Gallery Of Functional Art

This is one of my favorite places to eat in the Venice area. It can get loud and packed on weekend nights so be prepared for that. I've never been for happy hour but I have eaten in the dining area a dozen times now. Staff is friendly, knows the menus, works together (I like that), and they've made honest suggestions when I've asked. Went recently with a few girlfriends and we wanted to split a couple of entrees. Staff was great in making sure we all had plates, spoons and such. I love when places cater to you rather than say we can't do such and such. You can park in the area but I've not had much luck getting parking on the street. There is underground parking so be sure to bring your ticket in for at least partial payment. I'll keep going as long as we can get a table. Pros: Great food, fun and upbeat atmosphere Cons: Not many parking options more

Every ngiht they run specials, $5 for a whole host of drinks and sushi rolls, spicy tuna tartare, soup. Great ambiance and easy to get a table, sit at bar, or at sushi bar. Service was a little slow from server, but most of the food came from the sushi chefs in front of us- which was quick! Pros: Price, Food Cons: Service a little slow more

This place is getting worse and worse, the service is horrible the waitresses will just give u an attitude for no reason, if u looking to spoil ure morning breakfast , this is the place, I've been going to this place for many years, it's really not worth the effort any more, trust me, their are plenty of other good places in the area with great service, one of them is Eat at Joe's on PCH more

So I only went to this restaurant once, but I am crazy about ceviche and get it everywhere that i can and their salmon ceviche was AWESOME. It was citrusy and spicy and tangy - i could eat it for days. I got the filet mignon too taht was pretty good - I've had better (wasn't the fondest of the black truffle sauce), but it was still enjoyable. We got paella too and it was quite tasty. It had a great menu. I'd def go back. Pros: Ceviche more

If food matters to you, skip this place. It's incredible that they can get away with these prices for such mediocrity. It's too salty, too sweet, too heavy.. bad food from the 80's with 21st Century prices. Go to the Nook or Jiraffe -- this place is a big loser. Pros: Location, decent drinks Cons: Bad food, too high prices more

so i initially planned on having a nice quiet albeit expensive sit-down dinner here, but changed my mind when i found out about their happy hour (5... more

I was there on a Friday night with a couple friends and the place was packed. We were able to get reservations only an hour or so before arriving. Our reservation wasn't available right when we got there, so we had to spend 5 minutes or so in the lounge. Not a big deal, but a little annoying. The service was great and the sushi was amazing. What I liked most about the place was the lively atmosphere. It was quiet enough to have a comfortable conversation with people at your table, but at the same time, you felt like it was the place to be. I would definitely go back again! Pros: atmosphere, food Cons: wait for a table more

This place is very trendy more so in santa monica than venice I would say. Our waiter was very attentive, but his suggestions were not that great, but when we told him that we weren't happy with one of his choices for an appetizer he took it off of our bill which is something that wouldn't happen in every restaurant especially in the LA area. Great sushi bar which hopefully I can take advantage of later, but easily could make a meal with drinks and appetizers from this place. Trendy looking inside and VERY busy with lots of people watching, and the waiter never rushed us from our table. We could have stayed all night, so service is a priority here. more

Serious time for a menu revamp! Sushi quality has gone south and the service - snot and a half. Flippant server, Safeway brand filet and hostess with no appreciation for customer service whatsoever. My mashers tasted as if they came from from a bag, unagi naggy spoils and did you ever hear of another Stella? I was bummed. What used to be such a rockin' joint just petered out! I never talk to a manger as I am one myself but this was BAD! Sacreligious even.Go to Chinois or Josie. Pros: easy to get in, usually pretty good if you order right Cons: service, noise, ambience, bad food high price more

To be completely honest, it was not the food that turned me off of this place, but the rude hostesses and servers. I have been here many times before and tried to give it a second chance more than once now and I don't think I will be back. Basically, they act like they don't need your service so do them a favor and go somewhere else. Maybe get take-out since the rolls are good. Pros: sushi, and happy hour prices if the damn hostess could actually seat you in time Cons: Hostesses more

With no previous knowledge of Chaya, I stopped in for lunch with colleagues from out of town and we all had a great lunch. The service was excellent and the food was amazing. I had the Ahi Tuna Burger and my colleagues had the Bento box and spicy tuna rolls. We work in the beverage business and were quite impressed with the non-alcholic strawberry ginger mojitos. I am adding Chaya to my list of recommended places for friends and family. more

A definite lunch option within Venice, especially for DD employees. Pricier than the other lunch spots, so we'd only hit Chaya every other week, o... more

Chaya is a great place to have a romantic dinner but, perfect for a tasty happy hour...vibrant and classy but, still low key and fun. Friendly service but, be prepared for the rush! The rolls are delicious and the alaskan king crab is extra sweet. If you sit at the sushi bar feel free to request custom rolls the chefs are extremely accomodating...they made several rolls for me that were not on the menu...it's best to get there before the big rush to avoid the wait since it is a popular place for the trendy Venice crowd. Highly reccommend for happy hour if you are looking to spend $ or for dinner if you are looking to spend $$$. I don't think I will ever tire of the Pineapple infusion and litchi martinis... :D Pros: First Class Happy Hour, Friendly trendy crowd, Cool Atmoshpere, Great Sushi or Dates Cons: Get's busy Quick! Pick a smart cocktail waitress! more

The sushi during happy hour is a steal and always good. Once it bumps up to full price it isn't as worth it, as better sushi awaits elsewhere. Never tried the full menu. Pros: Great happy hour Cons: Sushi at full price isn't such a great deal. more

The food is just okay. Nothing amazing. The sea bass was good, the rib eye steak average, and the crispy butterfish okay. The place is loud. Lots of attractive people eat here. It took a long time to get our food. I don't think I will go again. more

I had not been to Chaya in a while, but decided to give it a try again after finding the recommendation online from City Search! I didn't have a reservation and didn't get in right away--as expected at any popular restaurant, but I decided to wait in the bar for a table in the restaurant--great mojitos, not too tart. I got seated pretty easily after a small wait and the girls in front were very sweet to us which was refreshing. I ordered a mixed variety of sushi as an appetizer and decided on a vegan item on the menu as an entree. It was really tasty! Lively fun crowd which I needed that night. Parking was reasonable-$3 I believe with validation. I was surprised at 1 reviewers negative comments about people working there because I got a cool vibe--but obviously reviewer was negative about women and feeling a little threatened...hmm. All in all--thumbs up! Pros: good place for drinks--good sushi Cons: find a table in the bar because it' not easy to stand more

Probably the most extraordinary thing about Chaya Venice is that it has a menu that manages to cater to a lot of different tastes and do them all w... more

We headed here with a group and no reservation, and were still seated in 30 minutes. Our server was very patient with us (being that we already had a few drinks in our systems) and he was quick. He did not mind that we handed 5 credit cards at the end of the meal!! All of us wanted something different (Japanese, Italian, American) and we were all pleased. The calamari was amazing with its curry sauce, nice twist. The room is rather crowded and the acoustics could be a little better. The interiors are also a bit dated, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone because the bar and restaurant were packed! Pros: Service, Unique Fare, Scene Cons: Loud, Crowded, Pricey more

It's been a while since I've been to Chaya Venice, and I have to say that little has changed - the place is still very crowded, loud and fun (when you are in the mood for that). I've never been particularly excited about the food here, but the drinks and happy hour bites do not disappoint (actually the food gets better after a few cocktails)... service is inconsistent, sometimes quite good, other times snooty and even bordering upon the rude. However, I still recommend this spot simply because it's a great place to hang with your friends (but for a date, the noise level can be quite distracting). There's a lot adjacent to the restaurant with valet but it's not too clear if you've never been here before (they should have better signs). Pros: Fun Drinks/Happy Hour Cons: Inconsistent Service; Loud more

We've been to Chaya 5 or 6 times and just had an experience that will prevent us from ever going again. We checked in early (so unLA) and let the hostess know that we were ready and waiting and at the bar when a table opened up. 45 minutes later we checked in and she blamed us (finger pointing with her fake blonde ringlet hair) and said that we were late and could have been seated earlier. We took her abuse and sat down. Waitor then saw we had drinks already and had no interest in serving us until we were empty despite many requests for service with "excuse me". Finally we were served....(get the peppercorn steak). A friend came in, pulled up a chair, and sat with us after the restaurant was mostly quiet....until he hostess, once again, looking to find something better in her life to do...told us we were making the restaurant look "messy" by having a seat pulled up. A very nice waitor named Patrick came and apologized to us and made up for much of the damage....but it was a little too little too late. Amanda/Whatmitta....whatever the girl with the sweater that looked like it had been shred by a cat....she was awful and made the establishment look less than professional. I have never written a review, and a big fan of citysearch so I felt I was obligated. Pros: Good location and scene Cons: hostess more