Plant Food + Wine is Picture Perfect

This includes Plant Food + Wine Venice, one of many restaurants from celebrated health and wellness chef Matthew Kenney. The restaurant’s indoor-outdoor space and refined beach ambiance are perfect matches for plant-based cuisine.

“Our goal was to create a space where we can share our expertise of the most nutritious and absolutely beautiful cuisine with locals and visitors,” says Kenney. “We’re thrilled with the outcome.”

The modern restaurant, which opened in summer 2015, transports you to the Mediterranean coast with a clean, organic design to complement the cuisine. The intimate dining room is decorated with French oak floors, exposed stonework and a welcoming fireplace. Archways lead outside for courtyard seating underneath an olive canopy. You can even sit alongside an edible flower and herb garden—it’s basically plant-based dining heaven.

Scott Winegard, executive chef and director of culinary operations at Matthew Kenney Cuisine, is constantly updating the menu to reflect his purchases from Santa Monica farmers’ markets.

“We’ve built a dynamic team committed to sourcing the freshest ingredients available while using modern and classic techniques to create the best plant-based experience for all,” says Winegard.

Vibrant local ingredients are used to build small and large plate dishes that change with the seasons, so there’s always something fresh to sample—and photograph for Instagram, of course. Consider the Rainbow Carrots, a dish with black lentils, coriander yogurt and preserved lemons. (We’re drooling …) If sweets are more your thing, there’s a Pistachio Pear Crumble with ginger-compressed pear, pistachio ice cream, shortbread, coconut cream and mesquite caramel.

Plant Food + Wine’s space is also home to Matthew Kenney Culinary, a structured raw and plant-based culinary academy. The academy draws students from around the globe and operates online in addition to its physical classrooms.

The academy’s students buzz through Plant Food + Wine’s kitchen, impressing onlookers with dishes like Kimchi Dumplings (yes, please) and Smoked Sweet Potato Tamale. The food here isn’t just healthy and delicious—each dish is also an ultra-cool work of art.

Check out matthewkenneycuisine.com for more information about Plant Food + Wine and some swoon-worthy food porn.

PHOTOS BY | food: Anna Schwaber; restaurant: Louie Heredia