Bistros, trattorias and the everyday places where Santa Monica actually eats.
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where Santa Monica actually eats.
Bay Cities Italian Deli, family-owned since 1925, bakes and stacks the Godmother on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica behind hour-long lunchtime queues.
Order: The Godmother with the works, hot peppers included
Tip: Order the Godmother online ahead and skip the queue; it is debit or cash only and closed Monday and Tuesday.
Din Tai Fung folds its xiao long bao on the third floor of Santa Monica Place, garlicky string beans and spicy wontons with an ocean-view patio queue.
Order: Pork xiao long bao, spicy wontons and garlicky string beans
Tip: Join the waitlist before you shop; the third-floor patio tables catch the ocean air and clear fastest at lunch.
KazuNori runs its original-format hand roll bar on Broadway in downtown Santa Monica, crisp nori and warm rice sets rolled the second you sit down.
Order: The five-roll set, toro and blue crab included
Tip: No reservations at the bar; the Friday-Saturday private bar for 7 to 12 was added for the 10th anniversary.
Sugarfish serves the Nozawa-school Trust Me on 2nd Street in Santa Monica, warm loose rice and cool fish in a set menu that rarely misses a beat.
Order: The Trust Me set, finished with the hand roll
Tip: No reservations; go at 11:30 sharp or mid-afternoon to dodge the wait, and default to the Trust Me.
HiHo Cheeseburger griddles 100 percent grass-fed wagyu from First Light Farm on 2nd Street in Santa Monica, a classic double for fast-casual money.
Order: Double cheeseburger, mustard-grilled, with fries
Tip: The mustard-grilled double with onions is the order; it is counter service, so grab a booth before you order.
Cha Cha Chicken has smoked jerk chicken under the palms on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica since 1996, a family-run Caribbean shack steps from the beach.
Order: Jerk chicken plate with fried plantains
Tip: It runs one of the most lenient BYOB policies in town; bring a bottle and eat coconut fried chicken outside.
Heavy Handed smashes short-rib-blend patties on Main Street in Santa Monica, beef tallow fries and Straus soft serve from a pandemic pop-up made good.
Order: Double smashburger with beef tallow fries
Tip: Double smash with American cheese, fries in tallow, soft serve after; the line moves faster than it looks.
Ghisallo blisters Neapolitan-and-New-York-style pies on Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica, with arancini, radicchio salads and a semi-hidden back patio.
Order: Squash blossom pizza in season, the diavola year-round
Tip: The back patio is the seat; squash blossom pizza when it is on, diavola otherwise. Wine list stays well priced.
Milo & Olive runs its wood oven from dawn bakery to late pizzeria on Wilshire in Santa Monica, garlic knots, breads and pies from the Rustic Canyon family.
Order: Garlic knot, then the mushroom pizza
Tip: The garlic knot with sea salt is non-negotiable; breakfast service turns into pizza service at 11:00 without pause.
Colapasta sheets fresh organic pasta on 5th Street in downtown Santa Monica, beef ragu lasagna and beet ravioli in brown butter at bargain prices.
Order: Beet ravioli in brown butter and the ragu lasagna
Tip: Seating is first come, first served; last seating is fifteen minutes before close, so do not cut it fine.
La Purepecha hand-presses corn tortillas on Broadway in Santa Monica, a Michoacan-style counter of asada tacos and machaca burritos without the fuss.
Order: Asada tacos on handmade corn tortillas
Tip: Tacos on handmade tortillas with cilantro and onions are the order; parking sits right beside the shop.
Tacos Por Favor has fed Santa Monica's Olympic Boulevard workshops since the nineties, a no-frills counter of hard-shell tacos and chile relleno burritos.
Order: Chicken tacos and a chile relleno burrito
Tip: The lunch rush peaks at noon sharp; order the chicken taco plate and grab salsa from the bar before sitting.
Gilbert's El Indio has run its family Mexican dining room on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica since 1974, taquitos, shrimp plates and jalapeno margaritas.
Order: Taquitos with guacamole and a Tajin-rim margarita
Tip: It won Santa Monica's 2024 Most Loved Mexican Food award; Sunday closes at 14:00, so go for breakfast burritos.
Lares has served Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica since 1968, an old-world Mexican dining room with mariachi nights and vegan-friendly southern dishes.
Order: Mole plates from the southern-dishes side of the menu
Tip: Ask about mariachi nights before you book a quiet dinner; breakfast from 08:00 is the sleeper move.
Benny's Tacos brines its rotisserie chicken for 24 hours in citrus and garlic on Wilshire in Santa Monica, with churros piped full of Bavarian cream.
Order: Rotisserie chicken plate and a Bavarian cream churro
Tip: The rotisserie chicken plate feeds two; finish with the cream-filled churros even if you think you will not.
Sweetfin builds chef-driven poke bowls on Broadway in Santa Monica, an entirely gluten-free kitchen of bamboo rice, kale noodles and citrus ponzu fish.
Order: Spicy tuna bowl on bamboo rice
Tip: Every bowl base swaps free, so try the kale noodle base; the whole menu is gluten-free by default.
Sunny Blue wraps made-to-order omusubi on Main Street in Santa Monica, miso beef and curry rice balls pressed warm behind a six-seat counter.
Order: Miso beef omusubi, plus a spicy salmon to go
Tip: Miso mushroom is vegetarian and gluten-free; get one spicy salmon for the walk down to the beach.
Pita House grills certified halal Mediterranean plates on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica, shawarma, falafel and kebabs late into the evening.
Order: Mixed shawarma plate with garlic sauce
Tip: Everything on the menu is certified halal and there is no alcohol; the mixed shawarma plate feeds two.
Z Garden plates certified halal Middle Eastern food on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, Muslim-owned and generous with kebab plates, hummus and saffron rice.
Order: Mixed grill over saffron rice with garlic sauce
Tip: Portions run huge; a single mixed grill plate with extra garlic sauce covers two people at lunch.
Satdha Plant Based Thai Kitchen has cooked gourmet vegan Thai food on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica since 2013, no fake meats, just vegetable craft.
Order: Khao soi and the lion's mane mushroom fried chicken
Tip: Chef Gunn Pankum's lion's mane mushroom fried chicken converts sceptics; the khao soi is the quiet best dish.
Alfalfa packs farmstand plates and breakfast burritos into a friends-founded counter on Main Street in Santa Monica, salads and smoothies with real intent.
Order: Ancho Potato breakfast burrito or a farmstand plate
Tip: The Ancho Potato breakfast burrito is the local order; it travels well for the four blocks to the sand.
Big Dean's Ocean Front Cafe has anchored the boardwalk below the Santa Monica Pier since 1902 as Loring's Lunchroom, burgers and buckets on two patios.
Order: The famous burger with a bucket of beers
Tip: It became Big Dean's in the 1970s; grab a patio rail seat, order the burger and watch the boardwalk crowds.
The Galley has kept its portholes and rope nets on Main Street since 1934 as Santa Monica's oldest restaurant and bar, steaks, littlenecks and stiff drinks.
Order: East Coast littleneck clams, then the filet
Tip: Sit at the South Seas Bar under the year-round fairy lights; the East Coast littleneck clams are the classic starter.
Ye Olde King's Head has poured pints a block from the Santa Monica Pier since the mid-1970s, the British pub whose fish and chips built its name.
Order: Fish and chips with a pint of bitter
Tip: Afternoon tea is served Monday to Saturday until 16:00 in the tea room; the gift shop bakery sells sausage rolls to go.
Library Alehouse has poured independent craft beer on Main Street in Santa Monica since 1995, California gastropub plates and a wood-lined back patio.
Order: Rotating California taps with the house burger
Tip: The back patio hides from the Main Street noise; pair the Mayberry IPA with whatever burger special is running.
Father's Office on Montana Avenue is the Santa Monica gastropub where Sang Yoon's no-substitutions Office Burger was born, backed by 36 craft taps.
Order: The Office Burger, exactly as it comes
Tip: No ketchup, no substitutions, 21-plus only; the burger comes one way and the bar means it.
Jyan Isaac Bread bakes deeply fermented sourdough on Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica, bagel sandwiches and brunch beside the Ghisallo pizza kitchen.
Order: A sourdough loaf and the tuna melt at lunch
Tip: Loaves sell down by early afternoon; weekend brunch adds duck confit hash and cereal milk french toast.
Bread Head bakes a crackly focaccia-ciabatta hybrid daily for its Montana Avenue sandwich counter in Santa Monica, muffulettas and hot weekday specials.
Order: The Combo Grinder on the house focaccia
Tip: Founders Jordan Snyder and Alex Williams grew it from a Main Street pop-up; the Combo Grinder is the benchmark order.
Cobi's cooks Southeast Asian food in a florid Main Street bungalow in Santa Monica, a Bib Gourmand room of curries, dumplings and wood-grilled plates.
Order: Pork dumplings, nasi goreng and a wok-tossed curry
Tip: The Michelin Bib Gourmand crowd books ahead on Resy; the weekend brunch sitting is the calmer way to get a table.
Shirube runs a charcoal-grill izakaya on Wilshire in downtown Santa Monica, corn ribs in shoyu butter and blowtorched mackerel with most plates under 25.
Order: Shoyu butter corn ribs and the mentaiko udon
Tip: Sit at the bar for the courtside view of the charcoal grill; the mentaiko udon disappears early on weekends.