Venice’s Next Cool Kid Evening Hangout Hides Just Steps From the Ocean

There’s yet another new sunny, summery cafe to know about on the Westside this week, as the owners of Great White have quietly opened a second space right underneath the iconic Venice neighborhood sign. The full-service restaurant is called Gran Blanco.

Whereas Great White is a sun-soaked casual daytime restaurant known for its coffee drinks and breakfast burrito, Gran Blanco leans into dinner with a pan-Mediterranean menu and full bar. The two restaurants are similarly styled, with wooden stumps doubling as seating, low cafe tables, and couches to enjoy. The evening restaurant even keeps weekend hours until 2 a.m., doing cocktails and wines all through the night. TimeOut was first to report on the restaurant’s arrival.

Owner Sam Trude tells Eater that the bar and restaurant has only been open a week so far, and only for dinner and late drinks. There are plans to push into lunch hours and brunch down the line, though no timing on that side has been confirmed. Meanwhile, nearby competition for evening dining dollars comes in many forms, from an upcoming pasta restaurant literally owned by a prince to the return of Dudley Market, complete with lots of natural wine. Expect hours at Gran Blanco from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. weeknights, with an extension to 2 a.m. on weekends.

Gran Blanco. 80 Windward Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

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