Cora's Coffee Shoppe Awards

Cora's Coffee Shoppe Restaurant Review:

Sandwiched among Santa Monica's toniest hotels, this 1920s diner with a homey name was taken over by Bruce Marder, of restaurant Capo located next door. Cora's serves diner food with Italian inflections. Coffees are Illy, juices are fresh, and ingredients are organic whenever appropriate. Breakfast favorites include orange pancakes and a burrata caprese omelet, while later in the day you might try polenta with Italian sausages, short rib tacos, Michel Blanchet smoked salmon, a Wagyu “kobe” style burger or a Caesar salad with truffle oil essence. Prices are a notch or two higher than you'd pay elsewhere (especially for drinks), but the indoor setting is fashionably old-fashioned, and you can easily ignore the parking lot behind the patio.