Melisse is a californian restaurant in Downtown, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Elliot Marsh, TableJourney editor. Source.
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Address: 1104 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Michael's Santa Monica has run since 1979, Michael McCarty's garden dining room on 3rd Street where a long line of famous chefs cooked market-first food.
OrderWhatever the market plates are that week; the garden room is the point
TipAlumni include Jonathan Waxman and Nancy Silverton; chef Job Carder now runs the hyper-seasonal menu. Book on Resy.
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.
OrderWhipped eggplant dip with flatbread, then a pizza as the sun drops
TipGo before sunset for the light and stay for the DJ; weekend mornings it runs ricotta pancakes from 09:00.
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
TipPlan around two and a half hours for the full menu; reservations open by the month and the counter seats sell first.
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
TipThe room is tiny and reservations go through Tock; aged marinated tuna nigiri is the signature move.
Michael's Santa Monica has run since 1979, Michael McCarty's garden dining room on 3rd Street where a long line of famous chefs cooked market-first food.
OrderWhatever the market plates are that week; the garden room is the point
TipAlumni include Jonathan Waxman and Nancy Silverton; chef Job Carder now runs the hyper-seasonal menu. Book on Resy.
Fia fills a big garden dining room on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica with coastal Italian cooking, burrata with prosciutto and figs, raw fish and steaks.
OrderBurrata with prosciutto and figs, then the Wellington steak
TipThe garden brunch with pastries and bottomless pours is the weekend play; book OpenTable for patio seats.
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.
OrderNew York strip, then the spumoni-style baked Alaska
TipFriday and Saturday it runs to 02:00 with live music; Spaghetti Sunday closes the week with a set menu.
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.
OrderWhipped eggplant dip with flatbread, then a pizza as the sun drops
TipGo before sunset for the light and stay for the DJ; weekend mornings it runs ricotta pancakes from 09:00.
