Eat Some of the Venice's Best Food While Sitting on a Milk Crate at Gjusta

There here is the Good News/Bad News on Gjusta, Venice's primo new bakery operation from the Gjelina folks. Mostly a cavernous warehouse of delectable sandwiches, sides and charcuterie, the popular Rose Avenue-adjacent concept has gotten some bad marks for its lack of seating and ineffectual ordering system. Still, it's hard to deny that food.

Here's the good, the bad, and the milk crate complaints on Gjusta.

Man, is this place delicious. There's no other way to say it: people love the food. And with a rockstar culinary team at the helm of the open kitchen, it's easy to understand why.

"Really, they are so good at so many things: Wonderful artisan breads and pastries, Beautifully curated cheeses, Awesome charcuterie." [TripAdvisor]

"There's a case stocked with pastry chef's Nicole Rucker's cookies, croissants, cakes, scones, and utterly perfect pies." [LAist]

"The ham I saw on the back counter was massive with a crisped skin just waiting to be shattered.  I’m looking forward to plunging into a vat of the charcuterie, especially the duck confit displayed dipped in a coating of it’s own fat so that somehow each leg looking like it was rolled in fondant." [Evan Kleiman]

"Here you’ll find a beautiful pastry counter and  shelves lined with beautifully bronzed rounds of sourdough and rye, plus buckwheat and rye baguettes to boot." [Food Republic]

And it sure does look good. Despite its stripped-down aesthetic, the long marble counters and open kitchen offer one pretty picture.

"Into the 5,000-square-foot space, they built an enormous open kitchen with ovens and a rotisserie that can be seen from the counter, along with all those cooks on the line." [LA Times]

"I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this cafe, there is a hipster aurora that makes this place so casual and inviting." [Yelp]

It’s really expensive and crammed with hipsters, though. Like, subway car at rush hour crammed.

"Oh, and for the 2 sandwiches and vegetables and coffees that I purchased, I had to hand over $57... Huh?" [TripAdvisor]

"If you want to feel like a hipster and eat an overpriced, but very delicious sammich, Gjusta is where you belong." [Yelp]

"4 stars for the food and 2 stars for the environment, ambiance, and pricing." [Yelp]

Oh, and there’s no seating. Like, other than milk crates out in the parking lot, you're on your own.

"Only downside...outdoor seating is milk crates. A little dingy, but fits with the LA atmosphere. My complaint is not so much the look as it is the lack of comfort." [TripAdvisor]

"Lett says that the seating, of which there really isn't any at present, is coming. There will be bar stools at the pretty counters, and out in the back he's working on patio seating." [LA Times]

"Camaj began serving fish, beef and fowl, encouraging and allowing patrons to eat and sit on premises, including Gjusta’s dirty parking lot and construction area. Where, we wonder, is the Health Department?" [Free Venice Beach Head]

Playful chaos rules the day. All you have to do is decide to roll with a few punches, and suddenly Gjusta becomes a pretty amazing experience, apparently.

"Throngs of loyal Gjelina fans waited their turn to get the attention of the servers behind the counter. At Gjusta, there is no line for orders; it's one of those belly up to the bar situations and hope that you can lock eyes with someone who can help shepherd you along through the ordering process." [LAist]

"The biggest challenge, the flow of ordering and payment, will be GM Dagny Mendelson’s to perfect." [Evan Kleiman]

"Already packed on its second day of business, the space feels a little chaotic as people wait in every corner to be attended to." [LA Weekly]

"I highly recommend getting there early before the place turns into a zoo and ordering the food to be taken away, as the parking lot milk crate accommodations are anything but hip, cute, or comfortable." [Yelp]