Axe

Kind of a weird brunch menu, perhaps their dinner is better. The food was ok, but very bland (this coming from someone who prefers lighter seasoning) The creamy polenta was well cooked, but didn’t taste that different from what I can make myself, except for a complete lack of salt or other seasoning. The 9 grain pancake was large, and pretty good but after a couple bites it got pretty boring. Seems to appeal to the health conscious but you can have healthy food and still add flavor.
It’s also very unpleasant and ridiculously hot sitting in the seats near the window. There is nothing to block the sun so I had to wear sunglasses while eating to prevent squinting throughout the meal, while my friend’s back burned up. Given how many options in Venice I would not want to come back.

Maybe I should have read more of the other reviews on Unilocal before dining in this place. It would have saved me from the terrible dining experience I was forced to endure. We sat down at the table for what we thought would be a terrific experience. In many ways it was. The flatbread appetizer was delicious and the restaurant’s ability to prepare vegetables is admirable. Their preparation of a pork chop — meh. I am a fairly schooled foodie and the appearance of pink pork is not foreign. But I was surprised while eating at this extremely dark restaurant that the meat I was eating was cold in the center and rare to the point of being nearly raw. I know the difference. in beef rare is red and raw is blue. The center of this chop was not even heated.
This could have been easily remedied but the pompous, uncaring attitude of the waiter and/​or the management could not. I was told that because there was a bone in the chop it was difficult to cook and the chef preferred serving it this way. I handed the plate to the waiter and asked him to show it to the chef. I also asked to speak to the chef. The meat was never returned and neither the chef nor any manager ever made an appearance. Nor was any other accommodation made. When I asked a second time to address the chef or management, the waiter just shined me on and repeated about the difficulties of cooking pork with the bone-​in.
Some reviewers here have opined that this is caused by the owner’s attitude. If that is true the owner should be aware that we will never return and all who ask me about this place will be warned to seek sustenance at a restaurant that cares about its patrons.

Axe is a Monty Python sketch.
The food is amazing.
The wait staff is from Hell.
But they KNOW it, poor things — they’ve been trained to be that way. The poor waiters look like DMV workers — their faces say ‘we know you hate us, and because we have to work here, we hate you, too.‘
The policy, set by the owner, no doubt, is…
«Here’s our amazing food.
And go fuck yourselves if you don’t like!»
This bold, brash policy seems to work — they are consistently full.
But only go if you enjoy high drama with your food.
To recap: amazing food! Ridiculous, formalized hostility should you not like a dish.
In other words, they DARE you to send something back.
Come on, buddy! The restaurant taunts. If you don’t like something just TRY and send it back.
This restaurant is ready for you!
We have a feeling this philosophy emanates downwards from the owner — if you cross us (i.e. don’t accept every dish as it is) then we are are perfectly justified in being an absolute bitch to you.
Because de gustibus NON disputam, baby!
This is classic ‘organic’ snobbery — we are pure, you see, our food is too GOOD for the masses — you are pigs used to Hardee’s — you cannot recognize flavah when it doesn’t bite yo on your overstuffed asses.
But sometimes even purists make un-​good dishes, and when your philosophy is ‘my food is perfect, and you’re not’ it can cover up a multitude of culinary sins.
However! Most of the food was fabulous.
We loved ‘the bowl’ we loved the sake soaked kobe beef, the kraut was beautiful’…
xo…we will probably come back here, you pretty bitch of a restaurant you…
But you gain nothing from being assholes, and you lose so many customers.
(By the way, we DID get our offensively not good entrée sent back and we DID get it removed from the bill … but it was a sotto voce High Noon encounter at the waitstaff table to do so. And we hate having to be all whatever with a wait staff that is just following orders.)
But…ya know… ya gotta fight… for your right… to send back a dish!
Zut allors!

After 2 years, I finally re-​located the where about of Axe. I was always one street off! So, I was in for a treat to find out the food is still as savory as I had experienced in the past. They have stayed true to the Basic Bowl. It’s $ 13 splurge on brown rice, bean sprout, shredded carrots, picked cucumber blended with white onion and the lime vinegary yumminess at the below of the vegetables.
The scene is very rustic and modern– open to the kitchen. The noise level is low and the ocean breeze is always blowing in and out — keeping the fresh air circulating.
Someone sitting next to me recommended the almond milk, which is made in-​house and pancakes.
I’m excited for my next visit.

Lettuce and tomato you can taste! Fresh baked bread and cookies. Good coffee. Brilliant service. Great fit out, a chilled back outdoor area. Healthy and delicious. We had a super tasty salad to start, then a few of the sandwiches — one full of cheese and organic tomato, anther with smoked white fish. Great for our lunch. Walk 5mins away from the trashy fried tourist food along the beach and have a delicious, nutritious meal. Hard to beat.

Food was really good and flavorful but was alarmingly rated a B! Ahh! Not ok! I did love the fact that they are GMO– free and are committed to being ecofriendly. Major points for that!
I recommend getting the flatbread and hummus plate, the mussels (woah delish sauce and bread), and the crab salad. Yummy!
I must also add they the décor and design was beautiful. Stunning outdoor eating space as well.

AXE lost a long time customer today and transformed them into an ex-​customer with a vendetta. And all over two cups of coffee. What a shame. Our coffee with almond milk was not to our liking. It tasted like a cup of dirt. No big deal. It happens. But they refused to remove the coffee we didn’t like and didn’t drink from the bill. They told me this is the policy of the restaurant. I asked to speak to the owner who was on the premises and she wouldn’t speak to me. Is this really worth it? You’d rather piss off customers than just take a couple f’n $ 8 coffees off the check? Sorry I won’t be back but I’m sure going to enjoy bitching about you to all of my friends.

The food is decent, but the service is spotty. I distinctly remember waiting half an hour the last time we were here for my glass of wine to come. I have been here three times, once for brunch and twice for dinner.
Beware of their reservation policy. We made a reservation and called 2+ hours in advance to cancel — I know, not great on our part, but our plans changed last minute. Since it was «after 6pm» they charged us $ 20 a person for not honoring our reservation. Seemed a little over the top to charge that much, but as apparently that’s their policy, I just thought I’d post the information so others were aware.

Dropped in on a random Sunday night walking past. What a great choice!
The duck leg confit and polenta were delicious, but the star of the evening was a vegetable starter, surprisingly! Asparagus with brown butter and capers — holy hell, I could have eaten 5 orders. SO divine!
The service was good, chill atmosphere, dim lighting which I like. Good rose. Had the spiced chai and housemade ice creams for dessert. Mmmm!

I have come here a couple times and forgot to write a review until now. Sorry about that.
The last time I was here, we had the house vegetable pickles with flatbread and spreads. I would definitely recommend those to start the night out.
I had the Lamb Shoulder for dinner, which was delicious. My friend had the grilled pork belly, which I tasted and was similarly delicious.
I would love to recommend the wine list, which looks fantastic, but unfortunately I cannot — I didn’t have any wine! That said — the ambiance and food were great and I will definitely be back here again soon.

WOW can a place rip you off any more than AXE? The answer is NO, they pretty much got that covered! I have been to several places and enjoyed many meals but this experience was just ridiculous.
Small portions + Ridiculously high prices + Uncomfortable Seating + Rude Hostess + $ 105 cake/​party fee for a group of 10 people = UNACCEPTABLE!!!
My friend had to change locations last minute to have her bday dinner at Axe and aside from the extremely pleasant waitress the restaurant left me feeling like they totally took advantage of our party.
$ 20 for 2 scallops $ 14 for a mini cut of soup and $ 7 for a small side of brown rice is absurd but when our party of 10 was charged $ 105 for a cake cutting fee I just about exploded internally. If that is not a restaurant taking advantage of its guests I don”t know what is.
I would give this place a –1 star if I could but our waitress was so kind and not at all snooty like the rest of the staff!
NOT AT ALL RECOMMENDED! THERE ARE MUCH BETTER PLACES ON ABBOT KINNEY TO VISIT

I am happy to know I am not the only Venice local who can’t stand this place.
The first time I ate here for lunch with my best friend back in 2007, our food did not come out for an hour and a half and we found out later that our server disappeared never to come back again. The cashier was nice enough to comp half of the meal but we thought it was due to the restaurant being «new».
The second time we ate here, a group of 5, we were celebrating a colleague’s birthday. We all had the bowls and they were good, but not «amazing» as some of the reviews have stated.
The third, fourth and fifth time we ate here post fire/​renovation/​re-​opening, I really wanted to give it a chance as I live in the neighborhood and was hoping for a rebirth. Unfortunately the food just got more expensive, not better and the service more affected and rude.
I personally don’t understand my friends who claim to «love» this place. Axe epitomizes «pretentious, hipster LA» in a nutshell.
Have not gone back and would NOT recommend.

No doubt about it, AXE is a cool spot in a cool pocket of Venice Beach. They have a semi-​open kitchen, a very open dining space, and a gorgeous garden that provides many of their ingredients. Thankfully, they also have valet parking ($ 6) — great for those rare and rainy LA nights.
The other reviews noting the noise level are spot-​on, so keep that in mind if you were hoping for a quiet, intimate evening. While the atmosphere in low-​lit and intimate, neither the sound level nor the distance between you and your dining partner at the two-​seater tables lend themselves to quiet conversation.
The service was a little too cool for school, but it was also nice that our waitress wasn’t in our faces or overly friendly. We were left to our own devices to enjoy our wine and linger over the decision over which salad/​soup to try, and which entrée.
We both opted for the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup — definitely refreshingly less creamy and filling than other squash soups — will take the edge off without filling you up. Garnished with shaved ginger, the soup goes down easily, but it could be served a little warmer than it was.
After having read other reviews about the Bowls at AXE (and judging from our waitress’ genuine affinity for this offering), I ordered a Bowl with tofu, and a side of Harissa sauce. The Bowl was plentiful and filled with an awesome variety of vegetables and grains, including sweet potato, spinach, greens, radishes, and surprisingly plump and flavorful brown rice. The tofu was comprised of two huge chunks and perfectly prepared. The Harissa sauce was the perfect complement to spice/​smoke the tofu.
We did opt for dessert, and shared the apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. The crumble was freshly-​baked and served super hot and just out of the oven. It was great — and the temperature was perfect to allow the housemade (I think) ice cream to melt into the crumble and meld it all together!

Since I didn’t have a reservation, the hostess made me feel like I did’t belong at the restaurant.
The meal was enjoyable and had side dishes that were called shareable, but realistically are not. Small portions for a high amount of money. Tasted very flavorful and ingredients seemed fresh.
The food was good, but not necessarily something to write home about.

We had a girls lunch here a few weeks back. We had a reservation and were seated right away. The interior is really simply decorated, almost too simple, but I think they are going for a minimalist vibe. Some of the tables were teeny tiny and packed pretty close to each other but we were fortunate enough to score a larger table. We were right under a really large fan that was on and had our hair blowing all over the place, sort of obnoxious when you’re trying to eat lunch!
The service was ok, nothing memorable but not terrible either.
The food was actually pretty good. We all got rice bowls which were huge and had awesome veggies and a really amazing sesame lime dressing. The downside was the price, if you add a protein you’re looking at $ 18 – 25 or 1 bowl. That is a really pricey lunch! We just got water and our bill was over $ 70 for 3 bowls. Yes, the food is good, but that’s pretty steep for lunch.
If you don’t mind paying that much I’d definitely recommend this place for a healthy lunch option.

Had brunch here and sat in the back patio. The décor of this place is rustic and it’s the perfect place to sit outside and have a glass of sparkling rose. You feel like you’re in someone’s back yard/​patio — relaxing, charming, adorable spot.
I had the creamy polenta with mushrooms, spinach and a fried egg. It was delicious! The polenta was not too mushy and had a great velvety texture. The shaved Parmesan cheese was a perfect garnish.
Friends had the veggie bowl, chicken soup, and spicy vegetable bowl. Everyone enjoyed their food and had a great time! Service was a little slow but I wasn’t bothered by it at all.
Woohoo for finding another great spot in Venice

Been here a couple of times and find the place relaxing (at the right times) and food delicious.
Really homey, organic-​locallysourced-​hipster-​millionaire-​farmhouse type vibe. Staff is friendly with a touch of too cool for school, but that’s par for the course.
I love the simple décor and their back garden seating area.
The chicken bowl is really well done, and the perfect mix of healthy clean flavours. They once had this amazing grain wholewheat pancake on the menu, which was amazing for brunch.
Yes, it’s spelt AXE yet pronounced «ah-​chay».
Yes, there are some seriously affected hari-​krishna dressed yet trust fund baby types lounging around, but the food is wonderful and Intelligentsia Venice (and their Angeleno ice coffee) is just two blocks down for dessert!

The first few times of trying to eat here without a reservation, we were waved away like flies by haughty petty little people wearing polo shirts and sneakers. Should’ve been a sign.
But we kept trying. And this time we made reservations.
So? Was it worth it? No.
We did enjoy the Dungeness crab starter but little else. By the way the starter was large enough for an entrée.
The acoustics in here are awful as is the design. They waste a LOT of space here. They tout the designer on their menu, but I’ve been with a designer for two years and the lay out of the menu is a pretentious joke. But what do you expect from a place called Axe that pronounces it Ah-​Shay?
The seating is uncomfortable. Like slab of wood uncomfortable. The menu made use of the same three ingredients in almost every dish. Really it’s great you like shishito peppers, but do we need them in half the menu?
And what’s worse, there is no rhyme or reason to entrée size. The lady had the scallop entrée and was warned there would only be two scallops. I had a godzilla sized chicken leg. Yet they’re both listed under entrees.
While our service wasn’t nearly as bad as the other Unilocalers have experienced, it was definitely aloof. but hey, it’s abbot kinney. even the waiters think they’re better than you are.
And they are of course, wrong.
The saving grace is, like most things on abbot kinney, it will close in a year or two. hopefully the next restaurant will be better.

Axe is a «lovely» place in restaurant row on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Stylish, quiet modern setting frequented by cool upscale local clientele its location just blocks behind the tacky Venice Beach. Healthy eating in a modern setting worth remembering.
The real surprise is the outdoor patio area which does reminiscent of a Mediterranean location is so peaceful and charming., which should be a first choice for seating but make sure to call in advance if you want outdoor seating.
The Chef takes local farmers market finds and turns them into simply satisfying dishes ! The wines are from Napa/​Sonoma to French and are great for just sipping and conversation. The menu is very appealing, with smaller portions, variety, vegetarian offerings, appealing appetizers great for sharing. As a whole, there is a distinctive style to the menu that ought to be experienced more than once.
Our server was great however he was juggling too many tables and therefore we had to get his attention few times before he actually walked to our table for service.

So we’ve been here at least half a dozen times and I’m not sure why I never wrote a review. Maybe I was thinking the consistency of excellence would diminish over time. Not so.
I recall not being that impressed before they caught on fire and burned down. But out with the old and in with the new. Since then, we’ve been back several times and have never been disappointed. We ate here again last night, and I couldn’t help myself. I had to write a review.
Service was spot-​on. It was later in the evening, so not as crowded. But far too many times have we dined at other places in this situation and service was still be desired for. Started with a bottle of sparkling. I ordered the Racer 5 IPA and my wife had a rose from France. Pricepoints are a bit high — but hey, it’s Abbot Kinney — what did you expect?
Dinner this time around consisted of:
Dungeness crab salad — Butter lettuce, avocado, jalapeño — all market fresh. Excellent.
Braised rabbit — with pinto beans — OUR FAVORITE DISH
Soy marinated beef — melted in your mouth — small jalapenos on top were a pefect compliment.
Chicken cous-​cous — Can’t remember much else… it was good though.
Market vegetables of braised greens — my favorites: swiss chard and kale.
Total was $ 120 — So, $ 90 less than our recent experience at Paiche in MdR — about twice as filling and twice as good.
So you see that’s why they get a ⁵⁄₅ and Paiche gets a ²⁄₅.
See you again soon Axe! Oh and I’m sure everyone knows by now, it’s pronounced Ahh-shay…but without all that pretense like the silent «G» place down the road.