Orto Santa Monica — Restaurant in Santa Monica

Booked four nights in Santa Monica as an add-on to a repositioning cruise that we had taken. We asked the concierge at the Fairmont Santa Monica if he could recommend a nice restaurant for us to try. He suggested Orto and had the hotel driver take us there on the spot. What a great referral! Upon walking through the doors we were treated as long time customers by the most professional and attentive staff ever. They were amazing! I cannot say enough good things about them…they were simply, the best!

We reviewed the menu and asked for a couple of modifications to the pasta dishes (out of pickiness…no other reason!) and they accommodated without hesitation. The bread was to die for. The drinks…so good. I asked if the bartender could mix me a mocktail…and left it in his capable hands. He did not disappoint. Not sure what it was..but it was so good..had a few.

Our pasta dishes arrived and quite frankly…was the best that pasta that I have ever had. Ever!! For real!!! Better than when we were travelling through Italy..to be honest.

For desert, the waiter recommended their house specialty. It was served on a plate..a chocolate “dome”. The server poured hot caramel sauce over the chocolate dome..melting it and revealing a large scoop of vanilla ice cream. The chocolate had melted back and covered a handful of fresh strawberries that were hidden underneath the chocolate dome. I don’t what to say to describe how incredibly decedent and good this desert was.

The bill arrived and for the exceptional quality of food and service…they didn’t charge enough. So reasonable for such an amazing experience.

It was so special we came back two nights later and not only did they repeat the service and quality of food…the server remembered us, our orders and he made the magic happen all over again.

I guess you can tell we loved Orto?!?!?

It was so good, that;

A) it was the highlight of our holiday,

B) we are going to book a trip back to Santa Monica just to eat at this heavenly restaurant once again.

Amazing!!!!

You won’t be...

My partner and I went here for Valentine's day and we are STILL talking about this dinner. We agree that in our 6 years of being together, this was the worst dining experience we have ever had.

We knew it would be a set menu and expecting it to be a pricey night but boy we did not expect what we got.

The vibe of the restaurant was nice - good lighting, pretty atmosphere. But that's about it.

The starter was a handful of wilted arugula. Followed by 2 pieces of crunchy ravioli (literally...the edges were crunchy) drowning in a pool of butter.

The salmon was tiny and over cooked. At least the carrot was good.

Dessert was misshapen and covered in copious amounts of powdered sugar.

The bill was over $400!!!!!! We would happily pay that if it was worth it, but this meal was far from worth even close to that price.

We left feeling scammed and with headaches due to the child singing off key Taylor Swift songs into a karaoke machine. I'm not kidding.

They did put in effort with the Valentine's Day theme, and maybe this was just a bad night for them, as they have lots of shining reviews for regular service, but we will not be coming back to find out.

Along with this review, there are half a dozen similar reviews from the same night and from what I've seen the restaurant has taken no responsibility. We feel we should be given half our money back. I cannot express the anger and disappointment we still feel about how bad this...

An experience to forget. Endless wait on a reservation resulted in us leaving. A sign was advising clientele about being patient because of short staffing. We were told a 10-15 min wait before getting seated and that was no problem. A promising romantic dinner for two was awaiting after a long week. The entrance on Fifth Ave looked more like a jam-packed sterile pre-boarding area with no one to greet us. We kept on waiting up to 40 minutes not having a second reservation on a Saturday night. The hard-working waiters were bustling in and out, rolling the food cart from the kitchen around the corner, going through a very loud crowded entrance. We noticed the dishes didn’t quite resemble the ones we saw online. It was upsetting to see many people in groups of 4 to 6 people arrived later, entering before us. Finally, the personnel handling the room upstairs showed up unfortunately without a clear idea when he could sit us. We left an empty stomach after a 45-minute wait. It became clear that “short staffing” was indeed “overbooking” and questionable management. Sorry to leave the only not positive review on a restaurant, especially because owned by a fellow Italian, but if the food is good, we will never know. Certainly, my experience was worse than a missed meal. I'm grateful there are few other Italian restaurants on the westside that offer greater hospitality and make me...