Restaurants in Santa Monica

Oceana Bistro Cafe's floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor patios unveil sweeping vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Located just down the street form the neighborhood eatery, the sea provides more than just idyllic scenery—it yields fresh scallops, shrimp, and crab for gastro-pub-inspired fare. Chefs tailor their cooking style to suit the time of day. At lunchtime, they layer casual, deli-style sandwiches with Boar's Head meats, leaf lettuces, and seasoned mayo. At dinner, they take a more gourmet approach, grilling fine meats (among them, filet mignon and ahi tuna) until they achieve a supple texture and jail stripes. Chefs pair the dishes with locally produced wines and craft brews.

When Ronn Teitelbaum opened the first Johnny Rockets location in 1986, his goal was to create a restaurant where people could escape the postmodern blues of everyday life and experience a taste of time-honored Americana. The name itself is a nod to this ideal. It combines the star of a classic American fable, Johnny Appleseed, and a classic car, Oldsmobile’s beefy Rocket 88.

That explains why during dinners at the famous burger joints, you’ll see signs of simpler times, starting with the cooks and servers—dressed head to toe in white, including white paper hats, they look like they’ve fallen out of a wormhole from the 1950s ready to sling shakes and cook up some eats. Behind a stainless-steel bar lined with red leather stools they tend to their traditional diner fare, including burgers and melts with sides such as chili-cheese fries and onion rings. Riding sidecar to each meal is a collection of hand-dipped and hand-spun floats, shakes, and malts topped with whipped cream.

When Ronn Teitelbaum opened the first Johnny Rockets location in 1986, his goal was to create a restaurant where people could escape the postmodern blues of everyday life and experience a taste of time-honored Americana. The name itself is a nod to this ideal. It combines the star of a classic American fable, Johnny Appleseed, and a classic car, Oldsmobile’s beefy Rocket 88.

That explains why during dinners at the famous burger joints, you’ll see signs of simpler times, starting with the cooks and servers—dressed head to toe in white, including white paper hats, they look like they’ve fallen out of a wormhole from the 1950s ready to sling shakes and cook up some eats. Behind a stainless-steel bar lined with red leather stools they tend to their traditional diner fare, including burgers and melts with sides such as chili-cheese fries and onion rings. Riding sidecar to each meal is a collection of hand-dipped and hand-spun floats, shakes, and malts topped with whipped cream.

At Char Fasl, chefs camouflage their light, healthy Persian fare behind flavorful veggies instead of heavy oils and sauces. They accommodate all diets with menu items that vacillate between vegetarian and meat-centric. Cooks skewer juicy chunks of meat for boneless-chicken kebabs, a favorite among customers and T. rexes recently off juice cleanses, and grill them with matching skewers of tomatoes. The Four Seasons dish replaces poultry with beans and rice crowned with eggplant and hummus nestled beside a spear of sizzling veggies.

This wide variety of cuisine is served in the restaurant's European atmosphere, which emulates the dishes' international origins, tinted with warm colors that flare to life in front of huge windows. Outside, diners feast and shadows hide from their owners beneath the shade of a tree. Another of the eatery's most enticing aspects unfolds on Fridays and Saturdays, when live music influences the movements of a belly dancer.

Be it on one of The Farm's breezy outdoor patios or inside its down-home Americana-themed dining rooms, patrons today come to savor the nostalgic flavors of traditional American cuisine, just as they have since 1997. With black-and-white portraits of Wisconsin farmers adorning the walls of all three locations, fresh, seasonal ingredients are the heart and soul of The Farm of Beverly Hills' menus. Organic and locally sourced products comprise dishes whenever possible, as evident in the dill-pickle fried chicken made with a free-range and organic bird, the hearty meatloaf sandwich of certified-humane Angus beef, or original tableside magic tricks performed by Miss Piggy.

Take Ten Deli’s hardworking sandwichsmiths grace breakfast and lunch tables with satisfying dishes of deli and diner classics. Guests greet the sunrise with hearty breakfasts of eggs, bacon pancakes and breakfast burritos, or chow down on a delicious lunch of juicy burgers or cold and hot sandwiches dressed with a stunning array of deli meats, cheeses, and veggies. Triple-deckers satisfy diners with a substantial and architecturally sound stacking of a pound and half of sandwich, while a lineup of sides and salads garnish meals or deliver wholesome, fresh flavor.