Big Dean's Ocean Front Cafe

Big Dean’s Ocean Front Café is a classic beachside hangout with great burgers, cold drinks, and a lively, relaxed atmosphere. Steps from the sand, it’s perfect for casual bites, people-watching, and enjoying the Santa Monica vibe without any fuss.

Local gem that you get exactly what you should expect. Location is the true highlight as you can sit in the front and watch the pier. Better than you’d expect drink selection with standard bar food that is actually good. It’s our weekend bike ride spot that’s very enjoyable to watch games or just relax by the beach with a friendly staff.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Best burger in town! Great vibe and ambiance. Recommended!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Didn’t eat here. 32 ounce beers. Ice cold. Lots of TVs. Good music.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Great prices considering how close you are to the beach! Food was really good, and the sea breeze was unmatched.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Fish and chips was good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fish \u0026 Chips

They serve coffee & tea cold. Even we asked for replacement, they didn't change it. They are rude.
Also they take the credit card in advance which is ridiculous.
Don't waste your money, you can find much nicer places in the area.

Nice restaurant near the beach, portions are a bit small

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Great location and as other reviews say, not too touristy. We only had drinks but the staff were friendly and the drinks were good.

My 1 recommendation would be that the staff communicate more with each other on who is serving what table. At one point we had 4 different staff offer us more drinks within 4 minutes. Sometimes as 1 walked away, another walked up. While each of them were friendly, it got a bit annoying over the 45 mins we were there.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The owner was very rude and refused to serve me and got angry at me when I got the beer name wrong, he then made my girlfriend stand up and come to the bar to show a stamp even though you get stamped coming in and he then ignored us and didn’t serve us he was very aggressive and thinks he’s 10 men

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Small portions, prices a Little to high, Service is very good.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 4

There are so many reasons to visit Santa Monica and Big Dean's Ocean Front Cafe is one of them. Located at 1615 Ocean Front Walk, it is the oldest bar in Los Angeles. Established in 1902 as Laring's Lunch Room, it has become a popular go-to destination "where the locals meet and the fun-loving tourists always return." Count me in as a fun-loving tourist from Chicago. Open from noon to 7 on Monday, 11 to 8 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 to 9 on Friday and 10 to 8 on Saturday and Sunday, Big Dean's offers sun, fun, great food, a full-service bar, music, 35 sports TVs, outdoor patios and reasonable prices. I interrupted my sight-seeing for a lunch break. I started with a bowl of New England clam chowder and Caesar salad with Romaine lettuce, croutons and Caesar dressing. That set the stage for my introduction to "the burger that made Santa Monica famous," Big Dean's cheeseburger, with double beef patty, double cheese, lettuce, tomato, raw onions, pickle spear and Big Dean's special sauce. With French fries. At a place like Big Dean's, the art of people-watching comes with the territory.

Awesome, awesome place to watch games on an NFL Sunday. Very fun atmosphere where you will see people from each fanbase and a staff that is ready to help serve you at all times. Loved it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Hair in my burger. Service that moves at glacial speed. Pass

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

We arrived around noon and ordered several dishes: a beach salad that was beautifully presented,tacos, fish and fries and chips with salsa along with some drinks. The food was nice, the atmosphere was totally fine, and the prices were reasonable.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5