Kassi Rooftop Venice Beach — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I don't understand Kassi's food and drink policy and neither to their employees. We arrived Saturday night at 5pm and waited in line to go up the roof top bar like everyone else (it is gorgeous up there by the way). Our intention was to have drinks and appetizers and then move on to our dinner reservation location. At the top upon exiting the elevator, the hostess told us we can grab a drink at the bar. But they don’t really define where the bar starts and stops. It’s a lovely long area of tables and a long high top bar on either side of plastic flowers in the middle. So we went down to the end of the bar by the end of the building and got a nice sofa banquet and tried to order drinks but could never flag down a server. So I walked back to the bar and ordered drinks and took them back to our banquet. We sat there for 30 minutes and then decided to order our aps. I flagged down a waitress since we had been ignored for 30 minutes and she told us we couldn’t order any food unless we had a dinner reservation. I wish that had told us that upon arrival. And then she told us to clear out of the banquet since they had dinner reservations flooding in at 5:30 and 6pm. So now we knew those evolving rules and stood along the long bar and I went back to the bar tender and and tried to order aps from her and she told me flag down a server. I told her that was against the rules and then she said she had no idea what the rules were. In the meantime there was a much older man all hooked up with his earpiece and very authoritative and he kept pushing us down the long bar saying where we were standing was closing for a private party. Again we didn’t really understand the rules and just wanted to order food but that wasn’t allowed and the angry/mean older man just kept giving us the evil eye and seemed like the only guy who knew what he was doing but was just like an Angry Dad. And by the way, over one hour and half no one ever sat at the banquet we were at and no one allowed us to ever order food and the whole experience seemed surreal. So I cant rate the food because they basically refused us service and the entire scene by the time we left at 6:50 totally famished as the bar top turned into some type of a wild Rave for 22 year olds in short dresses and blaring music was beyond comprehension. I know this spot is part of a huge corporation that owns Elephante called Wish you Were Here but clearly they didn’t want our...

Kassi Venice Beach is a beautiful rooftop experience, one to remember! The visual - views and decor is beautiful! Let's jump right into this review.

Kassi Venice Beach is located on Pacific Avenue in Santa Monica on the roof of the Erwin Hotel. Walking distance to the famous Muscle Beach. The views from the rooftop overlook the basketball courts that has been scene in movies like White Men Can't Jump and American History X.

Parking - plenty of paid lots or valet at the Erwin Hotel. Parking will cost you roughly $10-$20. There is also metered parking and free street parking, which is challenging to find. Read the signs.

What did I have - Fried Zucchini Chips - $14 - whipped feta, lemon, & zàtar - light, crispy, and delicious! 10/10

Harissa Honey Chicken (this is a 5oz skewer) - $14 - yogurt, Honey, & lemon - seasoned well, tangy, served with a slice of lemon to squeeze over chicken, definitely adds a nice kick to the skewer 10/10

Hand Pulled Flat Bread - $5 - zàtar salt, olive oil, sea salt - 10/10

Tzatziki - $8 - Greek Yogurt, dill, garlic, & cucumber 8/10

Watermelon Cucumber Spritz - $11 - watermelon juice, lime cucumber, sparkling water - veey refreshing, not overly sweet 8.5/10

Orchard Adaptogens - $14 - aplos, lemon, peach, blueberry, lemon verbena - interesting combination of flavors. The aplos, not knowing what this was prior to ordering, welp, lesson learned. If you like adaptogens, this is your drink 6/10

For the area, views, & venue, I find pricing reasonable.

Pros Nice views. Friendly staff. Delicious food and good non-alcoholic drink selections. Comfortable seating.

Cons On a hot day, sun beaming like today, eating with minimum coverage overhead was tough. The sun was beaming on me during my entire dining experience.

Shot out to my server and the general manager who took great care of me today. I was shocked in a good way when the GM asked me how my meal was, very nice touch. I'll definitely be back...

I really liked Kassi in Vegas and also enjoy Élephante, so I was excited to try this new location from the same company. Unfortunately, the bread was too greasy and smelled like it was cooked on a dirty pan or grill. The chicken had the same unpleasant smell, and both the chicken and beef tasted like they had been cooked ahead of time and just reheated before serving. When I tried to explain this to the server, she didn’t care and just kept telling me why I was wrong.

Unfortunately, it feels like an unwritten law in California: if you have a restaurant with a beautiful view, you can completely ignore the quality of the food. That’s why Élephante has always stood out for me—it’s one of those rare places where you actually get amazing food, along with an incredible view and vibe. I was really hoping Kassi would be the same. But the magic didn’t happen.

On top of that, I’ve been to many of the group’s restaurants, including in New York, and I keep noticing the same pattern: the staff simply don’t care about the customers. It’s not the first time I’ve felt there’s zero sense of attentiveness, support, or understanding. The company knows it holds some of the top locations in Los Angeles, so any negative review is outweighed by a thousand other people lining up to come. And that comfort seems to give them the freedom to completely ignore customer feedback and care very little about improving the...