Santa Monica, California, is home to some of the best restaurants on the West Coast. We’ve put together a list of our favorite spots for food in downtown Santa Monica — places locals try to hide from the tourists!

Whether you’re living in Santa Monica or just visiting, try to stop in at as many of these hotspots as possible.

What’s the Food Like in Santa Monica?

Santa Monica, California, is home to some of the best restaurants on the West Coast. We’ve put together a list of our favorite spots for food in downtown Santa Monica — places locals try to hide from the tourists!

Whether you’re living in Santa Monica or just visiting, try to stop in at as many of these hotspots as possible. Known for fresh seafood, as well as Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean, and Italian cuisine. However, this Cali city has plenty more to offer, with creative new restaurants popping up every year.

As an added bonus, many Santa Monica restaurants (including Crudo e Nudo, featured below) prioritize sustainability in the food they serve and how they serve it. Santa Monica’s food scene prides itself on keeping things local and using as many Farmer’s Market fresh and close-sourced ingredients as possible.

Santa Monica is also a popular spot for outdoor dining, as there are plenty of places to get gorgeous beachfront views.

Margo’s Pizza Kitchen

Margo’s Pizza Kitchen is a fully plant-based pizzeria in Santa Monica with a cheerful vibe and some delicious pies. In addition to pizza, they do brunch, cocktails, sandwiches and wraps, and some really incredible appetizers. 

Here are a few of our favorites from their menu:

• Margo’s breakfast burrito is incredible. With a combination of soyrizo or breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs plus black beans, queso, pico, and baby potatoes, there’s a lot to love about this Mexican-inspired breakfast.
  
  
• Margo’s mushroom pizza is also a winner and features cashew mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, and a mixture of organic mushrooms.
  
  
• Margo’s Nachos are crispy, delicious, and covered with unique ingredients, including soyrizo, house-made guacamole, and cheese sauce.

Michael’s

Michael’s gives you just about the best fine dining experience Santa Monica has to offer, and it’s an ideal date night spot. This Santa Monicaeatery is primarily known for its seafood — mouthwatering dishes like the Crispy Monterey Bay Calamari or Salmon & Caviar Carpaccio.

Some of our favorites from Michael’s menu are:

• The Bacon-Crusted Salmon — we couldn’t believe how delicious the sherry mustard sauce on this salmon was. Garnished with wilted escarole and sautéed chanterelle mushrooms, this was some of the best salmon we’ve ever tasted. Seriously.
  

• The 30-Day Dry-Aged Wagyu Bolognese was incredible as well. With pappardelle pasta, fresh tomato sauce, and fine Grana Padano cheese, this was some unforgettable bolognese with some refreshing and inventive ingredients. Michael’s is the place to start your love affair if you've never tried grass-fed Wagyu beef in pasta.
  

• The 24-Ounce 28-Day Dry-Aged Prime Ribeye is the steak dreams are made of. If you’re going all out at this Santa Monica Restaurant, this steak won’t disappoint. There’s no other steakhouse in Santa Monica (that we know of) that has anything quite like this steak, topped with crispy herbs and shallot butter. Drool.

Soko

Soko Sushi is for you if you’re looking for some top-tier sushi and Japanese cuisine. Their Nigiri menu is incredible, featuring fresh red snapper, yellowtail, horse mackerel, scallop, salmon roe, and more. They’ve got a limited selection of rolls, all carefully crafted and Instagram-worthy.

Soko also offers some tasty classic Japanese apps, including edamame, house-made miso soup, and refreshing Japanese cucumber salad. Their menu was lovingly created by chef Masa Shimakawa, one of the most passionate restauranteurs in the entire Santa Monica area.

If you visit Soko, we recommend starting with the edamame as an appetizer, then sharing their sashimi assortment with some friends. If you’re dining solo, Masa’s Dream Box is an amazingly diverse option featuring 18 pieces of the day’s seafood — some serious food porn.

Elephante

Elephante is inspired by the cuisine of the coasts of southern Italy, and their dining room gives you some of the best ocean views in all of Santa Monica. Their menu includes some incredible entrees, including Polenta, Mushrooms, and Branzino, two of our top picks if you stop at Elephante.

• The Polenta and Mushrooms feature a slow-cooked egg, mascarpone cheese, and a bit of black truffle, making this a next-level version of polenta that’s hard to find anywhere else — and hard to beat.
  

• Branzino, AKA European sea bass, is another Elephante menu item you don’t want to miss. This may look like simple seafood, but the flavor, freshness, and topping of house-made salsa verde and lemon knock it out of the park.

Elephante’s artisan pizzas are also some of our favorites on their eclectic Italian menu. With some next-level toppings like Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, taleggio, and cured pork, you end up with insane flavor combinations that are both nostalgic and totally new.

Finally, it’s not a world-class Santa MonicaItalian restaurant if you can’t get some killer pasta. The truffle pasta is insanely good if you want to go all-out for your dinner, and the same goes for the mouthwatering lobster rigatoni.

There’s also some unbelievably good dessert to follow your entree, including traditional tiramisu, white chocolate pavlova, and even the classic affogato — vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce topped with espresso. You’ll be ready to hit the club after that pick-me-up — barring a too-full stomach, of course! 

Citrin & Melisse

Located on Wilshire Boulevard, this Michelin-starred pair of restaurants was created by Chef Josiah Citrin and serves some of the most delicious dishes in all of Santa Monica. If you go, though, be prepared to spend some serious cash — plates here can cost several hundred dollars.

Citrin’s menu features upscale Californian cuisine, making you want more with every bite. Some menu highlights include the White Asparagus and Morel Mushrooms, the Truffle Risotto, and the Hida Japanese A5 Wagyu Sirloin steak, which might be the most delicious cut of meat you ever eat.

Chef Josiah describes Melisse as “a restaurant within a restaurant,” the ideal spot for any very, very special occasion. With a 14-seat backstage dining room and cuisine inspired by flavors from around the world, Melisse is the creme de la creme of what Santa Monica has to offer. 

One of the aspects of the Melisse menu that instantly blew our minds was the creative dessert selection. Rhubarb and Custard, Frozen Earl Grey Yogurt, and Chartreuse Gummies are all available here, and you’ll want to try them all if you get the chance.

Crudo e Nudo

Located on Santa Monica’s westside, Chef Brian Bornemann and Leena Culhane co-founded this one-of-a-kind restaurant. Chef Brian was formerly the Executive Chef at Michael’s, one of the restaurants we raved about earlier, and he’s also an alumna of The Tasting Kitchen and Potager. 

Michael’s partner, Leena, is a musician, experienced bartender, and wine pro, and the two joined forces to create a hospitable, sustainable restaurant and wine bar.

Crudo e Nudo is one of our top recommendations in the Santa Monica area for fresh seafood. Their wine list never ceases to impress as well. If you go, we recommend starting with oysters or striped bass.

If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll also be right at home at this Santa Monica spot. Their creative vegetarian menu featured chopped radicchio salad, chickpea toast, and more.

Pasjoli

Pasjoli is a French restaurant like no other. With a beautiful back garden patio that offers abundant outdoor seating and a gorgeous indoor dining room, the vibe is one of the biggest reasons to visit this Main Street restaurant.

If you’re new to French cuisine, Pasjoli’s menu can initially be a bit overwhelming. However, even though everything has a French name, you can’t go wrong with whatever you choose and can always ask the staff for guidance if needed.

They offer a wide range of exciting appetizers (labeled “hors d’oeuvres,” of course), including gnocchi Parisienne, hamachi et pamplemousse (cured hamachi and grapefruit), and dry-aged beef tartare, plus many more.

We highly recommend the California sturgeon with fried sunchokes and cauliflower for entrees. Topped with burgundy truffle and pink peppercorn jus, this is incredible Cali seafood with a classy French twist. 

The roasted pork loin is insanely tasty as well, thanks to a combination of caramelized onions, walnuts, red oak lettuce, and peppercorn jus.

Bay Cities

A world-renowned American-Italian deli and bakery, Bay Cities is best known for their signature sandwich, the Godmother. You cannot miss this sub if you’re visiting Santa Monica. With prosciutto, ham, Capicola, Genoa salami, provolone, and mortadella, it’s a sandwich like no other. The Godmother is perfect for a quick takeout meal to enjoy on the beach when you have some free time.

Bay Cities is more than just a sandwich joint, too — they also sell high-quality meats, cheeses, and deli fare, so if you’re a local, stop by next time you need some groceries.

Santa Monica Food: Worth the Trip

If you’re a Santa Monica local, you know how much incredible food the city has to offer. If you’re only visiting, you’re in for a treat. 

We think Santa Monica is worth a visit just for the food, especially if you have a decent-sized budget. If you go on a Cali food tour, make sure to stop in SM.