Danny's Venice Deli...agreeing with LA Times

23 Windward Ave.
Venice, CA 90291
(310)566-5610
Mon-Fri 10:30AM-10PM:
Breakfast available until 3pm / lunch until 5pm
Happy hour from 4pm-6pm / Dinner starts at 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 10am-10pm:
Brunch available until 3pm / Lunch until 5pm
Dinner starts at 5pm

Hearing about the hype and seeing the beautiful pics online of Danny's Venice Deli(via LA Times), which I now deem the gastronomical savior of the Venice walk, I was slightly intrigued. What with it's summery look inside and the kind of timeless quality shop-front, I felt like I needed to at least pop by cause I also hear the food is pretty killer. I thought to myself... a deli on the beach? Thoughts of spoiled mayonnaise and huge floppy pickles while walking on the boardwalk crept into my brain. This was not the case at all.

Housed in what looks like building that is left from the Coney Island era you're instantly taken back to old school charm. Lots of seating for the rush crowd anytime of day, and lots to see on the walls to keep you preoccupied while you wait (shortly) for the food to arrive.


Love the artwork on the walls depicting icons from stage and screen heroes of the past. It's definitely a defining memorable thing about their overall vibe.

As with any deli you have sandwiches as a feature and various assorted sides that compose about 90% of the menu. What you may not know about them is that all their beef (including their pastrami and corned beef) is certified Angus Beef and all their fowl is hormone free(but if it's available they use organic). Knowing these factors I saw something on the menu that said "You'd be a fool not to eat me". That monster was their famous "Original Plunge" named after the the world's largest indoor saltwater pool(once right by Danny's of course). It's a 9oz. dip sandwich with their pastrami inside (you have an option to do turkey pastrami, corned beef, or roast beef). Let me ask you... have you ever had something which exceeded your expectations so drastically that you were beside more and more with each bite? That's was this sandwich. After each bite I was like, "Man...this is really good"..."How did they do this?"..."I have to come back and get this again!". The meat was elegantly tender, the au jus not too salty or too heavy, and the french roll was crunchy but didn't rip the roof of your mouth either. For my side, I got their potato salad which would be a welcome addition at any picnic I'd ever go on. As an oath to my readers, I will be going back and getting this exact order again.

Celeste ordered the falafel burger out of mere curiosity and was pleasantly surprised. Falafels can be a tricky thing... in fact anything deep fried can be very tricky for that matter. The beauty of this sandwich was how hearty it was for a meatless burger(whether you consider that a real burger of not is your deal). The falafel, was just that... falafel, and good falafel at that. That, together with the jack cheese, grilled onions, zippy tomato, avocado and sprouts made an excellently well balanced sandwich. Not too much or too little of anything... and on that note very low grease factor, it was ALMOST dry actually, but not. Depending on how you like your food, it's great the way it was, but for someone like Celeste a little extra mayo made it just right. And that side of seasonal fruit she got cause she felt guilty for the fried food just happened to be in season(and sweet at that).

To finish up we grabbed a slice of their (signature) very creamy, lush cheese cake. Wow. Best way to describe it was imagine a pound cakes consistency but cheese cake. It intensely moist to the point of wondering how the heck did they do that. I loved it cause it really wasn't trying too hard to be this amazing thing. It was a smooth and creamy piece of top notch cheese cake. Though I felt it was pricey at $7 a slice when I ordered it, I'd say it's a dessert made for a date night before you stroll on the boardwalk... and worth every penny.

While I admit that I have rarely been particularly impressed with delis(cause a good deli's a good deli right?), this one for me has an edge on all the others. Quality of food and charm go miles in my book. Not to mention the location scores mega points due to the fact that on the boardwalk there just isn't that much good food... let alone food that's GOOD for you. And as always with the boardwalk, you have the bummer issue of parking. Not so with this place. Literally next door is a reduced rate parking lot (validation required) if you don't feel like circling the area for those pesky spots.

I love this spot...it reminds me to be romantic when I'm near the water.

Free Drink Refills: No but let me explain. They only have specialty sodas. Oh yeah...try their root beer float...it's epic!
Entree Price Range:$6.50 to $19