Venice’s New Dry-Aged Steakhouse Is a Vintage Beauty

The seaside neighborhood of Venice has a youthful cool, and in recent years tech money and big restaurant openings like Felix and Gjusta have helped bolster that image. But with the Sunday arrival of American Beauty, the whole area just feels a little more grown up.

American Beauty comes to Venice thanks to Jeff Goodman and Paul Hibler of American Gonzo Food Corporation, along with Bruce Horwitz of the Tasting Kitchen and chefs Elisha Ben-Haim and Anthony Goodwin. While the project has many voices (and also includes a daytime takeaway window that’s already up and running), the end result is a singular vision of steak, booze, and mood lighting.

The menu, shown below, moves through countless classics like a charred hamachi collar and wood-grilled flatbread to dry-aged steaks, a $19 steakhouse burger served with fries, and stiff $15 cocktails. Beautifully enough, a glass of house red or what comes “filled to the top,” and lands at just $10.

The folks at Folklor designed the 3,000-square-foot restaurant for maximum dinnertime appeal, from the horseshoe bar to the vintage wooden booths and dark green detailing. The original Venice Ranch Market facade remains, but inside the back bar glows gold while the vintage stained glass artwork shimmers. Expect room for 60 in the dining room, more than a dozen out on the patio, and 25 around the curved bar.

American Beauty opens wide on Sunday, September 8, keeping hours from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. nightly. Reservations can be made on Resy.

American Beauty. 425 Rose Ave., Venice, CA.

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