Love & Salt, Manhattan Beach CA

Love & Salt

Nutella Toast – Thick Cut Ciabatta, Strawberries, Sea Salt

Toasted Zucchini Bread – House Strawberry Jam

Housemade English Muffins – Rosemary Sea Salt, Cultured House Butter

Crispy Open-Face Porchetta Sandwich – Fried Farm Egg, Salsa Verde

Duck Egg Pie – Pancetta, Panna, Potato, Rosemary, Mozzarella, Parmesan

Bucatini – Fennel Sausage, Black Kale, Parmesan, Bread Crumbs

Warm Cinnamon Coffee Cake – Whipped Crème Fraiche

Brown Sugar Pudding – Blackberries, Cinnamon Crumble

Suggested by friends I trust as one of the best new spots in a rapidly developing Manhattan Beach dining scene, it was just after 2pm that parking was found in the garage behind Love & Salt and although the brunch menu shows signs of promise from the kitchen both the service and the website’s false advertising made for a somewhat lackluster overall experience.

Arriving at an off-hour, the frequently-filled space less than a quarter full when we walked in the back door, it was nonetheless in a cramped corner that our trio was seated – the brunch menu presented while the dinner options officially don’t begin until 5pm despite the website suggesting three o’clock on Sundays, plans of bridging the two services immediately discarded while service from a lazy beach bunny also saw the kitchen shut down before pancakes could be ordered as part of dessert, neither an excuse nor apology offered once.

Nicely appointed, with a bar at one side and seating on the other plus an open kitchen at the back, the room is bathed in sunlight from floor to ceiling windows that look out onto Manhattan Beach Boulevard up front, it was with a substantial delay after menus were perused that orders were placed and treated first to three pre-made pastries a high degree of skill was immediately evident, the buttery English Muffins setting a new standard for bread I generally find boring as both Zucchini bread and Ciabatta were crispy and excellent, all the better when slathered in jam and Nutella.

Not offering several of the signature pastas at brunch, and confirmed by a manager who sat chatting on his cellphone as service struggled that they would not be ready until 5:00pm when asked, it was to three alternative savories that attention was turned and although the porchetta proved far more salty than fans of the crispy roast would expect the texture of the meat was absolutely exemplary, the nicely charred pizza proving far more balanced as potatoes, herbs, and yolk helped to offset the pancetta.

Impressed by the al dente strands of Bucatini that offered subtle resistance to the tooth alongside housemade sausage and a bit too much bitter kale as buttery breadcrumbs helped to enliven the lot it was after repeated efforts to flag down our server that we discovered the kitchen had stopped, but promised that “brunch desserts” were still available the pre-made bombolini left behind by a table adjacent were ignored in favor of coffee cake and a smooth brown sugar budino, the former’s quality similar to that of breads prior while the latter is something worth getting out of bed for, service notwithstanding.

www.loveandsaltla.com