Erven

New American restaurant · Santa Monica

Erven

New American restaurant · Santa Monica

514-516 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Highlights

A chic Santa Monica café serving creative vegan dishes paired with biodynamic wines, where each plate feels like a work of art.

514-516 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Get directions

ervenrestaurant.com

@eater

"Chef Nick Erven has decided to pull the plug on his eponymous Westside restaurant Erven, closing the doors for good to vegans and meat-eaters alike. The Santa Monica mainstay hung a “closed for catering event” sign last week, and sadly has no plans to return. Eater reached out to Erven directly, and he confirmed that he and his team are shopping the space. In the meantime they’re using the kitchen for some catering and private event work, but the public side of the restaurant is gone entirely. “It was a good run,” Erven tells Eater of the 18-month ride out in Santa Monica, and he’s right to be proud. In its truncated tenure, Erven got heaps of praise from places like Thrillist, LA Magazine, and even Jonathan Gold. It could not, however, seem to find a consistent enough customer base with its all-vegan menu. In June, Erven told LA Weekly that he was going to be adding meat and some dairy to his menu as a way to draw in a more diverse customer base, and not feel like anyone was being excluded. That seemed to work for a time, but ultimately the place just couldn’t sustain. Erven has more recently moved on to consulting gigs around town, and promises he has more coming up down the line." - Farley Elliott

Santa Monica’s Award-Winning Formerly Vegan Restaurant Erven Has Closed - Eater LA

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Carter Anne

Google

Great place while it was still open, to this day it's still the best vegan food I've had in my life. Their pine nuts with avocado was to die for, their grilled carrots- both soft and crispy- were amazing, their black garlic tofu was incredible, and I loved their pea sorbet! One of their dishes which had peas in it, my uncle needed seconds on- which is pretty amazing considering his passionate hatred of peas. Anywhere else he won't touch them, but here? Here he can't stop eating them! It takes an incredible chef to make a man love the food he normally hates.

Karen Radomski

Google

Really a one-of-a-kind experience. Each dish felt like an artistic experience, playing with different flavors in a unique way. I have brought multiple groups of friends over, including a non-vegan kid who really loved everything!

Paul Cravacuore

Google

Just OK for me. I tried most starters and shareables, presentation was great the flavor lacked. Other than our server having major BO the service was friendly. I will go again and try the main dishes hopefully that's where all the great reviews are all about.

Kevin Whitney

Google

Been in 4 times or more LOVE the place and food. Great staff . Will go again when in the area.

Dan Frias

Google

The visit started with a free taste of a sparkling red wine, which was delicious. Our server, Candice, explained the entire menu to us, provided recommendations, and could not have been better. Everything we ordered was amazing and very unique. The tiny beets were original and very good, the cabbage pancake was absolutely delicious, and everything else was great as well. This place is even better than Real Food Daily, which it replaced in this location.

Dirk van de Bunt

Google

I'm not a vegan but I'm married to one. The flavors at Erven made me forget that this meal was missing meat. The pretEl bread pudding, fritters, cinnamon ice cream sandwich (non dairy) were divine. Service was attentive and helpful. Again, the sauces and spices were really special. We'll be back

K K

Google

This place was originally the RFD. Unfortunately it was closed. I was sentimental about it, not only because it was a good vegan restaurant but also it was where I met my husband. So I was pretty happy Erven keep the major structure of the space but upgrade it with different decoration. Completely vegan restaurant. They certainly do a good job that the food are so tasty, you can't even tell they are vegan! I've tried their lunch and dinner. As for the lunch, I got something called hoagie. It was fantastic! The food is hot!!! I have not had made-for-order hot "burger" for a long long time. Most food you get is warm, sometimes cold. We were very impressed with that taste and the temperature (ha) of the food! Came here again to celebrate my nephew's bday. Each dinner dish is displayed like a piece of art! Very eye-catching and once again very delicious. It's pretty pricey considering the portion of the food that you're getting. It feels like you're eating Japanese food. However, for the amazing food and fantastic services, I'll definitely come back! Highly recommend this place!

Natalie Ford

Google

Obnoxious and over-priced. I am insulted that they added pork belly and other dead flesh to an otherwise vegan restaurant? What are they thinking? The server hit on my date, forgot my drink, insisted that the Octopus was delicious, after I had made it clear that I was a vegan ??? and got my order wrong. The bill reached an outlandish $100 for 2 of us. Real Food Daily owners would roll over if they knew what their old kitchen was cooking up now. Tragic.