Milo & Olive, now open for a couple of months, the newest venture by Zoe Nathan and Josh Loeb specializing in housemade pizza, bakery items and farmer’s market entrees.
The Wilshire location is quite compact with only two communal tables and a bar for dining. The front of the place has a bakery case loaded with Zoe’s special treats from savory to sweet making it hard to pass up sampling something while waiting for a spot. For lunch, get there a little before noon to end up at the food bar, a great place to watch the chefs at work. As for the food, the pizza with ground pork belly and greens was good. The crust was fantastic, but a little bland. As for the arugula salad, the greens were a little large with big stems which made it difficult to eat.
The bakery treats were a hit for me — the meyer lemon cake was moist and flavorful with the perfect sweet and mildly tangy taste. The pear tart encrusted in brioche with vanilla pastry cream was also divine but, it could of used a scoop of Sweet Rose Creamery’s vanilla ice cream on top. As for the croissants — the chocolate croissant was flakey with rich chocolate flavor — very nice.
The entrees that were coming out of the kitchen were made fresh to order — steamed clams, fresh pastas and homemade minestrone. Chef Evan Funke is at the helm of the entrees portion of the menu and I am sure does a fine job considering Rustic Canyon is one of my favorites. Rumor has it — Chef Funke is leaving the chain to venture out on his own??
Milo & Olive is a great addition to Santa Monica and shouldn’t be missed especially for the bakery items!
Milo & Olive, 2723 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica. 310 453-6776
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