Tar & Roses — Restaurant in Santa Monica

Dined here last night per the recommendation of a chef friend.

To start: street parking was pretty easy to find on a Monday night. I was greeted as soon as I walked in and seated instantly. We were even able to switch to a table we preferred.

We ordered the: • lamb • duck • mushrooms • cheesy potatoes • corn • carrots

It should be noted that the Small items on the menu are more like the size of an appetizer while Large is meant to be a full entree plate.

The lamb was excellent. We thought it was cooked perfectly medium and was juicy. My bf wanted to save a piece for later just to reminisce (lmao). The farro PERFECTLY complimented the lamb really well along with the side of roasted corn we ordered. Didn’t care for the feta cheese sprinkled throughout the lamb plate but everything else was great!

The cheesy potatoes are not like the garlic mashed potatoes that one would assume when ordering a mash at most restaurants. My bf wanted them to be more garlicky—which I could understand, but I appreciated them for what they were. When I paired them with the roasted corn (with a sprinkle of lime juice), it was a perfect combination.

I had the duck— it should be noted that unless specified the duck will be cooked medium rare. I am a medium kinda gal— so they went ahead and fixed that for me and it was great. I love a good sweet potato purée so I was excited to try this dish. I am not a hazelnut fan, but I did appreciate the way that the dish was plated and how the colors played off of each other .

The roasted corn is very messy so be prepared to get your hands dirty! But—it’s like a small bite version of a street corn (if aioli was added) and who doesn’t love street corn?!

The baby carrots: I did not care for the chermola crème fraîche so I ate around that. They were perfectly cooked — not too much of a snap when bit but also not mushy.

I want to mention that I would be giving a four stars based on the food (because I didn’t care for the crème on the carrots and my bf didn’t like the mushrooms which he normally goes crazy for) BUT our waiter was fantastic.

He was not overbearing. We never had to look for him if we needed something. It was just the perfect amount of attention to detail. He also recommended a red wine from Spain (can’t remember which) which my bf loved! It’s the little things! So HE is truly the reason for the five stars.

Finally—dessert

I don’t even know what it was called but it was heaven. It was perfectly sweet and the flavors all complimented one another. Honeycomb ice cream?! And I actually had a piece of...

TL;DR - make your next dinner res at Tar and Roses. Hands down a five star experience.

Our first night in Venice beach after a long flight from the East Coast, my family was excited for our first introduction to the food scene here. As locals of Portland, ME (where we are spoiled with an abundance of amazing dining options), we have high expectations for food, and we were delighted with all aspects of our experience at Tar and Roses.

If our waitress is exemplary of the standard of service at T&R, then you will be in good hands. If you are lucky enough to have Mariel as your server, however, expect your service to be outstanding. Mariel was so knowledgeable of the menu, and she was able to make great recommendations to accommodate our party of five, as we wanted to share all our dishes. When we ordered, she coursed the plates based on what would pair well together, and she even helped us with the little things like noting the oxtail dumplings come with four bites and if each person wanted to try one, we should get two orders, which we did and happily finished both plates. Our wine glasses were always topped off and our water glasses remained full. We were beyond impressed with Mariel’s service.

Now for the food, which was just as incredible. We had the oxtail dumplings and the English peas to start. Then the cauliflower, short ribs, and gnocchi next. Finally we shared the venison and whole fried snapper with brussels sprouts and cheesy mash potatoes on the side. Our dishes were scrumptious, and we were so excited to try so many flavors that we wouldn’t find back at home. Our snapper might’ve not looked so happy, but we certainly were. My only regret was not ordering the duck too because I bet it would’ve been delicious. My dad adds that the wine list was eclectic and focused to food friendly options at very reasonable prices.

Johnnie, one of the co-owners, came over to our table afterwards and asked about our dining experience, and was too generous in sending a trio of desserts to our table on the house. They were fantastic (the strawberry and cream pastry is a must-try.) A big thank you to Johnnie and the staff for such an excellent dinner and dining experience. Next time we are in Venice we will be...

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Monica to splurge at. The atmosphere is moody, the service is super friendly, and the food is mouthwatering. I live for the oxtail dumplings. They come in four for an order so get a couple if you’re in a large group. The bone marrow is also exquisite if you’re into rich, fatty deliciousness. They have a 3,5 and 7 item charcuterie board. We got the nduja, prosciutto, bacon jam bruschetta, manchego, and bufalo cheese. Probably better to split between two people rather than six but it was tasty. I liked the bacon jam bruschetta the best. Split the whole fried snapper for two which was unlike any fish I’ve seen served. They fry the fish for 8 minutes and make divets so that you get an entire fish, but you can scrape off the pockets of meat created. We are the eyeball too, which was more for the novelty than the taste. If anything it was tasteless and hard with a chalkiness similar to a smartie. The fish was super fresh and had that “ocean taste”. It came with who dipping sauces that were the exact same and tasted like a chunky sweet chili sauce. There was diva noodles mixed with thin seaweed slices and sesame seeds that were very well-cooked. We also shared the asparagus, mushrooms, and artichoke. I would get the mushrooms again for the earthy flavor. The asparagus was also pretty good and came with burrata on top. For the finale, we had the strawberry crostata and the chocolate tar bar. The crostata was a great summer dessert and had vanilla gelato on the side. I’d say my favorite was the chocolate tar bar because of the hazelnuts that were embedded underneath the mousse atop the cakey part.

Non- food info: $12 valet parking was available as street is hard. There are two single room bathrooms. We sat in the back room which had an exposed roof so you could enjoy the fresh air, but had heaters so you don’t get cold. The waiter was super knowledgeable about the menu and helpful. The servers frequently came by to make sure our water was filled. They do take reservations and even on a Tuesday evening at 6pm the restaurant filled up with people.

Overall one of my favorite restaurants to go to for a special occasion. Definitely get the oxtail dumplings and...