The Godmother
Santa Monica's defining sandwich: prosciutto, ham, capicola, mortadella, Genoa salami and provolone on a Bay Cities roll, best with the hot pepper works.
Where: Bay Cities Italian Deli
Santa Monica eats off its farmers market. The Wednesday market on Arizona Avenue has run since 1981, grown to more than 60 California farms, and half of Los Angeles's serious kitchens shop it; in town, rooms like Rustic Canyon, FIG and Milo & Olive write their menus around the haul. The rest of the city's food identity was built on the sand: Loring's Lunchroom opened on the boardwalk in 1902 and survives as Big Dean's, Dave Barham began hand-dipping corn dogs at Muscle Beach in 1946, and Bay Cities has baked the Godmother's rolls in house since 1925. Michael McCarty's Michael's helped invent California cuisine in 1979, and the modern wave runs from Pasjoli's tableside pressed duck to Dave Beran's Seline tasting counter and Crudo e Nudo's sustainable raw bar on Main Street. It is a beach town that closes early, drinks at landmark dives like Chez Jay and The Galley, and takes produce more seriously than almost anywhere in America.
Eat your way through Santa Monica
Map of Santa Monica
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Santa Monica, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Where to eat in Santa Monica: editor-picked starting points
5 institutional venues to anchor a Santa Monica food trip
- Melisse - Californian, chef Josiah Citrin and Ken Takayama
- Citrin - Californian, chef Josiah Citrin
- Pasjoli - French
- Seline - Californian, chef Dave Beran
- Shunji - Sushi
Signature Santa Monica dishes
- The Godmother - Santa Monica's defining sandwich: prosciutto, ham, capicola, mortadella, Genoa salami and provolone on a Bay Cities roll, best with the hot pepper works
- The corn dog - A hot dog dipped in sweet cornbread batter and fried on a stick, hand-dipped on the Santa Monica sand since 1946 and still made fresh at Muscle Beach today
- The Office Burger - Sang Yoon's dry-aged beef burger with caramelised onion, applewood bacon, Gruyere, Maytag blue and arugula on a roll, served with zero substitutions
- The breakfast burrito - Eggs, cheese, potatoes and salsa rolled tight in a flour tortilla, the default surfer's breakfast along the Santa Monica beach from dawn onwards
- The poke bowl - Cubed raw fish over rice with citrus and soy dressings, the beach-city lunch format Santa Monica's counters build with bamboo rice and kale noodles
Best Santa Monica neighborhoods for food
- Downtown - The Promenade grid: farmers market mornings, hand roll counters and tasting rooms between the pier and Wilshire
- Ocean Avenue - The postcard strip above the sand, where 1920s seafood houses and hotel bars face the pier and the sunset
- Main Street - Ocean Park's low-slung restaurant row: pressed duck, raw bars, omusubi and a speakeasy under a Victorian
- Ocean Park - Residential blocks around Ocean Park Boulevard hiding the city's best bread, bagels, omakase and vegan Thai
Signature dishes in Santa Monica
The plates that define eating in Santa Monica.
The corn dog
A hot dog dipped in sweet cornbread batter and fried on a stick, hand-dipped on the Santa Monica sand since 1946 and still made fresh at Muscle Beach today.
Where: Hot Dog on a Stick
The Office Burger
Sang Yoon's dry-aged beef burger with caramelised onion, applewood bacon, Gruyere, Maytag blue and arugula on a roll, served with zero substitutions.
Where: Father's Office
The breakfast burrito
Eggs, cheese, potatoes and salsa rolled tight in a flour tortilla, the default surfer's breakfast along the Santa Monica beach from dawn onwards.
Where: Dogtown Coffee, Alfalfa, FIG
The poke bowl
Cubed raw fish over rice with citrus and soy dressings, the beach-city lunch format Santa Monica's counters build with bamboo rice and kale noodles.
Where: Sweetfin
The toro hand roll
Warm loose sushi rice and fish rolled in crisp nori and eaten in three bites, the format Santa Monica's counter bars serve the second it is rolled.
Where: KazuNori, Sugarfish
Fish and chips
Beer-battered fish with thick chips and malt vinegar, kept honest in Santa Monica by the British pub that has fried them for the expat crowd since 1974.
Where: Ye Olde King's Head
Canard a la presse
A whole roasted duck finished tableside in a silver press, its juices built into a sauce, the 350 dollar centrepiece of Santa Monica's French dining.
Where: Pasjoli
Oatmeal griddle cakes
Salt's Cure's cult breakfast order: nubby oatmeal pancakes with crisp butter-fried edges and a soft middle, griddled daily on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica.
Where: Breakfast by Salt's Cure
Jerk chicken
Chicken marinated in allspice, scotch bonnet and thyme then grilled dark, plated with plantains beside the beach at Santa Monica's Caribbean stalwart.
Where: Cha Cha Chicken
Omusubi
Japanese rice balls pressed warm around fillings like miso beef and curry, wrapped in nori and made to order at Santa Monica's Main Street counter.
Where: Sunny Blue
The smashburger
A thin patty pressed hard onto a hot griddle for a lacy crust, stacked with American cheese, the post-pandemic burger style Santa Monica took to Main Street.
Where: Heavy Handed, HiHo Cheeseburger
Restaurants to know in Santa Monica
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Santa Monica.
Rustic Canyon
Rustic Canyon is Santa Monica's farmers-market dining room on Wilshire, now cooking seasonal Mexican-Californian food a few blocks from the Wednesday market.
Pasjoli
Pasjoli on Main Street is Santa Monica's French bistro benchmark, lately loosened up with a bigger bar menu and its famous tableside pressed duck restored.
Citrin
Citrin is Josiah Citrin's modern Californian flagship on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, a Michelin-starred dining room built on market produce.
Melisse
Melisse is the 14-seat tasting counter hidden behind Citrin in Santa Monica, a two-Michelin-star room from Josiah Citrin and chef partner Ken Takayama.
Seline
Seline is Dave Beran's Michelin-starred tasting room on Main Street in Santa Monica, a cerebral 295 dollar procession from the Californian landscape.
Shunji
Shunji on Ocean Park Boulevard is Santa Monica's serious omakase counter, a chef-led 295 dollar procession of aged and marinated fish booked via Tock.
Where to eat by neighborhood
Downtown
The Promenade grid: farmers market mornings, hand roll counters and tasting rooms between the pier and Wilshire.
Best for: Farmers market, Hand rolls, Wine bars
Ocean Avenue
The postcard strip above the sand, where 1920s seafood houses and hotel bars face the pier and the sunset.
Best for: Seafood, Sunset cocktails, Jerk chicken
Main Street
Ocean Park's low-slung restaurant row: pressed duck, raw bars, omusubi and a speakeasy under a Victorian.
Best for: Neighbourhood dinners, Smashburgers, Live music bars
Ocean Park
Residential blocks around Ocean Park Boulevard hiding the city's best bread, bagels, omakase and vegan Thai.
Best for: Bakeries, Pizza, Omakase
Montana Avenue
A leafy shopping street where the Office Burger was invented, with espresso bars, cheese shops and focaccia counters.
Best for: Coffee, Sandwiches, Cheese boards
Mid-City
The workaday Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevard corridors, holding the brewery, wood-oven bakeries and Thai and taco counters.
Best for: Brewery taproom, Thai, Bakery pizza
When to come hungry in Santa Monica
Peak food season: May through October, when the market peaks with stone fruit and dry-farmed tomatoes and the beach crowd fills patios. June brings the SOULstice and Pier 360 festivals; January to March is citrus and cold-water shellfish season.
Local dining hours: Lunch 11:30-14:00, dinner 17:30-21:00. Most kitchens take last seatings by 21:00 and only bars, hotel rooftops and the karaoke dives run past midnight. Weekend brunch 09:00-14:30 is the busiest service of the week.
Tipping: Service is not included. 18 to 20 percent on dine-in is standard, more for counter omakase. Counter service: a dollar or two per order in the jar.
Santa Monica food, FAQ
What food is Santa Monica known for?
Santa Monica's signature dishes include The Godmother, The corn dog, The Office Burger, The breakfast burrito, The poke bowl. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
What are the best food neighborhoods in Santa Monica?
TableJourney editors map Santa Monica by district. Downtown, Ocean Avenue, Main Street, Ocean Park are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Where should I eat fine dining in Santa Monica?
Editor picks in Santa Monica include Citrin, Melisse, Pasjoli, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
Are there food tours in Santa Monica?
TableJourney covers 2 editor-picked food tours in Santa Monica, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
Does Santa Monica have good vegetarian or vegan food?
TableJourney's Santa Monica dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.