For the last 70 years, The Venice Whaler (10 West Washington Blvd., Venice, CA 90292; 310.821.8737) has been serving the community of Venice and it’s visitors. And now with a new owner, general manager, Chef de Cuisine, bar manager and new dining and cocktail menus, the watering hole is headed for a new generation!
New owner, Michael Dobson, (Ma’Kai, Red O) has been coming to the Whaler for 20 years and he bought the place with an eye toward bringing back the locals as well as welcoming new visitors. The Venice Whaler first opened in 1944 as the single-story Crab Shell Bar (the upstairs bar was originally rent-controlled apartments). It was a popular hangout in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when music legends including the Beach Boys, the Doors and the Beatles.
Chef de Cuisine Nick Liberato has refocused the menu on fresh, seasonal produce and ingredients made from scratch. He’s calling it “upscale dive-bar food.” Liberato gets what The Whaler is all about, being an avid surfer since he was 11. He hits the waves every morning before service, keeps his board in the kitchen and even holds daily staff meetings out on the sand.
The menu is full of American cuisine with a lot of global influence. Dishes include a Vietnamese Banh Mi topped with short ribs that cook for eight hours; bacon-wrapped Spicy Street Dog with chili; Tuna Poke with macadamias and microgreens; Shrimp Roll on a brioche roll from local bakery Rustico; Clam & Corn Chowder with shellfish, chunks of bacon and paired with grilled sourdough bread; and The Westside Salmon is smoked on a cedar plank along with Kalamata olives, lemon and mixed greens and paired with the Grilled Husk of Corn on the Cob with cotija cheese, lime and sesame seed butter. The Eat Your Veggies section of the menu offers lighter and healthier dishes including the Grilled Husk of Corn; Roasted Beets with blood orange and pistachio; Asparagus & Burrata, with olive oil and lemon; and Crispy Brussels Sprouts with pickled Fresno chiles, capers and roasted grapes. There’s also a house-made-flour-tortilla Taco Bar where you can get your choice of seafood (grilled or crispy cod, or grilled shrimp), and grilled chicken or chicharrón.
The menu will change three to four times a year to reflect what’s in season, and Liberato is also adding a selection of pizzas, including the Calidelphia, topped with clams, Serrano chiles, San Marzano tomatoes and oregano. There’s also Liberato’s Sausage & Slab Bacon topped with Egg, Castel Vetrano olives and mozzarella.
As for the bar, Williams hired a bar-industry vet, Anthony Settecase (Cole’s, Las Perlas, Bar Chloe and Dia de Campo in Hermosa Beach), who has curated a list of craft cocktails and artisanal spirits for the new downstairs Crab Shell Bar, which will make its official debut in two weeks. He has also completely revamped the simpler “Beach Booze” menu upstairs in the upstairs Whaler Bar.
Cocktails include the Moscow Whale, a twist on the classic Moscow Mule that can be made with vodka or bourbon and ginger-citrus syrup, Angostura Bitters and ginger beer. “I’m 100 percent confident it’s the best Moscow Mule in town,” Williams says. (Some big words there, my friend). Other beachy favorites, including a traditional Mai Tai, a Mojito, two different hand-crafted Margaritas and a Bloody Mary (which is garnished with a crab claw), as well as 14 beers on draft, eight of which hail from Cali.
Redesigned by Kellie Patry (Seven Grand San Diego, Honeycut) the Venice Whaler’s digs have been refreshed with a new downstairs bar, new tables and chairs and décor updates throughout the space. Patry also highlights local talent, with buckets for silverware and napkins that sit on each table painted by local artists and a new bathroom wall painting painted by Venice Muralist Erin Kelly. Another local Muralist, Jonas Never, painted “The Kiss” reenacted in front of the Venice Pier.
Open daily, 11-2 am.
Photo Credit: Moretti Photo
