CASSIA

Being the child of a partnership between two husband-and-wife duos, Cassia effortlessly embodies those cozy feelings of home, both in the way its restaurant space is set up and how diverse the menu is. Since opening in 2015, Cassia has steadily made its way to becoming one of Santa Monica’s hotspots with its fresh takes on authentic Southeast Asian flavors.

Located a bit further from Santa Monica Pier on 7th Street, Cassia blends in nicely with the quieter surrounding residential area. Walking inside the indoor dining room, the restaurant is designed with an open bar right along the entrance, grey concrete walls, an exposed ceiling decorated with small copper chandeliers and hanging bird cages. Despite following an industrial style, the space still feels incredibly open with floor-length windows letting in sunlight from every corner across the room. Building up to the same vibes, the outdoor patio is no less impressive with string lights and wooden furniture filling the space. At night the outdoor patio is lit up to be such a beautiful, homey space it can almost transport you to a fairy tale land.

Cassia opens only for dinner service seven days a week. Particularly, the restaurant operates from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Cassia refreshes its food menu frequently as dishes made with the best ingredients of a new season replace those from the previous season. The dinner menu is divided into many sections with a chilled seafood bar including a seafood platter, raw oysters, Cassia’s famous Vietnamese “sunbathing” prawns, snow crab, scallops and swordfish dip. Some of the appetizers offered are kaya toast made with coconut jam, fried cauliflower and grilled pig’s tail. The options for main courses are endless from beef rendang, whole grilled sea bass, charred lamb breast to noodles and rice dishes such as minced duck dan dan noodles, laksa, kon loh mee, charcuterie fried rice. Clay oven bread can also be ordered either on the side or with chickpea curry or pork meatballs. Dessert choices are unique such as Vietnamese coffee pudding, red bean ice cream and lime leaf custard. Cassia also boasts a stunning beverage menu carrying a wide variety of cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks and wine.

I had a chance to visit Cassia for early dinner with a friend and we were obsessed, to say the least. We came with a reservation right as the restaurant opened at 5 p.m. and were seated immediately outside on the patio. It was a sunny afternoon and Santa Monica was radiating beautifully as usual. We started with the chickpea curry and clay oven bread, followed by beef rendang with rice and laksa. The bread was warm and soft and thus paired perfectly with the creamy curry. It was the ideal starter for our jar-droppingly delicious main dishes. The beef rendang was the definition of perfection as the meat was so tender it melted in our mouth, not to mention the peanut and chili sauce that helped elevate the dish so well. We finished with laksa, a Southeast Asian staple with rice noodles in a spicy and sour soup. Cassia’s laksa was just the ending we needed to our meal as the warm soup was like a hug to our souls after a day walking across Santa Monica.

Overall, Cassia is undoubtedly one of the most precious hidden gems in this vibrant city of Santa Monica with its cozy ambiance and stunningly diverse menu. I will for sure be returning in the near future to treat myself to these amazing Southeast Asian dishes again but in the meantime, I will be writing up my most anticipated review on this blog about 1212 Santa Monica next week.