Nick Erven Brings Meat-Free Flavors to Santa Monica Next Week

Well that didn't take long. Just a couple of months after departing from Westwood's Fundamental LA restaurant following a short stint there, roving chef Nick Erven is opening up his own place in Santa Monica. The restaurant's name is, appropriately, Erven, and it'll be working an entirely plant-based menu as of July 18.

As another bit of kismet, Erven will be taking hold inside the defunct Real Food Daily space on Santa Monica Boulevard as of next Monday. The previous tenant helped to usher in today's growing obsession with vegan food a quarter-century ago, before falling away in April.

The new restaurant will hew closely to the ethos of the old, working an animal-free menu of larger dinner plates and shared starters, lunchtime sandwiches, and breakfast items. Erven the chef, while not a vegan himself, says that he has come to appreciate the sustainability of a plant-based diet and hopes to bring hearty, rich flavors to the conversation in order to equally amuse the meat-eating crowds. The opening menus are below.

You'll also find beer and wine available at Erven, which was designed by chef Erven's new Midcourse Hospitality partner Jim Hustead along with the help of Nicole Palcyznski from Vein Design. There will also be an attached marketplace for purchasing dry goods and more to bring home.

Beginning Monday, Erven will be open seven days a week with daytime hours to start. That means 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for now, with 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. dinner hours to follow.

Erven
516 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA

Erven Restaurant Menus