Santa Monica’s Newest All-Day Cafe Is a Salad and Bone Broth Paradise

Santa Monica’s newest restaurant is Alfalfa, a New Jersey-born healthy cafe with colorful Instagram tones and lots of leafy greens — both in pots and on plates. As the name implies, the new restaurant at 2309 Main Street, in the former Astro Doughnuts space, leans on a collection of plant-forward dishes like salads, bowls, and bone broth, though doughnuts and breakfast burritos are part of the equation as well.

Alfalfa began life in 2018 as a small salad-serving stand inside a Hoboken, New Jersey farmers market. The next year the four friends behind the company partnered with a local restaurateur to open in a dinette space nearby, and now they’ve made the jump to California.

If the pale jewel tones and houseplants feel familiar, that’s precisely the point. Alfalfa is modeled on a kind of pan-national restaurant aesthetic, with lots of sunlight, a little bit of neon signage, and all-day hours. Think Sweetgreen, but with a slightly more curated touch. An opening menu is below.

Alfalfa opens for service on Saturday, February 13, keeping daily hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. for food, coffee, broth, and beyond.

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Alfalfa