The farmers market that feeds LA, with a corn dog stand on the sand.
Free cancellation on most tours, with live prices on the partner's site.
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.
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The plates that define eating in Santa Monica.
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
Where to eat The corn dog in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat The Office Burger in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat The breakfast burrito in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat The poke bowl in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat The toro hand roll in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat Fish and chips in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat Canard a la presse in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat Jerk chicken in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat Omusubi in Santa Monica →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
Where to eat The smashburger in Santa Monica →A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Santa Monica.
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.
OrderThe vegetable plates that change weekly with the market
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.
OrderTableside canard a la presse, or the cordon bleu chicken wings at the bar
Citrin is Josiah Citrin's modern Californian flagship on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, a Michelin-starred dining room built on market produce.
OrderThe prix fixe, built around Santa Monica farmers market produce
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.
OrderThe full tasting menu; the kitchen builds it around the week's market
Seline is Dave Beran's Michelin-starred tasting room on Main Street in Santa Monica, a cerebral 295 dollar procession from the Californian landscape.
OrderThe seasonal tasting menu; courses change constantly
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.
OrderOmakase only; the aged marinated tuna nigiri is the anchor
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
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
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
Residential blocks around Ocean Park Boulevard hiding the city's best bread, bagels, omakase and vegan Thai.
Best for: Bakeries, Pizza, Omakase
A leafy shopping street where the Office Burger was invented, with espresso bars, cheese shops and focaccia counters.
Best for: Coffee, Sandwiches, Cheese boards
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
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
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
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
Mid-City
The workaday Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevard corridors, holding the brewery, wood-oven bakeries and Thai and taco counters
A sample of Santa Monica hotels from our booking partner, who list 15,736 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Days Inn by Wyndham Santa Monica/Los Angeles
With a stay at Days Inn by Wyndham Santa Monica/Los Angeles in Santa Monica (Mid-City), you'll be within a ...
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HI Santa Monica Hostel
A stay at HI Santa Monica Hostel places you in the heart of Santa Monica, steps from Third Street Promenade...
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Comfort Inn Santa Monica - West Los Angeles
A stay at Comfort Inn Santa Monica - West Los Angeles places you in the heart of Santa Monica, within a 10-...
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Ocean Lodge Santa Monica Beach Hotel
With a stay at Ocean Lodge Santa Monica Beach Hotel in Santa Monica (Downtown Santa Monica), you'll be with...
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Courtyard by Marriott Santa Monica
Located in Santa Monica (Downtown Santa Monica), Courtyard by Marriott Santa Monica is within a 5-minute wa...
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JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot
With a stay at JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot in Santa Monica (Downtown Santa Monica), you'll be withi...
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Hotel Shangri La Santa Monica
A stay at Hotel Shangri La Santa Monica places you in the heart of Santa Monica, steps from Santa Monica Be...
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Santa Monica Proper Hotel
With a stay at Santa Monica Proper Hotel in Santa Monica (North of Wilshire), you'll be a 3-minute drive fr...
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Also compare: Holidu in Santa Monica from USD 140/night · LateRooms in Santa Monica · Expedia in Santa Monica
Before you go: airport transfer to Santa Monica (Shuttle Direct)
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Santa Monica, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
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'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.
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.
Editor picks in Santa Monica include Citrin, Melisse, Pasjoli, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 2 editor-picked food tours in Santa Monica, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Santa Monica dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.
