Si! Mon
Restaurant · Venice
60 N Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Highlights
Panamanian-inspired seafood with vibrant flavors and creative cocktails.
Panamanian-inspired seafood with vibrant flavors and creative cocktails.
"The biggest argument for hosting a birthday dinner at Si! Mon is the space. This upscale Panamanian restaurant in Venice looks like the grounds of a Spanish ranch in Malibu, complete with a tropical patio and an interior filled with seashell chandeliers and plush green booths. The seafood-leaning menu is even more impressive, but some dishes do run small and can get pricey if you’re ordering several rounds for a big group. Our advice: keep your party to less than six people and you’re in for a meal as special as you are." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"Walking into Si! Mon is like stepping onto the grounds of a Spanish ranch in Malibu, complete with a tropical patio and an interior filled with seashell chandeliers and plush green booths. There’s a separate bungalow in the back for larger groups (eight or more.) But space aside, what makes this upscale spot in Venice so memorable is the Panamanian-leaning, seafood-rich menu. Think hamachi crudo painted with curry mushroom oil, a thick, burnt-orange crab stew called gaucho cooked with rum and habanero, and flaky kanpachi steamed in banana leaves." - brant cox
"At first glance, Si! Mon has many features typical of Venice restaurants: There’s a leafy, tropical patio, strong margaritas, and a crowd populated by floppy-hatted people. What sets this upscale Panamanian restaurant apart, though, is the food. Come here for a quiet date night in the dimly lit dining room, or a boozy Friday with friends at the upstairs bar, and you’ll find yourself fighting over dishes like shrimp dumplings in coconut bisque, rum-filled crab stew, twice-fried chicken, and tuna carpaccio on yuca tostadas with sweet pepper aioli. Getting to this canal-adjacent part of Venice is painful for just about everyone, but if the destination is Si! Mon, the struggle will be validated." - brant cox, sylvio martins, nikko duren
"Si! Mon swept into Venice’s beachside dining scene in late September 2023, bringing with it Panamanian flavors and dishes that span foodways from across Central America. The tightly composed menu zig-zags from buttery, briny starters like uni and littleneck clam shooters to razor-thin, achiote oil-splashed tuna carpaccio draped over a yuca tostada to double-fried green banana patacones served with a lip-puckering ajillo sauce. The pièce de résistance, however, is the gluten-free fried chicken drumsticks, which are lollipopped and dusted with a verdant seasoning salt comprised of pulverized roasted rice, shiitake mushrooms, and an intoxicating blend of alliums and herbs. (Diners also can’t go wrong with the crispy pork belly lettuce wraps served alongside coconut vinegar-spiked beans and the banana leaf-steamed kanpachi.) Planted in the former James Beach space, which has been done up with rich tropical colors and mid-century furniture, Si! Mon proves to be an unbeatable night out by the boardwalk, and an ideal option for Monday night dinners. — Nicole Adlman, cities manager" - Rebecca Roland
"Si! Mon swept into Venice’s beachside dining scene in late September 2023, bringing with it Panamanian flavors and dishes that span foodways from across Central America. Behind the menu is chef José Olmedo Carles Rojas, who grew up in Panama City and opened his seminal restaurant Fonda Lo Que Hay there. Now, in Los Angeles, Rojas has grappled with how to merge the flavors of his home city with the appetites of Angelenos. At every turn, he succeeds: The tightly composed menu zig-zags from buttery, briny starters like uni and littleneck clam shooters to razor-thin, achiote oil-splashed tuna carpaccio draped over a yuca tostada to double-fried green banana patacones served with a lip-puckering ajillo sauce. Planted in the former James Beach space, which has been done up with rich tropical colors and midcentury furniture, Si! Mon proves to be an unbeatable night out by the boardwalk. — Nicole Adlman, cities manager" - Mona Holmes
