New Year, New Restaurants!
Here's the latest on what's coming to Culver this year and what has opened. And some of our Microsoft Paint creations.
Sorry if our last article on what restaurants closed this year bummed you out. If so…same. But hey, we’re back now and here to tell you about some of the new restaurants opening in Culver City this very 2024. Please note, we have not been to these restaurants yet and got 98% of the below information from their websites !
Kicking us off: Yunomi Handroll is a handroll bar, similar to Kazu Nori, but don’t be fooled! They don’t just have handrolls, but a robust app menu featuring ~ apps ~ such as rock shrimp tempura, yellowtail serrano sashimi, and brussels sprouts, to name a few. If Yuno-us, you know we’re excited about this one.
Since Yuno-us pretty well now, we are proud to announce that another sushi spot, Brothers Sushi has opened up. We’ve heard about the Woodland Hills location for years. Have we been? No, because who’s going all the way to Woodland Hills for sushi?! The neighborhood is great and all but QUITE far from Culver. Anyway, the spot replaced K-Zo (next to the Trader Joe’s) and we’re glad that it did because WE LIKE SUSHI!! This MICHELIN-Guide-recommended spot has an Omakase option that we’d love to try. But to be real with ya, it’s looking pricey so we’ll need to wait for an extra special occasion to drop that kind of dough.
On to AFURI! Yunomi’s upcoming neighbor (opening date TBD) originated in 2001 at the base of Mount Afuri in Japan. Per their website, this is an area renowned for its exceptional water quality, a key factor in their ramen's distinction to others. They chose Portland, Oregon, as their first U.S. location due to Mount Hood's similar water characteristics. All current U.S. locations of Yunomi use the water from Mount Hood, though we’re slightly disappointed they won’t be using LA river water for the ramen at the Culver Location. Regardless, we can’t wait to try their signature Yuzu Shio ramen eventually, if it ever decides to finally open. Counting the seconds :)
Next up, we have Prima Donna, most commonly known as the restaurant that replaced Etta. Though Etta was our favorite Culver Italian option, we do have high expectations for this new spot as Prima Donna’s chef, Michael Santaro, was previously the executive chef for The Beverly Hills hotel. Fancy! They kept the same humongous wood fired pizza oven from Etta and the layout is quite similar. You can never go wrong with pasta and pizza, and we’re particularly eager to try the lobster spaghetti and the white lotus pizza. Hopefully it will transport us to the White Lotus hotel from season two. RIP TANYA! :(
If you missed having pizza option at Citizen Public Market, you’ll be happy to hear that a new pizza spot has opened up called Gary’s Wood-Fired Pizza. We’re glad to have an option like this back in the building, particularly on trivia nights, where all you want to accompany with your beer from the WeHo Sausage Co fridge is pizza. Go Gary!
The official replacement for Wise Sons is going to be Nong Lá Vietnamese Cafe. Though we’re still extremely depressed over Wise Son’s closing, it’s going to be awesome to have a new Vietnamese spot in Culver. Vietnamese spring rolls and pho are high on our list of comfort foods so we’ll be first in line opening day.
Moving on over to the Arts District of Culver, the “opening soon” spot with the giant surfer carrot (this is super niche so no worries if you don’t understand) is FINALLY open! Lustig is an Austrian restaurant on Helms by Father’s Office and Pasta Sisters. Their Austrian focused menu takes inspiration from flavors around the world and we’ve heard great things about their Jidori Chicken and Hamachi Jalapeño. We’re big sourdough fans here at Best of Culver so we’re looking forward to trying their sourdough pizza. Could be a game changer.
Below we have included some spots that opened up in late 2023 that we are equally as excited about!
Esme (cute lil Mediterranean and Latin fusion spot on Main Street)
Fat + Flour (heavenly looking pie shop)
HomeState (We are long time HomeState die hards, the chicken tacos are 🤤)
Kismet Rotisserie (a Mediterranean rotisserie neighboring HomeState)
We will keep you posted on IG as soon as we try all of these new spots. If you have happened to go to these spots already, let us know of your favorite! Let us know your least favorite! Let us know your mother’s maiden name and the last four digits of your SSN… jk we are NOT scammers.
Signing off,
Best of Culver City :)