Shirube is a japanese restaurant in Downtown, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must 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.
Address: 424 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Rustic Canyon is Santa Monica's farmers-market dining room on Wilshire, now cooking seasonal Mexican-Californian food a few blocks from the Wednesday market.
Order: The vegetable plates that change weekly with the market
Tip: Last seating is 21:00 most nights; the menu shifts weekly with the Arizona Avenue market haul.
Fitoor grills contemporary Indian food near the Santa Monica Pier, kebabs, kulchas and seafood from the ROOH team's fire-led Ocean Avenue kitchen.
Order: Kebabs and kulchas from the tandoor, plus the seafood plates
Tip: Founders Anu and Vikram Bhambri staff the kitchen almost entirely with chefs trained in India; the halal menu suits groups.
Piccolo Ristorante hand-rolls its pasta on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica, chef Antonio Mure's Venetian-leaning dinners with a deep Italian cellar.
Order: Homemade pasta of the day with a glass from the Italian list
Tip: The room is candlelit and small, better for two than six; Prosecco by the glass opens the night properly.
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.
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.
Rustic Canyon is Santa Monica's farmers-market dining room on Wilshire, now cooking seasonal Mexican-Californian food a few blocks from the Wednesday market.
Order: The vegetable plates that change weekly with the market
Tip: Last seating is 21:00 most nights; the menu shifts weekly with the Arizona Avenue market haul.
Pasjoli on Main Street is Santa Monica's French bistro benchmark, lately loosened up with a bigger bar menu and its famous tableside pressed duck restored.
Order: Tableside canard a la presse, or the cordon bleu chicken wings at the bar
Tip: The pressed duck is a 350 dollar whole-bird production for the table; order it when you book, not on arrival.
