Massilia — Restaurant in Santa Monica

My girlfriend and I visited Massilia when we were on vacation last month. We were walking around all day and wanted a little shady spot to get out of the heat and hit up some happy hour bevies and snacks. Massilia looked very inviting! It had a beautiful little open-air patio on the street and looked inviting so we looked at the menu and had a seat. Byron came to greet us immediately and informed us of the happy hour menu and specials. We got some sangria and persecco coctails (the sangria on Byron’s suggestion as he had just made it himself). It was excellent. His food suggestions were excellent as well and we shared an antipasto platter and some warm marinated olives that were perfect for a light afternoon snack with some good refreshment.

As it was a little quiet we got an opportunity to ask Byron a few questions about the area and what to do for St. Patty’s Day, as it was coming up. Byron was super knowledgable about the area and eager to share some valuable tips and tricks about the area with us. He was one of the most knowledgable people we met and his suggestions answered a lot of our questions.

We asked about the restaurant and he went on to tell us about its virtues in detail and urged us to come back at night when all the patio lights are on and it gets busy. His passion for the restaurant was obvious and I asked him if he was one of the owners. He replied that he just worked there, but that he loved the restaurant and his job.

It really gives you a good feeling about a place when you see the staff so proud and enthusiastic about being a part of something great. The impression we got over-all was that this is a well-run establishment. The quality in the food, service and over-all demeanor of the staff very present and impressive. Byron was sitting in a meeting in the dining room with other staff members as I was coming back from the bathroom on our way out. He got up and shook my hand and thanked us for coming.

I’ll definitely be back at Massilia the next time I’m in town and would strongly reccomend it to anyone. Byron really helped make that afternoon special for us. His passion for his work was admirable, genuine. You could tell he wanted to be there and that’s the kind impression that makes people feel comfortable and at home, as you should when you sit down to eat. Thank you Byron for the great...

Well I’m not the one to complain but…. I drive in from Palm Springs and was excited to find a European restaurant in Santa Monica near me. I was seated with my aunt, we looked around and the fans up top were dirty like really dirty, then we sat down. I had soft jazz music playing to cancel out the loud road noise and homeless yelling and cussing outside, the waiter then brought us water and took our orders, as another couple left and told the waiter I was playing music on my phone which was not loud at all just low tone for me and my aunt to hear, the waiter then came and told me to turn my phone off and I asked why? He stated there is a certain atmosphere here and if I can turn it off, so I asked him if there was a law stating I couldn’t play my music? He then said can you just turn it off and I said no I’m good, and then said why didn’t you say anything about my music this whole time I’ve been playing music since we sat down, when you took our orders when you brought us two different appetizers he stated he didn’t even realize it was playing and I said exactly it’s not that loud. He said there’s a type of atmosphere here and I’m thinking the loud homeless people yelling or the Loud racing cars with music bumping. Then he never brought me the tea I ordered so I don’t know if he charged me for it because after he charged me and he asked me would I like a receipt I said yes and he acted as if he wasn’t going to get me one I waited and my aunt was like let’s just go. 😞 it’s too bad she never goes out and I thought taking her to a nice place like this would be fun but it was all bad. Bad experience won’t recommend people to come here And just unprofessional on the servers part. So I just told my aunt no worries let’s just go. She said it’s too bad that waiter asked you to turn off your music since it was better than listening to the cars passing by just left a bad taste in our mouths and for $90 bucks and a 14.something tip I could of got better service at YardHouse and got my receipt like I asked for. I eat out everywhere and it’s too bad this happened at a place like this. Just killed the exiting vibe and great night me and my aunt were having. Not satisfied as a customer. And I need my receipt for...

I had dinner here on May 27th 2023. This was the only place with an open table as every other restaurant was fully booked for the night. The place is decently furnished and the initial feel is welcoming. But the same can’t be said about the service or food. After being sat, we were greeted by a server and had our order taken. It was a calamari starter and spaghetti bolognese and Steak Frites as the main. After boasting the speed of which the starter would be out, we proceeded to wait half an hour for our calamari which to the chefs credit was at least very tasty. Unfortunately, it would be another hour until we received our mains. What caught my attention, however, was that two groups came in after us and the same server who initially sat us down took care of those tables. It would take about 20 minutes for one of the groups to get their orders and the second group, which had come in about 45 minutes into our hour wait also received their order around the same time as us. What was disappointing was also the lack of attentiveness from the staff compared to how the other groups were treated. At no point did they need to grab their servers attention since they were hovering over both tables while we couldn’t even get a simple “your order will be out soon” for that hour. To add insult to injury, the steak was comparable to a flank steak you can buy at your local market coupled by a handful of fried potato shavings masquerading as fries and the spaghetti had the same taste and texture as the pre packaged dry pasta covered in Ragu pasta sauce. And as the night couldn’t get worse, while We were trying to enjoy the “fries”, another server came along trying to take the plate we were eating off of. After the table was cleared the initial server returned asking if we wanted desert but at that point I asked for the bill. It was then that for the first time that night the server asked how the meal and experience was. To be polite I just requested the check again as to leave as soon as possible. The experience and guest service was not worth the charge and I hope the management there takes steps necessary to improve upon...