Chez Jay is an american late-night spot in Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: Steak and a martini, peanut shells on the floor
Tip: The sandy-floored front room is the landmark bit, designated by the city in 2012; the Backyard patio opened in 2019.
Address: 1657 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401
The Georgian Room, in the 1933 Georgian Hotel on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, pairs Tuscan chophouse cooking with live jazz around a Steinway grand.
Try: Late-night jazz and chops
Order: New York strip, then the spumoni-style baked Alaska
Tip: Friday and Saturday it runs to 02:00 with live music; Spaghetti Sunday closes the week with a set menu.
The Bungalow sprawls through a beach-house maze at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, cocktails, DJs and pool tables with ocean air off the bluff.
Try: Cocktails and DJ sets
Order: A spicy margarita on the patio before the DJ starts
Tip: Dress code loosens early; go at 17:00 for a patio sofa because the queue after 21:00 on weekends is real.
The Georgian Room, in the 1933 Georgian Hotel on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, pairs Tuscan chophouse cooking with live jazz around a Steinway grand.
Try: Late-night jazz and chops
Order: New York strip, then the spumoni-style baked Alaska
Tip: Friday and Saturday it runs to 02:00 with live music; Spaghetti Sunday closes the week with a set menu.
The Bungalow sprawls through a beach-house maze at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, cocktails, DJs and pool tables with ocean air off the bluff.
Try: Cocktails and DJ sets
Order: A spicy margarita on the patio before the DJ starts
Tip: Dress code loosens early; go at 17:00 for a patio sofa because the queue after 21:00 on weekends is real.
Elephante stacks a coastal Italian kitchen onto a 2nd Street rooftop in Santa Monica, whipped eggplant, pizzas and pasta with the ocean over the rail.
Try: Rooftop pizza and spritzes
Order: Whipped eggplant dip with flatbread, then a pizza as the sun drops
Tip: Go before sunset for the light and stay for the DJ; weekend mornings it runs ricotta pancakes from 09:00.
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.
Try: Hand rolls at the bar
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.
The Penthouse floats on the 18th floor of the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, white banquettes and coastline views from breakfast through late cocktails.
Try: Cocktails over the coastline
Order: Weekend brunch with the ocean panorama
Tip: Happy hour runs 16:00-18:00 on weekdays; sunset window tables go to whoever books earliest on OpenTable.
Not No Bar plays throwback Euro disco over wood-fired pizza on Main Street in Santa Monica, bar director Kent Thompson's cocktails until 01:00.
Try: Wood-fired pizza and disco
Order: The Soy Del Rancho and a wood-fired pizza
Tip: Friday and Saturday are fully walk-in; the patio never takes bookings and the room goes 21-plus after 22:00.
