J Nichols Kitchen

Great restaurant. Everyone enjoyed their dinner. My Open faced Turkey Sandwich was wonderful. Service at J Nichols Kitchen was excellent. Can’t wait to go back.

I’ve been to this restaurant twice and both times it was great. The last time I went there was for breakfast. Good coffee and I had pancakes with fresh fruit. Delicious. My friend got a breakfast that came with an English muffin (which they make in-​house) and that was AWESOME. J Nichols Kitchen, if you read this review, start making french toast out of the day-​old English muffins. YUM.

I really like coming to this restaurant. Good service and delicious food. The wines have been just ok though. Also, a plus for me is that almost every table is a booth which I love.

Came here for brunch on a Sunday morning. The restaurant itself is really lovely. Super comfortable booths and tables, and all in all a nice establishment. The brunch was just ok. Now it wasn’t bad, it just didn’t have that je né sais quoi from a 5 star brunch spot. I ordered scramble eggs with cheese, bacon and avocado. Side of fruit and a English muffin. Portion wasn’t massive, which is fine by me. Our server was attentive. Restrooms were clean. I wouldn’t be rushing back here, I’d rather check out a new brunch spot.
Tip: This place has a massive parking lot, so no worries about finding parking.

Awesome place for breakfast /​brunch! We had mimosas, marina Benedict, and the chorizo polenta… all were incredible! And service from Rory was great!

For the last 4 years I’ve been coming here. I find this spot perfect, specially for breakfast. I usually come with my parents who tend to be very critical and they think staff is attentive. Last time I came here I discovered the chicken chilaquiles… OMG! So good!
*Must try chilaquiles for breakfast (see photo)!

Service was brilliant. Didn’t have to wait and it was busy. Server was print and food was fresh and perfect temperature. Everything was in great presentation and the staff warm and friendly. Overall great experience.

English muffin and hash browns were great. Bacon was perfect. Cappuccino and eggs were decent. Great value and very friendly. $ 9 weekday specials easily splittable.

My husband and I have eaten at Nichols before the remodel when it felt more like a country kitchen and although the décor has been upgraded the food has been downgraded. He ordered the chipotle chicken sandwich with fries and it was lackluster. The toasted bread made my husbands mouth hurt the next day and the chicken was bleh. I had the Salmon with mashed potatoes and spinach. The salmon was great, nice size and great sauce. The sides however were the worst. The huge mound of mashed potates was flavorless and dry. There was no amount of butter and pepper that I could add that would make it savory. The spinach was also very dry and I felt like I was eating a dry and very boring spinach mound. My feeble attempts to dip it in the sauce on the salmon were unsuccessful. The server was preoccupied with socializing with the bar patrons and my iced tea was not refreshed until he brought the check. We then had to get his attention again to pick up the check so we could leave.
We most likely will not be returning for dinner which is sad because this used to be one of our go to spots. We might give them one last shot at breakfast before making our final decision.

Came here for dinner with my co-​workers and everyone was satisfied with the choice. They have an versatile menu with a lot of different options, so something for everyone. We came here on Wednesday, which is apparently WINE WEDNESDAY where all bottles are half off!
They don’t take reservations, but that wasn’t a problem for us. We got here around 6pm and there was no wait for a table for 4. I ordered the Del Rey Salad which was absolutely delicious! Everyone else got a burger or sandwich (which is what I mostly saw coming out of the kitchen) and they loved the pretzel bun. (you can sub that on other burgers as well).
There’s a lot of other things on the menu that looked great and that the server recommeneded. I wouldn’t mind coming back to try something else.

I was here few times and always enjoy the relaxing ambience. Today enjoyed the #4 Waffle especially, it was delicious and although I recommend the Benedict eggs, the Waffles so delicious and the hash brown potatoes. About the server Martin is very friendly and professional.
Everytime I’m feel comfortable and absolutely recommend this place.

Loved the food and service! We never felt rushed so we were able to chat well beyond our brunch. I had an amazing omelet, and their fresh baked English muffins are good. You can smell the bacon throughout the restaurant, and it is tasty.
The only disappointing moment came when a large patron had to leave because he could not fit into a booth. I felt for him. The tables are secured to the floor, and there are only booths in the restaurant so there is no flexibility to the size of the seating. While there is room for an average size person, people who are larger should be forewarned. I should also mention that they offer seating at the bar, but that may not be comfortable for a larger person.
Also loved that there is plenty of parking for a restaurant relatively close to the beach. I would definitely go back!

Plenty parking, good service, nice relaxed modern ambiance.
Been here for more than 15 years but they rennovated recently. Prices keep rising, but nice place for families, couples, and small groups.
1. Trout– M used to come here often for their Blackened Trout and wished theybstill had it as she felt it was more flavorful than their current recipe w the hazelnut topping.
2. Cuban sandwich– liked it, but can easily get something just as good from Porto’s for $ 5 though smaller.
3. West LA Burger– delicious
4. Pork ribs– everyone thought they were good but I would still go to a specialty reataurant like Chicago Ribs or Cecil for better ribs.
5. Key lime pie– not too tart and doesn’t seem to have the green artificial coloring. We shared it four ways which was just enough for us.
6. Fries– good, crispy thin fries.

Hands down a neighborhood winner!
Today being Mother’s Day we arrived and were greeted and seated right away! Off to a great start and our waitress, Elise, was very good with our order and explaining the specials which I decided to try! I had the avocado mashed with yummy“ness”, ham strips looking like bacon (which I did inquire) and an soft boiled egg to boot on top of sourdough toasted! Wow! The creamy“ness” was awesome. Hubby was a happy camper with his western omelette. This place is a hands down favorite of ours! Thank you for a great Mother’s Day meal!

I just had a great breakfast here. Our server was friendly, helpful, and very attentive even though she was rather busy. My mother’s omelet and my eggs were delicious, made even better by the two spectacular salsas our server brought over. The ambiance is fun and casual, the service is great, and the food is fresh! Now I just have to come for lunch one of these days!!!

I always drive by this location and there’s always a line out the door when I glance over so I decided to finally check it out for myself. It’s pretty cool inside, there’s a nice vibe and it’s pretty chic and modern inside.
I really want to give this place 4 stars, I really do. but the brick boneless half chicken that I ordered was awful. Everything but the chicken that we ordered was pretty good; it was such a disappointment. Our dinner looked so promising after starting off with the black pepper wings. It was perfectly glazed, and there was plenty of meat on the wing. When you first look at the wings, it looks either 1) burnt or 2) too sweet but after taking a bite, it was delicious! I would definitely recommend that as a great appetizer. We also got a side order of mac-​n-​cheese and I liked it a lot. It was super creamy (which I love) and the macaroni wasn’t too soft or hard. It had a nice texture to it and was cooked al-​dente.
However, that’s where all of the good stopped. Mistakenly, I ordered the brick boneless half chicken which was NOT good at all. First off, it’s no where near the size of half of a chicken. If you’ve been to Versailles, the popular Cuban restaurant, you know what I mean. I feel like this dish was a knock off of their famous Garlic Half Chicken. It’s accompanied by rice and beans and there’s no citrus sauce that they say comes with the chicken. It’s dry as can be and they just dump a bunch of onions on top of the chicken… maybe to hide it??? The dish sounded really good when our server was talking about what he likes from the menu. Don’t make the same mistake I did!
It makes me really sad to know that everything that we ordered up until that point was great. I’m sure this restaurant has a great brunch and other items on the dinner menu that are superb, but I’m hesitant to go back after being severely disappointed with their brick-​tasteless-​not-​half-​chicken.

This is a really good breakfast spot on the eastside of «the Marina» neighborhood, but they’re also open for lunch and dinners. (I’ve never been here for dinner).
The food at Nichols is consistently good and the service is outstanding. It is worth the xtra two or three dollars for your meals here just on the accoutrements (upscale space and excellent table service), alone. I like the fact that, on breakfast plates, one can substitute potatoes for fruit salad or a green salad for no upcharge.
Plenty of parking, as it is located inside the Villa Marina Marketplace Mall with a huge parking lot and open spaces each time I’ve been there.

The bbq pork and pancakes are seriously mind blowing! The pork was layered inbetween each pancake and it was tender, juicy, and soaked in a really awesome tangy bbq sauce. The pancakes were fluffy and moist, yet dense and savory. The maple pecan syrup and the sunnyside up egg really perfected this dish and created the perfect combination of sweet and salty flavors. This is a must order! It was also massive! Will be coming back here for sure — highly recommend.

J Nichols is minutes from place and I’ve passed by it so many times. Glad I finally got to try it and was not disappointed! Came in for brunch around 10am on a Saturday. My roommate and I were seated after a 15 minute wait. Our waiter, Gustavo, took our drink order and brought out our delicious peach bellinis out quickly!
I ordered the pork belly breakfast sandwich and fell in love! The pork was cooked, marinated, and flavored perfectly. Throw and egg on top and its brunch, duh. I was a happy camper! My roommate liked her breakfast sandwich with a side of turkey bacon but said it was nothing that blew her away. I think their hashbrowns had some bean sprouts in it and I was even more impressed. Definitely a great surprise for me!
Ambience was casual. Lots of locals who seemed to be regulars and plenty of seating. Even a cool bar area!
All in all, I liked the vibe, service was friendly, and food was five stars! Can’t wait to come back and try more.

Came here as a request from my roomie for her birthday since she’s passed by this restaurant numerous times. Parking was easy to find and we were seated in 20 minutes. I appreciate how simple the menu is but I recommend they put their desserts on it as well.
I ordered the Breakfast BLT /​/​$ 12.95 and it was good but nothing out of the ordinary. I was able to substitute the applewood bacon for the turkey bacon so that made me a happy camper. I only finished half of it so I have some more for lunch so that’s always a plus. My roomie ordered the Pork Belly Muffin Sandwich /​/​$ 12 and she ate the whole thing. Unfortunately, I’m not an avid pork eater so I didn’t taste how amazing it was. We really loved that they put green onions into the hash browns, very nice touch! We also ordered the peach Bellini for $ 10 each but I wish they had some sort of deal on champagne during their weekend brunch.
Our server, Gustavo was professional and detailed. He really knew the menu well and made great recommendations. All in all, this was place was decent but didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. It was just another American food restaurant to me but the service was friendly and the food was clean so I approve.