Location: 1009 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice

Abbot Kinney is one of my favorite boulevards in all of Los Angeles. A short strip of quaint clothing shops, home decor boutiques, stationary stores, restaurants, bars, and cafes; fused together by a much more laid back L.A. vibe – thanks to the pacific ocean just 1 mile away.

Near the tail end of the boulevard, I recently spent a Sunday afternoon with 9 of my friends to celebrate a birthday at AXE (pronounced “ă • shay” I later learned). The menu is all about clean eating; using fresh, local, organic ingredients. The dining space promotes simplicity with a salute to earthiness. I have to give it to them when it comes to their intention with the design of the space and thoughtfulness in developing the menu, read more here.

For brunch, I went with the 9 grain pancake and a side of the crispy potatoes. One of the girls brought a bottle of champagne to share with the table to toast. Talk about Sunday Funday! I can’t think of anything more awesome than champagne and pancakes on a Sunday afternoon.

{Hello champagne.}

{9 grain pancake.}

{Crispy potatoes.}

Pros: Great atmosphere, awesome location, organic food, surprisingly not too pricey.

Cons: Took forever to seat our group despite our reservation (after waiting 30 minutes I went in and complained – lo and behold our table was ready); I was happy with my dish but the food wasn’t anything super special; service was slow, and the wait staff was pretty nonchalant and unwelcoming, with no sense of urgency at all, it took forever to get our food.

Overall: I enjoyed (as always) adding a new “been there, done that” to my LA restaurant list, but due to the vibe from the wait staff and food that was just okay it’s not someplace that I feel the need to ever return to. Especially, when my favorite place, Jin Patisserie, is a 5 minute walk down the boulevard. AXE really needs to work on service and their unwelcoming attitude. Oh, and I can’t believe a place like this would give a table of 9 a hand-written bill that was hard to read. I’m all for being more earthy, but get a machine to tally receipts. It’s 2012!