LAReview
photo credit: Benji Dell
Manhattan Beach Post
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A few years ago, the restaurant scene in Manhattan Beach was practically nonexistent. There were plenty of places where you could eat an entire meal without having to wear shoes, but big, trendy restaurants? Not so much. So when Manhattan Beach Post opened, people got pretty excited about having somewhere kind of upscale to eat in the South Bay that wasn’t outrageously expensive or outrageously bad. The bacon cheddar biscuits became a thing of legend, and suddenly, one of the hottest restaurants in town was way south on the 405.
But things have changed. Manhattan Beach is no longer a wasteland of semi-acceptable salads, and a bunch of really great restaurants have opened in the area. Which is amazing for Manhattan Beach, but less so for M.B. Post. Being the pioneer can be easy - it’s when the competition rolls into town that things get harder.
photo credit: Benji Dell
What was once a big deal of a restaurant that people would brave hours on a freeway for is now basically an above-average neighborhood spot. The food is solid and occasionally fantastic, and those bacon cheddar biscuits are still damn good. But when you have places like Little Sister and Fishing With Dynamite in the neighborhood, it's no longer the star of the show. Add to that interior design that seems like it was completed using an algorithm for finding “things young people like," and a truly perplexing Blink-182-heavy playlist, and M.B. Post isn't a place you need to make the journey for. But maybe that's what the Manhattan Beach crowd really wants - the whole restaurant (especially the bar) is consistently packed.
You should certainly keep M.B. Post in your back pocket for when you’re in the area for brunch or dinner and haven’t made a reservation anywhere - it’s not going to let you down. But if you’re looking to see what the Manhattan Beach food scene is right now, this isn’t quite it anymore. Just don't tell that to the locals at the bar.