Charcoal Venice

Met my brother for brunch at Charcoal Venice. Gary has been there for dinner once and I have never been there at all. We were not sure if their brunch was any good but since Gary remembered it as being good and with Josiah Citrin (Mélisse) as Executive Chef, one can almost guarantee it to be satisfactory.

They had a Kouign-Amann listed under pastries. We had to order one to taste. It looked good but lacked the shine which I thought would lack the sweetness. We both had a bite and were not too impressed but as we had the second bite it tasted better and by the third bite we both decided that it was good after all.

Gary ordered the Blueberry Dutch Baby and I ordered the Charcoal Benedict with Dungeness Crab, tomato compote, poached egg with charcoal infused jet black Hollandaise sauce. We decided to split both orders. The Charcoal Benedict as our main entrée and the Blueberry Dutch Boy for dessert. The eggs were absolutely delicious. The crab was perfect and all the flavors complemented each other. The Blueberry Dutch Boy was good but only when you had sweet blueberries. There were some berries that were sour so that took away from the goodness.

Service was excellent. I would want to go back for dinner and try the many exciting items on the menu. Charcoal Venice is located at 425 Washington Blvd. in Venice, California.