Recently, my wife and I walked The Strand from Redondo Beach to Hermosa Beach. It’s a beautiful walk with an unobstructed white water view of the Pacific. Once you pass Herondo St, you transition to the Hermosa Strand, where you see multi-million dollar homes constructed with lots of glass. After arriving at the pier, we selected Greenbelt as our lunch destination.
Hermosa Beach is best known for its number of bars and its nightlife. Restaurants lined on the promenade typically burgers, buffalo wings, nachos, calamari, quesadillas, and chicken strips. Draft beer is a given, and you can see the taxis lined up for the people that need assistance in making it home safely.
Owner Michael Santomieri managed Sangria for 15 years and knows the Hermosa dining scene quite well. He’s seen the success of restaurants such as Baran’s 2239, Palmilla, and Abigaile and knew that the area was prime for a better dining experience. Santomieri decided to open a “Greenbelt” on the Hermosa Promenade – a healthy farm-to-table restaurant nestled among bar food eateries.
Chef Laurent Saussy is behind the food at Greenbelt. The menu features healthy sharable sides, salads, pizza, and mains. Greenbelt sources their produce from local farmers markets, and the proteins feature Mary’s Organic Chicken, dry-aged beef for their burgers, and grass-fed steak.
On my first visit, I had the Grilled Veggie Sandwich with chopped zucchini, tomatoes, arugula, basil pesto, served on ciabatta. What made this sandwich special was their use of fresh-baked ciabatta and their pesto sauce. This addition nicely elevated the taste of the roasted vegetables.
An example of this is their Roasted Beet Salad. Chunks of beets are tossed with avocado, grapefruit, arugula, feta, walnuts, tossed in a lemon-honey dressing. The dressing was delicious, and the combination of walnuts and beets satisfied my desire for a dish that included meat.
The ABLT is a modified BLT including fresh avocado, grilled Mary’s Organic Chicken, bacon, tomato, butter lettuce, avocado, mayo, served on five-grain bread. Chicken thin easy to eat, avocado fresh, five-grain bread held up nicely for this sandwich.
Their Margherita Pizza includes burrata, tomatoes, and basil. It nicely fulfilled our desire for pizza. Other pizzas include a Pork Belly Pizza with pesto, burrata and grilled pineapple, and a Short Rib Pizza with blu cheese, mozzarella, and arugula.
Vegetarians will appreciate items like their chickpea hummus with curry, turmeric, and smoked paprika served with fresh house-made pita and their pizza made with wild mushrooms, béchamel, truffle oil, and mozzarella.
Their wine list is derived primarily from feedback from their customers. They also have a sizable number of craft beers on tap.
Greenbelt is a nice blend of fresh quality food with a bevy of adult beverages to satisfy the locals.
Greenbelt, 36 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254; 310.798.6585; greenbelthermosa.com