Always our go to place when we visit Santa Monica. Hi to Anita who is such a great person who took good care of us.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Whole Sizzling Catfish with Ginger and Ponzu Sauce, Duck Fried Rice
Bryan Wright
Food was excellent. Loved the crowded atmosphere. The cocktails were mediocre though.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Fried Rice
MelizaD
Food, service & ambience at Chinois on Main are always something I look forward to! Consistently, excellent!!! Whenever I visit LA, it's on my top list to go for a nice & unforgettable dinner w/ my hubby!
LauraB
Several entrees were inedible. Spare ribs over cooked and tough with no flavor. Peking duck tasted rancid along with it being tough, rubbery and just awful. Champagne by the glass was half flat. Chinese salad was delicious. Best thing about the evening was sitting by Larry David in our cramped table. For the money and the reputation , expected it to be fabulous but one of my biggest dining disappointments.
Hope
Everything at Chinois is perfect every time . It is timeless with Owners, Bella and all the staff. The old favorite dishes never disappoint and new flavors to explore. I have been a fan since the beginning and as locals we come regularly and for many occasions. Well Done ?
Glen Kuniyuki
Been coming here since they opened in 1980s. It’s a Wolfgang Puck classic and the innovator of Asian Fushion cuisine!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Spareribs, Whole Sizzling Catfish with Ginger and Ponzu Sauce, Tempura Tiger Shrimps, Roasted Duck, Duck Fried Rice, Maine Lobster Rolls
Lauren Michelotti
I don’t understand how this restaurant has this many recent good reviews, especially in a city that has as many high-quality fine dining options as Los Angeles. The duck came out room temperature at best, the fried rice was bland, the cocktails weren’t good, the miso glazed sea bass was the best thing we ordered but the cucumber side wasn’t presented in a way that made any sense, the bao was just ok, the list goes on… The server also offered us no recommendations when we asked for them, telling us his favorite thing was whatever we were thinking of getting because everything was so good. Everything was definitely good, but that was it. It was just good…maybe even just ok. All of the servers were very nice but that was the only thing that kind of stood out. Confused by this restaurant’s 4.5 star rating and the fact that it got any recognition from Michelin. It wasn’t a fine dining experience. If you still choose to eat here, temper your expectations and brace yourself to pay a lot of money for an inequivalent amount of quality.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
MarkyLennon
Wonderful! I haven't been there since it opened and it's exactly the same...good for them! if it ain't broke don't fix it. Hoppin' & Junpin'! I'm gonna' frequent it more often!
Lisa Pierson
Been on our MUST DO LIST for 25 years. Mom's 80th birthday seemed fitting; It was phenomenal best meal in years!Parking: $2.50 for 2 hours; 1 block from restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shanghai Lobster with Curry Sauce and Crispy Spinach, Deep Fried Catfish
GaryF
The food was good but not outstanding and Santa Monica is a dump. Santa Monica is not the Soho of SoCal as it use to be. It is now dirty, foul and I won't want to be caught on a side street in the dark - unsafe. The interior of Chinois needs to be updated/remodeled.
It's been too long since our last visit - but we should come more often! Wonderful potstickers and duck pancakes, excellent branzino and the vegetable fried rice was great. Killer chardonnay on the wine list for $35 - but you have to look in the White Burgundy section, just sayin'...
MBSK
A Santa Monica Classic this Wolfgang Puck Chinese restaurant always delivers and the ingredients are so fresh and tasty. Good portion sizes for sharing as well. Lot's of attentive staff.
As always the food was great and service wonderful. However as I get older the noise level is more of a problem. Other than that the experience is why I am so enamored of Puck's restaurants. I ate my first Puck meal with my then 17 year old daughter when we were in San Francisco in 1989. My daughter is now 51 and I continue to find the crispy spinach a culinary miracle!
lancew
Chinois is one of those institutions in Venice that is like fine wine. It started off a great pedigree with Puck, and has continued to evolve not resting on laurels. They do what they do and they do it great. Wait staff superb and got that friendly/professional ratio down.
John805
Chinois on Main remains one of the most special restaurants not only in Lois Angeles, but in the world. Wolfgang Puck invented one of the few (no, the only) successful fusion cuisines ever. Putting noodles on a menu and claiming a "fusion" of Chinese and Italian just doesn't get it done. You can enjoy French-Chinese food at Chinois that you simply cannot get anywhere else. Anywhere. Even if you're unlucky enough to be there when soft shelled crab isn't is season (if it is in season you must -- absolutely must -- enjoy it) you will be transported. Lucky you.
Always our go to place when we visit Santa Monica. Hi to Anita who is such a great person who took good care of us.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Whole Sizzling Catfish with Ginger and Ponzu Sauce, Duck Fried Rice
Food was excellent. Loved the crowded atmosphere. The cocktails were mediocre though.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Fried Rice
Food, service & ambience at Chinois on Main are always something I look forward to! Consistently, excellent!!! Whenever I visit LA, it's on my top list to go for a nice & unforgettable dinner w/ my hubby!
Several entrees were inedible. Spare ribs over cooked and tough with no flavor. Peking duck tasted rancid along with it being tough, rubbery and just awful. Champagne by the glass was half flat. Chinese salad was delicious. Best thing about the evening was sitting by Larry David in our cramped table. For the money and the reputation , expected it to be fabulous but one of my biggest dining disappointments.
Everything at Chinois is perfect every time . It is timeless with Owners, Bella and all the staff. The old favorite dishes never disappoint and new flavors to explore. I have been a fan since the beginning and as locals we come regularly and for many occasions. Well Done ?
Been coming here since they opened in 1980s. It’s a Wolfgang Puck classic and the innovator of Asian Fushion cuisine!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Spareribs, Whole Sizzling Catfish with Ginger and Ponzu Sauce, Tempura Tiger Shrimps, Roasted Duck, Duck Fried Rice, Maine Lobster Rolls
I don’t understand how this restaurant has this many recent good reviews, especially in a city that has as many high-quality fine dining options as Los Angeles. The duck came out room temperature at best, the fried rice was bland, the cocktails weren’t good, the miso glazed sea bass was the best thing we ordered but the cucumber side wasn’t presented in a way that made any sense, the bao was just ok, the list goes on… The server also offered us no recommendations when we asked for them, telling us his favorite thing was whatever we were thinking of getting because everything was so good. Everything was definitely good, but that was it. It was just good…maybe even just ok. All of the servers were very nice but that was the only thing that kind of stood out. Confused by this restaurant’s 4.5 star rating and the fact that it got any recognition from Michelin. It wasn’t a fine dining experience. If you still choose to eat here, temper your expectations and brace yourself to pay a lot of money for an inequivalent amount of quality.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Wonderful! I haven't been there since it opened and it's exactly the same...good for them! if it ain't broke don't fix it. Hoppin' & Junpin'! I'm gonna' frequent it more often!
Been on our MUST DO LIST for 25 years. Mom's 80th birthday seemed fitting; It was phenomenal best meal in years!Parking: $2.50 for 2 hours; 1 block from restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shanghai Lobster with Curry Sauce and Crispy Spinach, Deep Fried Catfish
The food was good but not outstanding and Santa Monica is a dump. Santa Monica is not the Soho of SoCal as it use to be. It is now dirty, foul and I won't want to be caught on a side street in the dark - unsafe. The interior of Chinois needs to be updated/remodeled.
Restaurantji Recommends
It's been too long since our last visit - but we should come more often! Wonderful potstickers and duck pancakes, excellent branzino and the vegetable fried rice was great. Killer chardonnay on the wine list for $35 - but you have to look in the White Burgundy section, just sayin'...
A Santa Monica Classic this Wolfgang Puck Chinese restaurant always delivers and the ingredients are so fresh and tasty. Good portion sizes for sharing as well. Lot's of attentive staff.
As always the food was great and service wonderful. However as I get older the noise level is more of a problem. Other than that the experience is why I am so enamored of Puck's restaurants. I ate my first Puck meal with my then 17 year old daughter when we were in San Francisco in 1989. My daughter is now 51 and I continue to find the crispy spinach a culinary miracle!
Chinois is one of those institutions in Venice that is like fine wine. It started off a great pedigree with Puck, and has continued to evolve not resting on laurels. They do what they do and they do it great. Wait staff superb and got that friendly/professional ratio down.
Chinois on Main remains one of the most special restaurants not only in Lois Angeles, but in the world. Wolfgang Puck invented one of the few (no, the only) successful fusion cuisines ever. Putting noodles on a menu and claiming a "fusion" of Chinese and Italian just doesn't get it done. You can enjoy French-Chinese food at Chinois that you simply cannot get anywhere else. Anywhere. Even if you're unlucky enough to be there when soft shelled crab isn't is season (if it is in season you must -- absolutely must -- enjoy it) you will be transported. Lucky you.