My partner and I played in LA for a luxuriously long weekend after his UCLA program. I decided brunch had to happen on our way back to San Diego. But, how to choose from all the stellar restaurants LA offer us???

Eater/Los Angeles to the rescue!

I never made it past the very first recommendation in their “The Best Brunch Destinations in Los Angeles, According to Eater Editors” article. Here’s what they had to say that hooked me:

“RVR — On Saturdays and Sundays, Travis Lett’s sleek Venice restaurant, RVR, serves brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring mochi beignets, katsu sandwiches, and earthy black sesame pancakes. While dinner tends to be a more see-and-be-seen affair, brunch feels more laid-back with fluffy tamagoyaki-style omelets under a snowfall of shaved Comté and a crisp red gem lettuce salad. (Groups of four or more should plan to order two omelets for the table to share.) On nice days, ask to sit on the semi-covered rooftop to take in the sea air.”

About RVR Restaurant

RVR restaurant landed on The New York Times’s 2025 list of the nation’s 50 best restaurants. It’s also Esquire’s Restaurant of the Year. So yeah, it’s legit.

Located on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in LA’s quirky Venice neighborhood, RVR is chef Travis Lett’s Japanese-California izakaya—the guy who fundamentally changed how people think about vegetables at Gjelina.

The concept is straightforward: blend the casual traditions of Japanese izakaya culture with California’s best seasonal produce and local seafood, then cook it without pretension. No polished restraint, no farm-to-table clichés.

What’s An Izakaya?

An izakaya is a Japanese pub or tavern—casual, communal, built around the idea of sharing small plates. Think tapas or meze, but Japanese. It’s built around the idea of sharing small plates while you drink, where the food is designed to complement alcohol and conversation.

The culture is unpretentious: you order a bunch of dishes, they come out as they’re ready, and you eat them while they’re still warm, passing plates around the table.

It’s the opposite of plating something and waiting for the right moment—it’s immediate, imperfect, and social.

RVR restaurant keeps that spirit intact while doing something most restaurants can’t: making every plate actually matter. You’re not padding out the meal with filler. Every small plate tastes like a complete statement.

Oh, and there’s a DJ spinning vinyl from a wall of records—the kind of soundtrack that somehow makes everything taste even better.

The Brunch of Multiple Moments

There was a lot to choose from on the menu, but my partner and I didn’t take long to choose our five dishes…(our palates are just one way we’re perfectly aligned).

Here’s what we ordered:

• Yogurt with figs, plums, caramelized sesame seeds, vanilla olive oil & honey — Cold and the kind of understated dish that tastes way more complicated than it looks. The figs and plums gave it a subtle tartness; the caramelized sesame seeds added texture.
• Tamagoyaki (the Japanese sweet-savory rolled omelet) with red sauce — Perfectly cooked, which sounds obvious until you remember how often that’s not the case with eggs.
• Japanese sweet potatoes with dashi tomato sauce, lime aioli & shichimi — Simple, but profound. The kind of dish that stays with you.
• Lamb skewer — Arguably the best quality lamb both of us have ever had with a perfectly balanced sweet savory soy sauce-based marinade.
• Mochi beignets (5, warm from the kitchen) — Finished with an orange-miso glaze, honey, and pistachio. My partner and I both looked at each other after the first bite and agreed without saying a word: these are the best damn pastries we’ve had in our middle-aged lives. Then we said it out loud. They’re light and pillowy, and that miso-orange combination adds a salty-sweet depth that keeps them from reading as pure dessert. The pistachio grounds everything.

Everything that landed at our table had the kind of precision that had me putting my fork down between bites and having a moment. Five plates + multiple bites per plate = MANY moments.

Why RVR Restaurant Nails It

The kitchen sources from local farmers markets three times a week, and you can taste it. The food isn’t trying to prove anything. It’s just very, very good.

Every plate that lands in front of you shows evidence of thought and passion. Your server knows the story. The timing is right. Nothing arrives apologetically. In a Venice full of restaurants trying so hard to matter, RVR just cooks with intention—and you feel it immediately.

The Practical Stuff

Hours: Brunch runs Friday–Sunday, 11am–2:30pm. Dinner is Monday–Saturday 5–11pm; Sunday 5–10pm.

Reservations: Recommended. Book on Resy. Go for a Tuesday or Wednesday before 7:30pm if you want the most relaxed vibe—weekends are louder and busier.

Parking: Street parking on Abbot Kinney. I have stellar parking karma so we easily found a spot. For those that don’t, there are parking garages in the area. Either way, it’s Venice, so budget extra time and patience for parking.

Address: 1305 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

The buzz around RVR is real, but it’s not hype for hype’s sake. Go when you can actually sit down and taste the food without shouting. Your palate will thank you.

I’m Deeply Committed

I’m committed to coming back to RVR every time I’m in LA. The food alone justifies the trip, but what really solidified it for me was what the entire vibe did for us.

The meal ended. Somehow the DJ knew to play Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbon in the Sky” just for us. I took a photo. And I had another moment. THIS is the kind of experience that deepens things.