Terrazza — Restaurant in Santa Monica

We adored our evening on Wednesday night celebrating a belated Fathers Day. We made reservations for a seaside view. We only waited 5 minutes before our table was prepared. The view is lovely and although the sunset at our Santa Monica Beach where the hotel is located occurs in spring and fall, the view of the boardwalk, sea and sand was still lovely during daylight and as the sky turned pink and peach. We were treated so well as the waiter, host and hostess all were exceptional. The menu shown for this review is different, but even better. We began with beverages and a very nice selection of bread, and large crisp crackers. Our meal started with the Wagyu Beef carpaccio with greens and a delightful sauce. There was an error in the menus as the grilled octopus, offered as an appetizer on the menu was actually a main entree and my husband’s appetizer was already served. It was not a problem as we just shared the Wagyu. For my entree, I had the Filet Mignon that had a fantastic bold sauce under the perfectly cooked oh so tender but lean 8 oz Filet, garnished with puree yam, thinly sliced roasted haricot vert and carrots. My husband chose the pink salmon that had a very unusual sauce that did not over power the seafood but was different than a usual ordinary butter sauce. The fish was also prepared perfectly. We chose the most unusual potatoes as a side dish fingerling potatoes lightly cooked, squashed and then fried light and crisp, yum. For dessert we chose their specialty a Basque cheesecake that was good but we may have chosen something more unusual if it hadn’t been suggested right away. The wine selection was also very nice since my husband only wanted one glass. I had my favorite Single Malt Scotch Lagavoulin as wine causes a headache for me. The food, service, exceptional architecture and view were all superb.

I found the fish, almost the same price as the Filet Mignon and the Wagyu Carpacio (a small dish) a bit more expensive than expected ( this is the reason I gave only 4 stars). My husband never questions the price if everything else is as good as it was and hotels are usually a bit more expensive.

We also had a surprise during the evening as we were drawn into a wonderful conversation with a young couple from Australia on the last day of their Western U S 2 week vacation. We had much in common and it added to a lovely evening only 6 miles from our home. We will return to this...

(I'll preface this review by saying that I'd give Terrazza a 3.5 if I can, but it leans more toward a 4 within the limits of the system)

I came to Terrazza to meet up with some SoCal friends while I was in the area, and Santa Monica seemed like a great place to hang out! We stopped by on a weekend night, but we were still pretty easily able to find a table in the open-seating area. The one downside about the open seating is that it's hard to get large groups (9+) to be able to sit together as they don't have many large tables.

The service is solid, we were asked how we were doing quite frequently, and drinks were replenished as we finished them. There's plenty of variety on the menu; beers, wines, mixed drinks, and food options. The view from the lounge area is great, and you can see lots of things taking place on the beach. The drinks are high quality and the food taste is on the same level. All the components of a great night!

There are a few complaints I have with the restaurant...parking can be really hard to find in the area, especially on a weekend night. One potential solution is to utilize the Valet parking at the hotel, but even with validation from the restaurant, it can get expensive if you're there for a few hours. The other major complaint boils down to the fact that you pay for the experience and not the food/drinks at this restaurant. This is probably to be expected at this level of establishment, but it's disappointing how little food you get for the price.

All told, I'd still recommend Terrazza, it's a great experience and a nice place to spend an evening...

Overall, the vibe and view from the restaurant was amazing! However, the food was mediocre and the service was non-existent. A few examples: we paid $50+ for oysters, and there was shell in multiple of the oysters. I've never had this happen before at any restaurant, much less a fancy one like Terrazza - the shell was so bad that I had to spit one of my oysters out into my napkin to avoid swallowing a bunch of tiny shell pieces. Our main courses were also meh. I had the crab benedict (asked for sauce on the side, this was not done), and the best part of the meal was the 1 spear of asparagus on the side. My husband had the lobster roll, and the best part of his plate was the fries. But the worst part of the experience was honestly the service - though our server was nice and promptly took our order, he essentially disappeared after that. I had to flag down other waitstaff to get a new napkin and more water. I also told our waiter at the beginning that I wanted to order a glass of wine when our food arrived, but he never came back to check on us (until I finally flagged him down for the check so we could leave). To his credit, he noticed the sauce was not on the side when he came over, but that was a good 30 minutes too late to fix. The food itself also took a very long time to come out - and this was when the restaurant was nowhere near capacity. Overall, if you're going for drinks/ambiance - I'd say go for it! If you want decent food/service, it's not at all...