Cafe Vida - Culver City, California

Bri

Absolutely recommend coming here…drinks food and atmosphere chefs kiss👏🏽‼️🤌🏽the onion rings are amazingggg Ok!!! Also the smoked salmon toast 10/10. Cant wait for next weekend to go back because yes🤭

Aitana B.

Traditional American breakfast.
Traditional drinks.
But I love it because it is soooo close to my home.

Sometimes I don’t want nothing special. Regular with the standard is good enough.

And the service is great. Fast, and attentive.

Millena P.

Who said you couldn’t have brunch for dinner?! My bf and I heard this place had the best deals for happy hour, so we had to check it out for ourselves.

Parking: Good luck finding a parking lol. There’s metered street parking, but it’s impossible to find one. After driving around, we found a paid public parking structure, and we just walked to the restaurant.

Ambiance/Environment: Love the decor here! It’s very warm and welcoming. They have a medium sized space with some indoor seating, but they do have a lot of outdoor seating!

Service: Everyone was courteous & welcoming, but special shout out to our server Rory! His service was above & beyond exceptional. He took the time to explain every little detail of the menu to us. He even recommended us a few of his fav dishes based on our preferences.

Everything we ordered:

1) Short Rib Tacos - Rory recommended this to us bc it’s one of his fav, and WOW .. we can tell why it’s his fav! This isn’t your usual street taco bc they were not shy with the meats. The tacos were FILLED! The flavors of the short ribs were amazing!

2) Buffalo Tenders - These were also recommended to us by Rory. This was listed on their appetizer menu, and we were shocked by the amount of Buffalo tenders we received. The tenders were huge! The tenders tasted as expected, and the chicken was cooked well!

3) Brown Rice Almond Pancakes - I ordered these! Talk about presentation! Not only did these look delicious, but they tasted even better! This included 3 pancakes, fresh fruits, maple syrup, and butter. The pancakes had the perfect amount of sweetness and a generous amount of almonds.

4) Yucatan Salmon Bowl w/ quinoa - My bf ordered this. This was recommended to him by the GM Oscar. Another round of applause for their presentation! There was a generous amount of vegetables & toppings. Everything tasted so fresh. The salmon was also cooked well, though it could use a bit more seasoning but the sauce saved it.

5) Carrot Cake - Can’t go wrong with a classic dessert. This tasted as expected. This cake satisfied our sweet tooth.

6) Hot Lavender Latte w/ art - I’m a sucker for latte art haha. Their lavender latte is so delicious! It wasn’t overly sweet; you can still taste the coffee.

7) Açaí Coconut Smoothie - Perfect refresher after all these delicious dishes! This tastes exactly what it sounds like. The açaí and coconut flavors were balanced.

8) Mimosa Flight - Did someone say happy hour!? Of course, we had to take advantage. This included passion fruit, tamarind, & guava. My favorite was the passion fruit!

9) Bloody Mary - This was also recommended to us by Oscar! He mentioned they received new garnishes. Look how cute it is! It was garnished with a bacon, celery, olives, & tomato. This was definitely strong! I really enjoyed this!

Nicole G.

This is my family spot for brunch a few times during my visits to Culver City.
Mimosas, onion ring tower and salad are my fav coffee cup is near empty.
Something for every dietary need.
The service is above and beyond
Short wait time
Small. Indoor dining
2 restrooms
Plenty of outdoor seating.

Jonathan L.

Amazing breakfast! I had the egg white omelette which is not something that I would normally order, but the picture that someone else posted looked so good. I am glad I did. It was exploding with flavor! The bread, the butter, and the jam were all homemade and some of the best I've had. I sampled some of my wife's buttermilk pancakes and those were the best pancakes I've ever had! They were so fluffy and they literally just melt in your mouth. The fresh squeezed orange juice was amazing. And the cappuccino that topped it all off was amazing.

The only people not giving this place 5 stars are the ultra snobby ones who feel snubbed when a busy restaurant (for good reason) has a waiter that takes 10 seconds too long to anticipate their every possible need.

I'm just a foodie who cares about good food and wanted to let you know that this place is well worth your attention!

Scot F.

I absolutely love this place and don't know why it's taken me so long to thank them with a positive review...but better late than never?

When I think of all the plbrunchedhad breakfast and brunch in LA, this one surely ranks among the top. Is it a vibe along the lines of bottomless drinks, 20-somethings taking selfies and a DJ spinning? No. Thank goodness.

But it is a vibe nevertheless: a casual one, lowkey yet still vibrant with excellent outdoor dining. And the service is impeccable. Our server went out of his way, as is always the case here, to make our experience more enjoyable.

The food options allow you to be as healthy as you want to be, and they have a LOT of options. Today, I went with a delicious egg white omelet with tomatillo salsa, guac, veggies and chicken sausage, accompanied by fruit and toast. It was absolutely wonderful, and the portions were huge.

And isn't it nice to know there are still brunch places with this kind of quality food with excellent service...all for a reasonable price. My colleague got the brown rice pancakes and a latte, and the entire meal (inclusive of my omelet, tax and tip) was under $60.

If you're near downtown Culver - and I would argue you should be even if you're not - give this place a try. I've always enjoyed it.

Julian S.

Pancakes were soggy and flavorless, I couldn’t bring myself to finish them. Water tasted of harsh tap water. The service was equally lacking. I was warm and cordial at first but the server maintained a pretentious indifference the whole meal which further soured my appetite.

Perhaps it was just the one dish and the one server, but this has been one of the most disappointing dining experiences I’ve had in a while and I will not be back. Nor would I recommend it.

Deyanira E.

The food is a 10/10!! I’ve ordered a variety of items on their menu and all of them were delicious. The best by far have been the buttermilk pancakes. They so good, I’ve treated my mom to them 2 weekends in a row! And now I’m back with my husband. Something I really appreciate is the attention to detail and flavor in their salsas. They are not spicy but so rich in flavor. The colors are vibrant. Very beautiful plating. And the coffee is very very very nice!! I love me a good cup coffee.

The staff is amazing! Very attentive and friendly. They all seem to communicate and get along extremely well. They seem as if they were friends and not coworkers. Truly love the vibe here.

Gonna keep coming back until I bring all of my friends and family, to share a delicious meal and have a great time!