The Gaslite is a cocktail bar late-night spot in Mid City, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: Cheap well drinks and a turn on the karaoke list
Tip: It bills itself as Southern California's longest-running karaoke; sign up early because the nightly list fills by 21:00.
Address: 2030 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403
The Daily Pint stocks more than 500 whiskies behind a Pico Boulevard dive-bar front in Santa Monica, with sharp rotating taps, pool and shuffleboard.
Try: Whisky, craft taps, pool
Order: A rare pour from the 500-bottle whisky wall
Tip: Ask the bartender to steer a whisky flight; the beer list turns over constantly and skews serious.
Chez Jay has kept its nautical dive-bar dining room on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica since 1959, a city Historic Landmark of steaks, peanuts and lore.
Try: Late steaks and martinis
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.
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.
