aspects of Venice life—not limiting ourselves to one or the other but a blend of the freaky and the sublime to create a relaxed, modern aesthetic.”

Superba Snack Bar, 533 Rose Avenue

Venice Beach Wines, 529 Rose Avenue

Oscar’s Cervetecamoo, 523 Rose Avenue

Moon Juice, 507 Rose Avenue

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