Our dinner was as delicious as ever. I'm hoping to be able to eat there again before they close! So sad!
jamie
ALWAYS A JOY. Love this place, the food, the vibe, the drinks, the service. Always, reliably excellent. A neighborhood-y kind of restaurant that just does it right.
Juli
This restaurant decor is hard. The table, chairs benches are hard it doesn't have a cozy feel to it. We ate at 6:00 pm on Saturday night. There was no one else in the restaurant. I guess the chef is the former border grill chef which I never liked. My salad was on a tiny plate and I ordered chicken with it which was hard and chewy on the ends. The service people were odd and have 0 ability to navigate different types of people and ages. The menu was confusing and it's not really clear what kind of food this is. I prefer real Mexican food like a plate of enchilada with rice and beans or fajitas. It is also expensive and for that price point you can online like R and D on Montana. Which tastes so much better, is more fun, comfortable, and busy.
Mary
Absolutely terrific food, lovely ambiance and comfortable sound level. Slight issue with establishing service as wait staff whizzed about. Once it was determined who we were assigned to, the service was affable and attentive.
Carrie
What a delight this restaurant is. The food is first class, but the feeling is like being in a l neighborhood restaurant. I will be going back again and again.
Baruch Pletner
Absolutely adored everything about this place. The food, the ambiance, the service. Nothing pretentious, but flying in from Toronto I felt right at home and had a great meal with a great draft lager and the best mezcal I've ever tasted. Check it out. Oh, and Peter at the bar was just fantastic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ian Owen
Came for solo dinner at 6pm on a Thursday. Got seated and waited a fair amount of time to be noticed, at which time I placed my full order. The margarita De la Casa and the Crispy Baja Shrimp small plate were pretty solid. I got a good amount of shrimp, which was nice, and it was flavorful. The Carne Asada Taco plate was delicious, especially with the guacamole on it. After turning down dessert and another decent wait, I was presented with the little “toast” machine to pay. I did so immediately, hit the “print receipt” button, and then waited 23 full minutes for it. I had to flag down the waiter to get any attention while he diligently did other tasks for larger tables like fill their water glasses with the carafes left on the tables anyway. Eventually, the host brought me the receipt and wished me a quick good evening without so much as a “sorry about that.” Would have gone 3 stars overall if I had received any acknowledgement about the wait. I feel I spent enough money to deserve that, especially after leaving a tip that I wanted back by the time I walked out.
TL;DR: Good enough food, disinterested service
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
LJT
Nice little establishment. The tacos were good, the baked nachos are awesome. The host was helpful with the menu and recommendations on items. The only thing I didn't care for was the seating arrangement/dining separation.
Frank Mercer
Six stars. The chef is truly an artist. Any further words would spoil your surprise.
Food: 5
STEVE
The food was prepared a little bit differently from other Mexican restaurants in the area and this was a nice change...Delicious
One of our favorite spots in Santa Monica. Easy parking, delicious food and fantastic drinks. Come during happy hour to get the best pricing! Peter the manager is fantastic. All the staff are attentive, nice and create a fantastic vibe. We will keep coming back and highly recommend to others!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alex
We stumbled upon Socalo by chance as we were staying next door. However, our experience was so great that we ended up dining there twice during our time in Santa Monica. Food was excellent, specially considering that the menu was put together by two celebrity chefs. As a mexican who has travelled and tried many interpretations of mexican food, I found that Socalo delivers an outstanding modern mexican menu. We werelucky to also partake in a special ‘Dia de Muertos' menu the second night that disappoint. To crown our experience, we were lucky to coincide with Chef Susan Feninger. She made us an each of her patrons at home and taken care of which reflected on the experience her staff provides as well. Finally, the prices were a breath of fresh air. A restaurant created by two celebrity chefs could easily charge double (like many non deserving spots do in Santa Monica). A must visit if you're in town!!
Hilary
All around incredible experience! Quality food and taste 👅 Kind and delightful staff . Incredible ambiance for a wonderful evening
Jeffrey
On Thursday at 7 Pm they were out of nearly everything that we wanted to eat and drink. The server was inept and either confused or drugged out. So we left and can't really comment on the quality of the food other than guacamole that was meh. The chips were fresh and warm though.
Evonne Soon
We booked a private room for a group of 35 people for a welcome dinner party the night before our wedding. SOCALO has multiple rooms to fit various group sizes, and the one we were in was private and had a fun design. The food was delicious, abundant, and reasonably priced - all of our guests loved it, especially the ceviche. Additionally, we were so impressed with the hospitality of the staff who truly made our dining experience feel special. Management was also very professional and communicative from the initial planning to the day of. Truly a gem in Santa Monica!
Our dinner was as delicious as ever. I'm hoping to be able to eat there again before they close! So sad!
ALWAYS A JOY. Love this place, the food, the vibe, the drinks, the service. Always, reliably excellent. A neighborhood-y kind of restaurant that just does it right.
This restaurant decor is hard. The table, chairs benches are hard it doesn't have a cozy feel to it. We ate at 6:00 pm on Saturday night. There was no one else in the restaurant. I guess the chef is the former border grill chef which I never liked. My salad was on a tiny plate and I ordered chicken with it which was hard and chewy on the ends. The service people were odd and have 0 ability to navigate different types of people and ages. The menu was confusing and it's not really clear what kind of food this is. I prefer real Mexican food like a plate of enchilada with rice and beans or fajitas. It is also expensive and for that price point you can online like R and D on Montana. Which tastes so much better, is more fun, comfortable, and busy.
Absolutely terrific food, lovely ambiance and comfortable sound level. Slight issue with establishing service as wait staff whizzed about. Once it was determined who we were assigned to, the service was affable and attentive.
What a delight this restaurant is. The food is first class, but the feeling is like being in a l neighborhood restaurant. I will be going back again and again.
Absolutely adored everything about this place. The food, the ambiance, the service. Nothing pretentious, but flying in from Toronto I felt right at home and had a great meal with a great draft lager and the best mezcal I've ever tasted. Check it out. Oh, and Peter at the bar was just fantastic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came for solo dinner at 6pm on a Thursday. Got seated and waited a fair amount of time to be noticed, at which time I placed my full order. The margarita De la Casa and the Crispy Baja Shrimp small plate were pretty solid. I got a good amount of shrimp, which was nice, and it was flavorful. The Carne Asada Taco plate was delicious, especially with the guacamole on it. After turning down dessert and another decent wait, I was presented with the little “toast” machine to pay. I did so immediately, hit the “print receipt” button, and then waited 23 full minutes for it. I had to flag down the waiter to get any attention while he diligently did other tasks for larger tables like fill their water glasses with the carafes left on the tables anyway. Eventually, the host brought me the receipt and wished me a quick good evening without so much as a “sorry about that.” Would have gone 3 stars overall if I had received any acknowledgement about the wait. I feel I spent enough money to deserve that, especially after leaving a tip that I wanted back by the time I walked out.
TL;DR: Good enough food, disinterested service
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Nice little establishment. The tacos were good, the baked nachos are awesome. The host was helpful with the menu and recommendations on items. The only thing I didn't care for was the seating arrangement/dining separation.
Six stars. The chef is truly an artist. Any further words would spoil your surprise.
Food: 5
The food was prepared a little bit differently from other Mexican restaurants in the area and this was a nice change...Delicious
Restaurantji Recommends
One of our favorite spots in Santa Monica. Easy parking, delicious food and fantastic drinks. Come during happy hour to get the best pricing! Peter the manager is fantastic. All the staff are attentive, nice and create a fantastic vibe. We will keep coming back and highly recommend to others!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We stumbled upon Socalo by chance as we were staying next door. However, our experience was so great that we ended up dining there twice during our time in Santa Monica. Food was excellent, specially considering that the menu was put together by two celebrity chefs. As a mexican who has travelled and tried many interpretations of mexican food, I found that Socalo delivers an outstanding modern mexican menu. We werelucky to also partake in a special ‘Dia de Muertos' menu the second night that disappoint. To crown our experience, we were lucky to coincide with Chef Susan Feninger. She made us an each of her patrons at home and taken care of which reflected on the experience her staff provides as well. Finally, the prices were a breath of fresh air. A restaurant created by two celebrity chefs could easily charge double (like many non deserving spots do in Santa Monica). A must visit if you're in town!!
All around incredible experience! Quality food and taste 👅 Kind and delightful staff . Incredible ambiance for a wonderful evening
On Thursday at 7 Pm they were out of nearly everything that we wanted to eat and drink. The server was inept and either confused or drugged out. So we left and can't really comment on the quality of the food other than guacamole that was meh. The chips were fresh and warm though.
We booked a private room for a group of 35 people for a welcome dinner party the night before our wedding. SOCALO has multiple rooms to fit various group sizes, and the one we were in was private and had a fun design. The food was delicious, abundant, and reasonably priced - all of our guests loved it, especially the ceviche. Additionally, we were so impressed with the hospitality of the staff who truly made our dining experience feel special. Management was also very professional and communicative from the initial planning to the day of. Truly a gem in Santa Monica!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loading...