Cafe Zella

Had the albacore salad sandwich and it was really tasty, conveniently across the street from the hospital and the pay parking lot behind it is a great place to park for a long period of time. Also the service was good and there was free WiFi

Really 2.5 stars, food here is pretty mediocre but not awful. Most times I’d rather walk the extra 5 minutes down to subway instead since the quality is about the same. The best things on the menu are the tuna wrap (with Chipotle pesto!) and the fries. I’ve been here loads of times because I work nearby and fast options are limited, but I wouldn’t come out of my way to eat here.
Once I got the veggie patty with fries for about $ 10 and when I asked what was in it no one had any idea — the cashier told me they’re frozen patties from the grocery store. I’ve bought those same patties at vons and they’re $ 3 for a pack of 6 so not really sure how they think up their prices…

Best Chinese Chicken Salad I’ve had west of the 405. Unique Zella spin on a classic that works. Fresh ingredients and generous portions make the $ 10.95 good value, too.
This is central Santa Monica, less than a mile from the beach, so parking is at a premium. Calling ahead lessons that headache.
LOVE Zella’s. I’ve begged them to stay open just a little longer, because central Santa Monica needs their delishiousness after dark, too!

Had the pesto brown rice bowl topped with an egg. It was so delicious! — had a bunch of veggies with the right amount of pesto.
Also had the chocolate chip cinnamon roll. Yumm!

Hmmm… Not sure how this place got four stars? I took the woman’s recommendation and order the barbecue sandwich special. The barbecue sauce didn’t have a great flavor, but my real issue has to do with the amount of chicken that was on the sandwich… There was only enough chicken to cover half of the bread. So I’ll give the number of stars for the percentage of ‘bread coverage’ ;)
We also had a issue with service as my dad asked for salsa four times while his element was getting cold. Overall disappointment.

Make tomorrow a Meatless Monday with Café Zella’s Veggie Burger!
Outside of my kitchen, it’s the Westside’s best!
Subtly seasoned, it keeps its shape like meat, Provolone atop (obviously vegans will avoid this), within a soft brioche bun drizzled with mustardy mayo, graced with totally fresh lettuce, tomato.
Eat the perfectly portioned, crisp, lightly salted/​seasoned fries on your plate and don’t feel guilty because you deliciously skipped all that saturated fat and cholesterol today by going meatless.
Enjoy!
Oh, use your Unilocal Check-​In for a 10% discount.

Looking for a cheap, no-​wait and tasty breakfast in Santa Monica? Well then Café Zella is your place! There’s no thrills and frills about this quaint little eatery but they do provide a small parking lot and are reasonably priced.
Came here on a Saturday by chance. Was starving and most of the wait times at the nearby eateries were excruciating. We found this place on Unilocal and decided to check it out.
This place is on the corner across the street from the UCLA SM hospital and neighbors a nail salon and dry cleaners. From first impressions this place seems like they don’t serve a breakfast items besides pastries and juice but you will be surprised.
I ordered the pancake combo with chicken sausage instead of bacon and eggs. It was about $ 8 and was decently portioned. The pancakes were mighty tasty, chicken sausage had tons of flavor and the eggs were fluffy. Really appreciated its simplicity. I also tried their banana pancakes topped with nutella and its was AMAZING. The bananas were cooked into the pancake batter providing the ooey gooey goodness to the pancakes, adding the nutella was pure magic. So if you are looking for something more complex they did a great job with the fancy flap jacks!
Overall great little place to grab a bite to eat! Very small so not ideal for a large group of ppl.