Playa Vista’s New Casual Cafe Is Perfect for LA’s Tech Set

Former Echo Park all-day cafe Winsome is back, this time with a more compact space out in Playa Vista. Owners Marc Rose and Med Abrous (Genghis Cohen, the Spare Room) opened the restaurant at 6080 Center Drive inside Playa District just today.

The original Winsome sat just off the Sunset Boulevard stretch of Echo Park towards Chinatown, but closed last year after three years in business. Ownership decided to keep the name and format alive with a move over towards LA’s busy tech hub, Playa Vista. That area — including Winsome’s development, dubbed Playa District — has begun to attract a number of restaurant names, from HomeState to the forthcoming steakhouse Bull & Butterfly,

For the new space Winsome is aiming for the casual crowds, with opening hours dedicated to breakfast and lunch only (though longer hours will start up down the line). There is a bar component that will ramp up during dinner hours too, with cocktails from the recently-returned Gaby Mlynarczyk (Fat Radish NYC, Accomplice Bar in LA). She’ll be doing non-alcoholic cocktails in addition to the boozy stuff, and curating craft beers and organic wines.

Skandia Shafer

Skandia Shafer

Skandia Shafer

As for the food menu, expect tartines, a grilled chicken salad, sandwiches, and the like, with a strong carry-out business and lots of prepared items available on the go. Coffee comes from La Colombe, and pastries come from Larder Baking Co. The opening menu is below.

Winsome opens today in Playa Vista, keeping weekday only hours to start — Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• HomeState Hits the Westside Tech Corridor With Breakfast Tacos Tomorrow [ELA]