Novel Café & Pizzeria

Difficult to choose where to eat in a City where there are so many choices, but after I finished my morning acting class I was really hungry and their pizza looked fantastic. The pepperoni pizza is really good! And the waitress was really very nice. Thus I know where to eat the next time!

I had sat down at this nice little pizzeria café to get some lunch. I ordered a sausage and pepperoni pizza and my friend got the lox scramble which both took a while. The lox scramble took 40 minutes and the pizza took an hour. Even with that, the waitress would not talk or even ask if we were fine sitting on this bench for an hour. The pizza was really greasy and the cheese would not stay on the crust. A couple hours after having this meal I started to feel queazy and then I threw up the greasy pizza lunch I had. I feel this place should get a negative and I will never go here again. Just go to another place on Main Street.

Poor service. Poor staff, including management. No need to be rude and sarcastic with customers.

I LOVE this place! You can bring your own alcohol and they’ll give you glasses and cups to drink it in. Their pizza is amazing and they have chocolate chip walnut cookies that are to die for!
The girl who is always at the front is the NICEST, friendliest person ever. It reminds me of a local pizzeria from the movies. There is even an ice cream stand in the back. Just go!

Really pissed off. I ordered food from here off of über eats and after waiting 25 minutes the cancelled my order because they decided to close the Resturaunt early. What kind of BS is this. I am a customer who was waiting for food. I will ever be ordering from this Resturaunt again as I will now be late for work in order to get lunch.

The Novel Café has to be one of my favorite places in Santa Monica, the food is always delicious and fresh. The service is unmatched, and the environment is perfect for doing a little bit of work or just grabbing a quick bite! I recommend the blueberry pancakes for breakfast and their pizza or club sandwhich for lunch.

I came in and was really excited to try their vegan pizza. I came in and chatted with the manager about the type of vegan cheese they use on it, and she was telling me how good it was, etc. So I spend $ 17 ($ 20 with tip) on the pizza, get it home, and it has ZERO cheese! None at all. It’s just bread and a few veggies. I was so disappointed.
The manager who took my order was very sweet & helpful, but I was really bummed about the mistake. It made the entire thing inedible.

The food was decent but the takeout service needs a lot of work. We ordered a pizza to go and after waiting 40 minutes for it I go and ask and the guy in front of the counter reaches on top of the oven for a pizza that was done awhile ago. «My bad I spaced out» was his response/​apology/​?. They need more staff. The pizza was nothing special but might have been better if it came out piping hot.

Went in around noon last Saturday for a slice of pizza only to find they hadn’t made any up for the lunch ‘crowd’. Instead I ordered a medium, that’s their ‘smallest’ the waitress says, pepperoni.
The water had 2 slices of cucumber in it, a nice touch, but I hate cucumber in my water.
The wait time was a little long considering they weren’t very busy, like 25 minutes. When the pizza came there was a lake of sauce taking up about 30−40% of the pizza landscape. The strange thing was that the crust under the lake was cooked thoroughly, just too thin to enjoy; think paper thin. The crust on the edges looked good, but totally tasteless.
Overall I didn’t enjoy the experience and won’t be returning.

Novel Café & Pizzeria is a cool and funky place patronized by an eclectic collection of business people, artsy folk, hipsters, students and partygoers. The inside décor is interesting, with its brick walls adorned with artwork, corner spaces, and main area with tables suitable for large and small parties. Their small outdoor patio dining area at the front of the café is nice too.
I usually come for lunch, but their menu also has great breakfast and dinner offerings. My favorite is their grilled chicken plate, but sometimes I pick up a couple of slices of their cheese pizza, which is surprisingly very good! They also have a tasty Açai bowl (and other flavors). Their Chai tea (with whipped cream) is good too; a generous serving placed in big ol’ tea cup!
The staff is very friendly, and always helpful.
I have called in my order for pick-​up, ordered my food online, and eaten at the café. If you eat at the café, be aware that their table service can be spotty. Sometimes, I have had to «flag» down staff after waiting to be served at my table for a while, or at the end, when wanting to pay the bill. Once my server came, like I mentioned earlier, they are great. The only reason why I bring this up because if you are short on time, or the impatient type, this might annoy you.
Notes:
— They have Wi-​Fi.
— If you show proof that you work on Main St in Santa Monica, you get a 10% discount.
— On Fridays and Saturdays, they close at 3am! I believe it is SRO (Standing Room Only) though because it gets so packed with partygoers needing to sober up!
— The bathroom is okay, but could be cleaner.

Waited an hour for the pizza that came out without the right toppings, got the worst stomach ache, the place was dirty all over.

This place is such an amazing place to study or work. If you need a change of scenery from your usual spot definitely come check out novel café. The coffee is always fresh and strong and the food is good too.
I got the locks omelette with salmon and cream cheese and it was amazing. My boyfriend got the chicken salad with goat cheese and walnuts, also amazing.
The only reason why I took off one star is because their sound system is so bad. They have music playing in the dining area, but at the same time blast different music in the kitchen area. So it’s really annoying having to listen to two songs at the same time (specially because in the dinning area its pop music and in the other songs are in Spanish) They definitely need to stick to just ONE song at a time. Bring headphones because it’ll definitely give you a headache.

First time at this place. Came for brunch. Party of 3, had different dishes that all tasted very good. French toast was good too «some people measure up to that item, which makes very good sense». Sat at the outer open patio overlooking Main St. and it was pleasant time. Service was awesome. Staff were very friendly. Car parking isn’t a problem, with plenty of street parking and a big nearby public parking among some other around.

These guys are no longer open until 3am on saturday… only until 10pm. Otherwise great food, decent coffee, chill study environment with wifi. Large space, many tables, and yes outlet plugs

i work around here so i decided to try this place out. My old go-​to was Urth Café but now that I’ve came to this spot, this will be my regular! FOOD IS AMAZING HERE! not to mention everyone here is so nice! the bbq chicken pizza is amazing! the best acai bowl too! juices are yummy and fresh! Jacob and the beautiful waitress are so nice, helpful, and friendly!!! lovely service

I had the breakfast enchiladas with chicken and the Watermelon Juice and I have to say it definitely «hit the spot «! The juice is pure watermelon juice with no added sugar or ingredients. Perfect for hydration! Definitely coming back soon.

Best chicken sandwich I’ve had in a long time. Great vibe, friendly staff, delicious food. Lioking forward to trying something else soon.. Great job guys!

Pitaya Bowl it was delicious not to mention great customer service and not pricy at all. I loved the atmosphere and the friendly staff. I highly recommend this café to everyone it is awesome and delicious

Ordered a smoothie and a water. The water came out in a glass that had so many chips around the rim that I cut my lip! Hello owner/​manager! Your make server told me he let you know this and that you say these are your only cups. Throw these broken and dangerous water cups away and get new ones. Hell, get used ones without chips that slice your customers lips open causing them to bleed. What manager says they know the cups are like this and then does nothing about it. One that should be replaced or backed better by the owner. I would have given this place 5 stars based in the outside taco bar at night but these cups ruined it for you. I’m not asking for a whole lot here, just a normal glass without multiple chips in the rim to keep your customers SAFE.

Awful. Slow service for two teas and a croissant, which was stale and burned. Chaotic in the café with too much going on – pizza, juice bar, café and restaurant.

This is pretty cool. Now Novel Café is not only the best café shop in Santa Monica, but they have an open mic every Saturday night. BYOB. Corkage fee $ 5. The open mic starts at 8 PM. (310) 396‑7700 You can call Novel Café for more info. Check it out!

Like someone else said, I really wanted to give this place a better score. I am working out of my hotel in Venice and needed to order some food but don’t have time to leave to go get some. So, I ordered out for delivery.
The TBLA I got was decent. It had a lot of mustard on it and the bacon was extra extra crunchy. I asked for ranch with my order. I didn’t get any.
The smoothy I got was pretty much juice. I won’t complain about it, even though I expected something amazing and it was anything but.
What I will gripe about is the coffee. Now, lemme tell you, I ordered a «Blended Vanilla». I don’t understand at what point this qualifies as vanilla. I had also paid $.75 for an extra shot of syrup. What I got was utterly undrinkable. It was a bunch of crushed ice on top with some sort of coffee mixture on the bottom. I have never tasted coffee quite this disgusting. It was bitter, had absolutely not a hint of anything flavored or sweet… and at $ 4.70 for this cup of sludge, I’d still rather drink the worst employee break room coffee.
Honestly, I was completely disappointed since everything else I’ve had down here has been quite good. My recommendation would be to find something else. There’s so many places to choose from down here. Why waste your time on mediocre, overpriced food if you don’t have to, right?

We had the White pizza with garlic and cheese for delivery. It was soo good. I want two now!!! We decided to go over for dessert. Had a strawberry lemonade instead. The staff was awesome dancing around enjoying their shift! The strawberry lemonade hit the spot.

We had the White Novel for delivery. It was soo good. I want two now!!! The staff was awesome dancing around enjoying their shift! The strawberry lemonade hit the spot.

Fresh made to order food, Great people, community atmosphere, free Wi-​Fi.

Just found hair in my soup, and it wasn’t mine LOL hmmm… they are nice but that was definitely not pleasant. I work across the street from them wanted some soup… it was alright till I found a fat black curly hair in it! Yuck

Love the atmosphere and healthy aspect of this place. 10 stars for decorations and the cute little set up inside and out. It has that cozy, neighborhood nook feel to it.
Came here New Year’s Day looking for some good breakfast and they definitely did not disappoint! I ordered the sunrise sandwich with eggs and avocado and herb mayo and etc and it was bomb. Side of potatoes are much more hangover-​nurturing than the fruit as well. They were perfectly made.
Our server was awesome. He totally didn’t mind that I drank a total of two and a half cups coffee and even made me a third to go. The owner (I think, maybe a manager) stopped by as well a couple times to see if everything was okay as well.
Would definitely return!

Novel Café now serving Tacos!!! 5pm to 2 am Fridays and Saturdays (for now). Real/​authentic street tacos! Think Tacos Guadalajara @ El Faro Plaza. They already have great pizza and fresh juices and now this! Finally I don’t have to drive to Leo’s tacos (the taco truck on the NW corner of Venice and La Brea) or all the way to a King Taco! Thank You to Arturo and the guys @ Novel!

The atmosphere and variety of healthy food options were nice, but when I picked up my lunch order, I was disappointed to find that they got it wrong. Ordered a chili cheeseburger but received its ugly distant cousin, the plain cheeseburger. Would’ve been okay if it was tasty but it was so dry it gave those little Mickey D’s 2 for 1 burgers a run for their money. At least my coworkers got what they wanted. General concensus was that the food tasted alright/​like something you could make at home, not worth the price.
Tl;dr pretty packaging for a plain platter (alliteration yeeeeaaah)

Let me start off by saying I want to give this place 5 stars, I really really do, but I just can’t. The inconsistencies drive me up the wall. There’s nothing more frustrating than when you order your food to go and get back to work to find out that they made it wrong. This happens to me ALL the time, not exaggerating. I work close by and this is the closet, most convenient place for me to get lunch. That is the only reason why I keep coming back, that, and I want to give them another chance in hopes that this time around it will be better, but I’m left disappointed 9 times out of 10. Another gripe is the quality of the food definitely DOES NOT match the price. If I’m going to pay $ 11 plus a tip for a sandwich that is sub par, I’d rather walk the extra block and pay a couple dollars more and get something from Urth Café. (which is what I usually do if I have time) Again I only return to this place out of pure convenience and the friendly staff but that’s it.
Not everything about here is bad. They do get the orders right sometimes. Especially if you just order something simple like a turkey club. (That’s been the only thing they haven’t screwed up). And when I say «they» I’m not talking about the servers I’m talking about the kitchen. I think there might be some disconnect between the front and back of the house. The waiters/​waitresses are GREAT! That’s what accounts for the two stars. They are always so sweet, welcoming, and on it as far as TAKING the order right. I don’t blame them for it not coming out the way it does. I would say if your looking for a quick, easy, place to grab an ok-​ish lunch that has good service then you’re fine here.

Good organic green juice! It was the 12oz «Going Green» for $ 6.95. They juiced everything on the spot. Very vegetal (as in not very sweet) and that was exactly what I needed. Make sure to have mint or else you’ll have celery breath!

The Novel Café is a solid breakfast spot out in Santa Monica. It’s within jogging distance of the farmers market on Sundays and the beach, so my personal recommendation is for an acai bowl after a weekend run! Also a good place for groups as they seem to have options that would appease vegans and omnivores alike.
Overal décor is quite cute– they have indoor and outdoor seating (+/​-​on the rickety tables). Inside, there is a nice nook for people perhaps looking for a coffee and a place to do some studying rather than a meal. They do advertise a wifi limit of 2 hours.
Strong recommendations for the acai bowl (topped with strawberries, bananas, or granola) or the french toast (with nutella I believe). They also serve a great cup of coffee!

Disclaimer: I have never been here during normal hours or sober, BUT if you’re bar hopping on Main Street in SaMo and you have the late night munchies for pizza (um, always), THIS IS MY SH*T. They usually have a good toppings/​flavors too, not just your typical pepperoni and cheese. It is seriously a godsend that it opens until 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Great ending to fun nights!

Excellents Essen! Café/​Restaurant mit kleiner Terrasse! Salate, Pasta und vieles mehr, teilweise auch vegetarisch zu einem guten Preis-​/​Leistungsverhältnis (um die $ 10-​$ 13)! Haben es in der Abendsonne genossen, war sehr lecker und Personal super freundlich! Auf der Main Street gibt einige vegane/​vegetarische Restaurants, die gut besucht waren!