Nice report @chinchi. 
Have you tried Gjusta’s Smoked Salmon Belly or Cold Smoked Hamachi yet? (If not, give them a try.)
Also their Veggie Sandwich is a fantastic choice as well, so full of flavor.
2 Likes
Thank you @Chowseeker1999 I’ve had the salmon belly and it was indeed delicious! I’d love to try the hamachi. I can’t remember all of today’s offerings in the fish case. I’ll keep your recs in mind for my next Gjusta visit 
2 Likes
After a long and wonderful trip abroad, I wanted to make my first meal back as LA as possible–so I went with Gjusta for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. this morning. Got a wonderful Mediterranean breakfast, which included two soft-boiled eggs, hummus, tzatziki, feta, tomatoes, cucumber, snap peas, and dill, served with two very nice pieces of seeded bread. Just hit every note of freshness and deliciousness I wanted.
10 Likes
Thank you!! Rose Cafe for brunch tomorrow it is.
1 Like
Update 14:
Sparkling Ginger Lemonade:
As bracing and refreshing as always. 
Aspen Ridge Prime Rib Butcher Sandwich:
This was the first time the Prime Rib didn’t arrive pink and medium, but some of the Prime Rib underneath was. It was thankfully still very tender, nearly melt in your mouth at times, luscious and awesome! 
Asparagus & Dill Salad:
Loved this. The Asparagus was bright and tender, but still having sufficient body. The Dill and Italian Parsley with a light Vinaigrette was just the way to break up the meal.
Smoked Fish Plate (S):
Gjusta’s Smoked Seafood selection is as impressive as usual. On this visit we try:
Cold Smoked Hamachi:
Delicate smokiness, a touch firmer than previous visits, but still delicious.
Oil Cured Sardines:
Wonderful brininess, rich, inherently oily, bold, tasty! 
Hot Smoked Mackerel:
Bolder and bigger flavors than the Sardines, it was still quite tender and with Gjusta’s Housemade Country Loaf - pillowy soft on the inside with a nice crunchy crust on the exterior - it’s just a great bite.
Condiments:
As pristine, bright and interesting as always to enjoy the Smoked Seafood as you like.
Mediterranean Breakfast (Cucumber, Radish, Snap Peas, Mixed Herb Salad, served with Hummus, Cherry Tomatoes, Tzatkiki, Marinated Feta, Soft Egg, Whole Wheat Toast):
A whole spectrum of delightful flavors to enjoy for a great Breakfast. Gjusta’s Housemade Hummus is already fantastic (get their Spiced Version if you haven’t tried it before - phenomenal (thanks @A5KOBE)), but add in the fresh farmers market produce, some sweetness from the Cherry Tomatoes, the Marinated Feta and Tzatkiki with some of the Bread? Wonderful.
Another visit:
Gjusta does so many things right, but one of the surprises might very well be their Dinner-Only Fried Chicken that’s served only during the Summer. Last year’s offering was a shock and surprise (thank you again @PorkyBelly), so we were excited to see how it fared being added back on the menu this year.
Sparkling Ginger Lemonade:
Bracing, refreshing, fresh-ground Ginger Root with, fresh-squeezed Lemonade.
(Dinner-Only, Summer-Only) Fried Chicken (Bread & Butter Pickles, Buttermilk Dressing, Honey Hot Sauce):
Something was slightly off as the Chicken arrived. As can be seen in the pics, the Batter was sporadic and loose. It fell off the Chicken too easily (or just fell apart), in some sections of the Chicken Breast there wasn’t even Batter. 
However, the flavor was still as good as last year, the Chicken meat was juicy and fresh, but the Batter inconsistency was a problem.
The 2 Sauces on the side were OK, spicy sweet, and the Buttermilk Dressing was creamy, rich, but we enjoyed the Fried Chicken best without them.
Ricotta & Greens Agnolotti (Morels, English Peas, Thyme, White Wine):
The Housemade Agnolotti were pliant, but had a nice bite to them, with enough body to give it a great textural contrast with the English Peas and Ricotta filling. The Morels and bright, naturally sweet fresh English Peas balanced out the flavors in this dish.
Another visit:
We wanted to try their Fried Chicken one more time this season in hopes that it was just a fluke. We started with:
Kale, Apple, Celery Salad:
One of their rotating Market Salads offered today was a Kale, Apple & Celery Salad. This was a great start, the heftiness of the Kale softened up with the Citrus Vinaigrette, sweetness in the Farmers Market Apples and the bright crunch of Celery.
(Dinner-Only, Summer-Only) Fried Chicken (Bread & Butter Pickles, Buttermilk Dressing, Honey Hot Sauce):
On this next visit, the Fried Chicken Batter didn’t fall off the Chicken (we had spoken to the manager about it from our last visit). Which was great…
Except that for one of the pieces (Chicken Thigh), there was raw uncooked Batter underneath! 
This was a shock. The Chicken itself was fine and juicy and tasty.
We brought it up to another manager who kinda shrugged (uhm).
So at this point, it seems that for the Fried Chicken Dinner Crew, they have new / different people working and have been too inconsistent on their Fried Chicken to make it great unfortunately.
French Fries (Hand-Cut Fries, Shaved Parmesan):
A newer addition to the menu, Gjusta’s Hand-Cut French Fries are tasty. They are very crunchy-crispy, served piping hot and the funk of Parmesan dials up the tasty factor quite a bit. Their Garlic Aioli elevates these piping hot Fries even more, but if there’s one quibble, it’s that they lack the soft, pillowy Potato center that our favorite Fries have. Still that aside, these are satisfying enough.
Pastel de Nata (Portuguese Custard Egg Tart):
So as we were perusing the Pastry / Dessert case, seeing some of the usual suspects, out of the corner of my eye I saw a plate of beautiful Golden Round Pastries. It didn’t register for a second, but then I realized, Gjusta just added Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Egg Tarts) to the menu! 
Excitedly we had to order one.
Taking a bite, of course Gjusta’s Pastel de Nata is flaky, with a crisp outer shell, wonderful, fragrant, lightly, perfectly creamy, eggy, with a hint of Cinnamon and Vanilla, and not overly sweet like the OG / authentic version at Portuguese specialist Uma Casa a few months back. Gjusta’s was just delicious!
The only thing lacking was that it was served at room temperature (from their Pastry case), but it was so much better than many versions we’ve tried around town already! (@PorkyBelly @Bookwich @TheCookie @paranoidgarliclover @A5KOBE @beefnoguy @JeetKuneBao @Sgee @Ns1 and others.)
Cherry Tart:
With Cherries being in season, Gjusta also had a fresh Cherry Tart that they unveiled just as we were glancing in the Pastry case. 
Taking a bite…
Seriously, Gjusta is starting to get ridiculous again. The Farmers Market Cherries were sweet with a touch of sour to prevent the Dessert from becoming cloying, perfect Tart Crust, flaky, buttery. SO GOOD!
Meyer Lemon Cake:
Big thanks to @cookiemonster, the new Meyer Lemon Cake (replacing the Carrot Cake for now) is amazing! I loved the super bright, fresh, piquant Meyer Lemon filling, and the Cake itself was moist, with a delicate finish. I still like Gjusta’s legendary OG Carrot Cake the best, but this new Meyer Lemon Cake is perfect for Summer!
Gjusta
320 Sunset Ave.
Venice, CA 90291
Tel: (310) 314-0320
14 Likes
You know me so well! I do enjoy natas and will have to try Gjusta’s. Normally not a huge dessert person, but all of the desserts you had look fantastic.
Surprised (and happy) to hear that the french fries have been improved. When we ate them awhile ago (served w/ a steak), they were a limp disaster. Unfortunate, as I love a good french fry…
I had the agnolotti (I think it was here, at least). So delicious. My only complaint was that I could’ve used a 50% bigger serving. ::sigh::
1 Like
Wow! That cherry tart looks so perfect!
I need to really get over to the Westside more often.
1 Like
The duck fat fries with plain garlic aioli at Belcampo Santa Monica are ridiculously good. Probably my favorite burger and fries in LA/OC currently.
3 Likes
Yah I hope you like the new desserts at Gjusta. 
For Fries, have you been to Connie & Ted’s yet? If not, definitely worth a visit for their amazing Fries! My favorite right now.
Btw they served me the cured fish sandwich open faced the other day. Not sure how i feel about this. It is harder to eat and messier on the other hand more of everything is better right?!
Thoughts
3 Likes
I agree that its messier but I’ve only ever had the open version of fish sandwiches at gjusta, if it was closed face I feel like the sandwich would be smaller withe less ingredients. Considering how much they charge for food I’ll take the trade off between more food vs messiness.
That’s funny, that’s the first time I’ve had it like that and o order it fairly often. It’s one of my favorite morning treats
1 Like
I personally think open face is better b/c I think bread can overwhelm a delicate piece of smoked fish.
Are all the greens a bit distracting in terms of flavor, though?
2 Likes
You can order it how you like it personally I’m a ‘everything, onion bialy, lebneh’ kind of guy
Maybe the joseki is to order a second bialy and make 2 sandwiches
Now that is great thinking and really maximizing ROI or maybe …ROE lol 
3 Likes
Had lunch at Gjusta today and noticed the open face option costs $2 more. Love their smoked fish but wanted to branch out and try something new. Ordered the falafel plate, which I quite enjoyed. Wish the red cabbage was pickled (the only pickled item on the plate was was turnips). Also spilt a sesame white chocolate croissant and a baklava croissant. Both were delicious, but I liked the sesame slightly more (even though I typically dislike white chocolate). Also pictured, okra salad (it was just ok).
4 Likes
Hi @chinchi,
Thanks for the report back. I love their Falafel! If you get a chance try their Falafel next time in the Sandwich version, which has a nice balance of veggies, pickles and their housemade bread. Thanks for the tip on the sesame white chocolate croissant; that’s one we haven’t tried yet.
1 Like
Technically this is Gjelina Take Away, not Gjusta, but man was it great. Perfect bread, smoked salmon, house cured pickles (hiding under the salmon, soft boiled eggs, capers, and a smear of labneh. The best modern version of a bagel and cream cheese you can get and a daily staple at GTA for at least five years now. In my mind this toast is a west side institution dish and perhaps the best breakfast you can get on this side of town.
4 Likes
Do they serve wine, beer or sell bottles? Asking for a friend.