Carla Cafe
American restaurant · Sawtelle ·
Iconic tuna chop sandwich on crunchy ciabatta with fresh ingredients
Iconic tuna chop sandwich on crunchy ciabatta with fresh ingredients
"I think it's the best tuna sandwich you can get. Typically, I would default to a tuna melt, but this is so good. They use a crunchy ciabatta, which works so well with the mushy tuna. Then they add pepperoncini to their tuna salad—if you eat that with their hot sauce, I'm telling you, it's so, so good. With tuna, you either hate it or love it. But if you love it, you’ve definitely gotta get this sandwich." - brennan carley
"A lot of people use Carla Cafe as a delivery pick-up counter for their lunchtime salad or sandwich, but we prefer to dine in at this cute, all-green dollhouse of a space. That’s mainly because we need to be seated to eat its internet-famous Tuna Chop that’s equally delicious and messy. (Caution: creamy tuna and vinegar-splashed chopped salad will spurt out the ciabatta’s sides.) We’re also fans of the garlic aioli chicken sandwich that’s so potently garlicky you’ll need half a tin of mints afterward. Carla serves coffee, matcha drinks, and breakfast burritos for morning pit stops, but this spot is great for any last-minute bite needs in a neighborhood where quick, casual options are limited." - brant cox, sylvio martins
"What started as a pandemic-born pop-up has since established a home base out of a kitchen in Santa Monica. Carla Cafe is known for its ciabatta sandwiches with homemade aioli, as well as breakfast burritos. Sanchez typically orders the tuna chop sandwich for lunch, but he says you can’t go wrong with any of the sandwiches on the menu." - Rayna Rossitto
"I used to live close enough to where Carla Cafe launched its sandwich “drops” in the early days of the pandemic; pick-ups were at the door of the Bootsy Bellows nightclub in West Hollywood. After I moved further west, the mini deli’s impeccable sandwiches became an only once-in-a-while treat — until this year, when Carla Cafe moved its operations to Colony Kitchen in Santa Monica. Anyone who knows me well knows that a tuna sandwich is one of my favorite lunches — and the tuna chop from Carla Cafe just might be my favorite iteration, ever. It combines the vegetable-packed brightness and crispness of a chopped salad (in this case, lightly dressed shredded lettuce, chickpeas, pepperoncini, tomatoes, and avocado) with a well-seasoned, mayo-based tuna salad studded with little slivers of red onion. It’s all piled on a crunchy ciabatta roll slicked with yellow mustard; every bite is packed with an explosion of flavors and textures. My hope is that one day Carla Cafe will have its own standalone storefront, but for now, I’m just happy that I can order the tuna chop (and other superior sandwiches) any time my heart desires. —Karen Palmer" - Eater Staff
"Having launched as a popular sandwich and salad pop-up during the pandemic and previously serving out of West Hollywood’s Bootsy Bellows, Carla Cafe has moved operations to Santa Monica’s Colony Kitchen; its beloved tuna chop and chicken pesto sandwiches are now available for pickup at 11419 Santa Monica Boulevard and for delivery to the westside, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m." - Eater
