5 Santa Monica Restaurants Ranked Among 101 Best In Los Angeles

SANTA MONICA, CA — Five Santa Monica restaurants are among the 101 best in the Los Angeles area, according to a new ranking released this week.

The Los Angeles Times' annual list of the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles includes everything from modest holes in the wall to buzzy Michelin-starred spots.

"We crisscrossed the region for months, checking in on stalwarts and swapping notes on potentially overlooked contenders," the Times wrote.

Here are the Santa Monica spots, along with their rank and excerpts from the Times' blurbs:

Pasjoli — 18

"There is a point during dinner at Dave Beran’s Santa Monica restaurant when the attention of the entire room shifts to a table in front of the kitchen. Beran makes a show of breaking down a duck and stuffing the carcass into a medieval-looking contraption that compresses the cartilage, bone and tissue into a pink goo that’s then transformed into a luxurious gravy."

Mélisse — 24

"A quenelle of strawberry sorbet floats in the center of lush orange tomato soup. Clear noodles fashioned from tomato consommé are chewy and a joy to eat. The lamb course is presented as both a textbook perfect herb-crusted chop and the filling for a fried spring roll with a bright cilantro and mint emulsion."

Rustic Canyon — 28

"A late September meal mirrored the week’s weather: bay scallops surrounded by barely liquid tomatoes and bits of fried bread, a salad built around pears and dates, softly curried roast chicken with plums, an herbed pork chop covered in slices of poached quince."

Birdie G's — 52

"Jeremy Fox’s Santa Monica restaurant never ceases to surprise me. His Hungarian-inspired dumplings are pillowy balls of ricotta cheese tossed in a bright Sungold tomato sauce with fresh basil, lots of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fennel pollen."

Cassia — 75

Chef Bryant "Ng continues to merge the idea of a grand French brasserie with his own Chinese-Singaporean narrative. And you’ll spot plenty of nods to the decades his family spent cooking Chinese American food in Los Angeles, as well as wife and partner Kim Luu-Ng’s Vietnamese heritage."

Check out the full list of 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles at the LA Times.