Lost and (Quickly) Found, Rebecca’s Goes to Santa Monica

Restaurateur Bruce Marder (Broadway Deli, Capo) and his wife, Rebecca, recently sold their popular Venice restaurant, Rebecca’s, to the owners of James’ Beach, the place that now occupies the site of the Marders’ ‘80s hit, West Beach Cafe. After auctioning off Rebecca’s art collection, the couple announced they were looking for a new location for Rebecca’s. That could have taken awhile--Marder, after all, spent three years getting the permits to open Capo, his new Italian place on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica.

They got lucky, though, and took over a space at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Broadway, just vacated by La Sirena, a retooling of Red that never quite took off. When I stopped in for a first look, they hadn’t even had time to get a sign up: A banner hung on the side of the building announced the new Rebecca’s.

From the look of the crowd ensconced at the bar, the Venice restaurant’s regulars seem to have already sussed out the new location. The margaritas, after all, are potent and delicious, tasting of fresh lime and fiery tequila. (There’s also a list of premium tequilas more than 60 entries long.)

The chilled, velvety guacamole is hard to resist with baskets of warm, just-fried chips that are replenished frequently. That alone is enough to keep me coming back, but the menu also offers plenty of other great snacks, too, if you just want to sit on the patio out front and watch the scene go by. I have a penchant for the soft tacos with the rich beefy taste of short ribs cooked to a buttery tenderness and topped with a little chopped onion and cilantro. A straightforward chicken tamale is napped in a piquant tomatillo sauce. The duck chile relleno is a must, too, a wonderfully gooey layering of chile, cheese and duck that’s a perfect foil for Rebecca’s own microbrew. The carnitas dish is a disappointment though, I suspect because the kitchen is trying to make it more lean in order to appeal to the health-conscious crowd. It has none of the seductive caramelized crunchiness of the best carnitas. For that, you need pork fat. The creamy black beans that come with it are delicious, though.

With Border Grill, La Serenata de Garibaldi and the new Rebecca’s all within a few blocks of one another in Santa Monica, now when you feel like Mexican food at the beach, it’s going to be tough to choose. Keep in mind, though, that Rebecca’s is open very late.

BE THERE

Rebecca’s, 101 Broadway, Santa Monica; (310) 260-1100. Open every day for lunch, happy hour, dinner--and a late-night menu. Appetizers $4 to $10; main courses $15 to $22. Valet parking.