Great food, casual atmosphere. Low key. Easy parking options. Love history behind it.
R E.
Dinner for 4 on a Thursday at 7pm. Small parking lot was full, we had to circle for street parking. No Valet. Busy inside. They only seat once the entire party is present. There were several groups waiting for their people, the entryway was crowded. It's loud inside, I later saw a warning from my phone! Food was tasty. Portion sizes good. La Jolla potatoes are kinda like scalloped potatoes. Sticky toffee pudding to share was great.
Cayce C.
Chez jays is one of the few constants in the epicurian world. Great food, service and Ambiance. Special shoutout to our server Heika! Fantastic energy!!!
Devin T.
This place is awesome. Old school fisherman style dive bar restaurant. Full bar, great food, awesome drinks. Even the wine is GOOD! But what really made our experience is the seasoned staff. They knew the history of the city, the hotels, even of the promenade. Heike, our server, made our night. When you go request her section. She is truly the best. Made our experience epic!
James D.
What a great place. My wife is gluten free and the fryer is only used for fries and Brussels sprouts. The Chef sat with us and made sure that we got a gluten free meal. He sat and chatted with us and told us some stories about the place. There was a good pour and large portions. I love this place.
D L.
We were sat in a private booth towards the back & our sever was super friendly and professional. Shrimp cocktail, Caesar salads and garlic toast to start was amazing. Sand dabs, swordfish dishes and filet mignon were all tasty, hot and not skimpy in size too! Had a couple gin martinis as well and well executed. We all liked this place. Feels genuine and not too touristy. We'll be back
Ddawga W.
Some things never change...we used to grab Gimlets up the street and eat banana-something infused dinners. Where the drinks were strong and the women stronger (in the best way). All the staff from the fancy restaurants would convene here late night, so you know it's good. Unless something has changed in the past 20 years, Chez Jay, stay beautiful
Mary G.
Best fiod great staff historically amazing place and I would come back and recommend this place to all family and friends
M T A
Cozy, unique spot with great food and beverages, friendly hosts and waiters. Pile on the thrill of famous past visitors, and it makes for a full-package experience. Squeeze into the standing room, call ahead to reserve a table, or take your chances and see what luck brings you.
Michael J. McCoy
It's ok. Small but long inside. Crazy homeless people around.
Went there today 2/18/24When went in was told there was a booth but we could only be seated if we can be in and out in 90 mins. We said sure even though that’s the first time I’ve heard that…We ordered 2 filets 1 medium, 1 medium rare…. When I say they came out raw. I’m not exaggerating, like they no joke came out completely raw in the inside. And we took bites of that…. We then told them that, and they remade it.Again the medium rare filet was not raw but pretty bad close. And the Medium filet was overcooked and kind of pully if that makes sense. (Really bad quality fillet) this is my first time leaving a review that’s how bad it was.They apologized and offered dessert to us but again we just felt uncomfortable because it was cutting the 90 minutes we agreed to and it was honestly horrible.When the bill came out I’m expecting atleast some sort of compensation for eating raw meat… but was compensated on my $4 sprite (that came out in a can, lol)So overall got 2 raw steaks. Paid full price. Food was horrible at a bare minimum. Server was very nice. Obviously not his fault. But this definitely has to be one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. Like again we were served RAW steak. And I’m not exaggerating that. It was literally raw.Anyways hopefully others have better experiences but I won’t be backWish I took pictures to upload but was too busy spitting up the raw meat and being shocked honestly.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Jeff Russell
Parking: Small lot
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad with Shrimp, Parmesan Truffle Fries, Grilled Salmon
Icarus 6942
I've been here a few times. The food is great! Best affordable steak and seafood in Santa monica. But sadly they're more interested in serving patrons that order chicken strips and pbr than people that actually want to spend money on dinner. It's more of a dive bar then restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Smoked Salmon, Butter Steak, Grilled Salmon, Combo Angus New York Steak & Lobster Tail
Nicholas Eckelberry
Old school..definitely not a Fern bar..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Jamie Johnson
Small place made popular by the show Goliath on Amazon. Went here for drinks and appetizers with a friend. Got a good bottle of wine. Recommend getting a reservation. Loved that they had parking in a lot right next to the bldg. The host was really nice and accommodating. Def a place to go if you want to be a regular! I'll be back!
Great food, casual atmosphere. Low key. Easy parking options. Love history behind it.
Dinner for 4 on a Thursday at 7pm. Small parking lot was full, we had to circle for street parking. No Valet. Busy inside. They only seat once the entire party is present. There were several groups waiting for their people, the entryway was crowded. It's loud inside, I later saw a warning from my phone! Food was tasty. Portion sizes good. La Jolla potatoes are kinda like scalloped potatoes. Sticky toffee pudding to share was great.
Chez jays is one of the few constants in the epicurian world. Great food, service and Ambiance. Special shoutout to our server Heika! Fantastic energy!!!
This place is awesome. Old school fisherman style dive bar restaurant. Full bar, great food, awesome drinks. Even the wine is GOOD! But what really made our experience is the seasoned staff. They knew the history of the city, the hotels, even of the promenade. Heike, our server, made our night. When you go request her section. She is truly the best. Made our experience epic!
What a great place. My wife is gluten free and the fryer is only used for fries and Brussels sprouts. The Chef sat with us and made sure that we got a gluten free meal. He sat and chatted with us and told us some stories about the place. There was a good pour and large portions. I love this place.
We were sat in a private booth towards the back & our sever was super friendly and professional. Shrimp cocktail, Caesar salads and garlic toast to start was amazing. Sand dabs, swordfish dishes and filet mignon were all tasty, hot and not skimpy in size too! Had a couple gin martinis as well and well executed. We all liked this place. Feels genuine and not too touristy. We'll be back
Some things never change...we used to grab Gimlets up the street and eat banana-something infused dinners. Where the drinks were strong and the women stronger (in the best way). All the staff from the fancy restaurants would convene here late night, so you know it's good. Unless something has changed in the past 20 years, Chez Jay, stay beautiful
Best fiod great staff historically amazing place and I would come back and recommend this place to all family and friends
Cozy, unique spot with great food and beverages, friendly hosts and waiters. Pile on the thrill of famous past visitors, and it makes for a full-package experience. Squeeze into the standing room, call ahead to reserve a table, or take your chances and see what luck brings you.
It's ok. Small but long inside. Crazy homeless people around.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Went there today 2/18/24When went in was told there was a booth but we could only be seated if we can be in and out in 90 mins. We said sure even though that’s the first time I’ve heard that…We ordered 2 filets 1 medium, 1 medium rare…. When I say they came out raw. I’m not exaggerating, like they no joke came out completely raw in the inside. And we took bites of that…. We then told them that, and they remade it.Again the medium rare filet was not raw but pretty bad close. And the Medium filet was overcooked and kind of pully if that makes sense. (Really bad quality fillet) this is my first time leaving a review that’s how bad it was.They apologized and offered dessert to us but again we just felt uncomfortable because it was cutting the 90 minutes we agreed to and it was honestly horrible.When the bill came out I’m expecting atleast some sort of compensation for eating raw meat… but was compensated on my $4 sprite (that came out in a can, lol)So overall got 2 raw steaks. Paid full price. Food was horrible at a bare minimum. Server was very nice. Obviously not his fault. But this definitely has to be one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. Like again we were served RAW steak. And I’m not exaggerating that. It was literally raw.Anyways hopefully others have better experiences but I won’t be backWish I took pictures to upload but was too busy spitting up the raw meat and being shocked honestly.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Parking: Small lot
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad with Shrimp, Parmesan Truffle Fries, Grilled Salmon
I've been here a few times. The food is great! Best affordable steak and seafood in Santa monica. But sadly they're more interested in serving patrons that order chicken strips and pbr than people that actually want to spend money on dinner. It's more of a dive bar then restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Smoked Salmon, Butter Steak, Grilled Salmon, Combo Angus New York Steak & Lobster Tail
Old school..definitely not a Fern bar..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Small place made popular by the show Goliath on Amazon. Went here for drinks and appetizers with a friend. Got a good bottle of wine. Recommend getting a reservation. Loved that they had parking in a lot right next to the bldg. The host was really nice and accommodating. Def a place to go if you want to be a regular! I'll be back!