Big Dean's Ocean Front Cafe is an american restaurant in Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must 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.
Address: 1615 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica, CA 90401
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.
