Food Review: James’ Beach

Name: James’ Beach

Address: 60 N Venice Blvd Venice, CA 90291

Number: (310) 823-5396

Cuisine: American

James Beach is a comfortable eatery tucked away adjacent to the main Venice Beach walkway. I came here before, about two years ago, just to have a drink. I very distinctly remember ordering a Moscow Mule, one of my favorite drinks, and it was beautifully made.

On this day, I was at Venice Beach to play Spikeball. Our friends were going to be late, so we decided to grab a bite to eat. I usually don’t go out of my way to eat at regular sit-down restaurants at Venice Beach because I find them a little pricey, but I made an exception.

While choosing what we wanted to eat, we were brought Cranberry Scones with raspberry jam. It was unique, since plain bread is often the standard while eating out. It was very flavorful, so I have no complaints there.

Whenever I see raw fish on a menu, (unless the restaurant seems…questionable) I jump at the chance to indulge myself. I love the freshness, and leaving a place feeling satisfied but not stuffed. I ordered the Chirashi Sashimi Bowl which was $23. Since it was pricey, I was expecting a bigger portion than what I received. A couple more pieces of fish and A LOT more rice would have been great. Because of the portion size, I think it should’ve been more like $15. That being said, every piece of fish was near perfection, especially the eel, which melted in my mouth like butter! I skipped over the egg and cucumber. I did appreciate that the rice was sushi rice and not just plain white rice.

My boyfriend ordered the sloppy egg sandwich. I think he loves runny eggs on burgers/sandwiches like I love sushi because this is the #1 thing he orders anytime we eat out. This particular sandwich had avocado, which I absolutely hate. That may be a shocker, because California is really The Land Of Avocado, but it reminds me of disgusting baby food annnnd I just want nothing to do with it. I did try a couple bites without the avocado, and it wasn’t half bad. My favorite bread is sourdough, which this was constructed with. He told me he loved the combination of the avocado and the egg, so you and I will have to take his word on it with that one. Speaking of the egg, did you see how perfectly intact it was? That’s the first thing I noticed on the plate. Runny eggs are delicate and it’s nice that it didn’t break before it was brought to the table.

Would I visit again? Yep. But not if I was on a budget. Next time I would also request them to add more rice to my dish if it didn’t cost extra, since it’s already $23.

Total Cost w/ Tip: $46

Ambiance: 7.7/10

Service: 7.9/10

Taste: 8.8/10

Overall: 8.1/10

Helpful Links:

http://jamesbeach.com/

https://spikeball.com/pages/official-rules