A taste of Castanea, Sicily, in Beverly Hills and Venice

By Sophia Gliwa –

Castanea Sicilian Cafe, of Beverly Hills (also in Venice) has nice and respectful staff. It's owned by a couple of Sicilian heritage that enjoyed visiting the Italian island every summer and wanted to honor their culture with a restaurant named after the town of Castanea.

They had a variety of good food to offer on their menu.

The cafe was on the affordable side with quick service. My favorite drink item was their Nutella iced latte, a perfect mix of ingredients.

Try the the margherita flatbread. It was cheesy with the perfect amount of tomatoes and basil. The portion size was just enough for one or two people.

Other foods are caprese sandwiches, homemade dips, salads, focaccia sticks and a variety of different coffees, iced and hot.

Although everything was exceptionally good, the caprese sandwich was my least favorite due to the portion size being too big and it being too greasy/heavy.

One thing I wanted to try but didn't get to was their Nutella filled croissant. If I recommended one item to try that I didn't get to but regretted after it would be that.

I would 100% recommend giving Castanea Sicilian Cafe a try. I'd especially recommend it if you enjoy iced coffee, sandwiches or pizza.

The cafe is better then most chain businesses with their foods being creative and freshly made.

Small businesses put more care and love into there food then a chain might.

The rating I'd give this cafe would be 4 out of 5 stars. Their food is tasty, but every place has their flaws and this one is a little over-filling.

Here are the two addresses where you can find Castanea Sicilian Cafe:

252 S Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
1307 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291

About this writer: Sophia Gliwa completed this restaurant review as an assignment for her journalism class at the LighthouseChristian Academy of Santa Monica.