Ye Olde King's Head — Restaurant in Santa Monica

Google asks me to rate the service and atmosphere, but this review is for the food only.

This review is about the fish and chips only. I did not try anything else. I was really craving fish n chips, and I'd never had them from Ye Olde Kings Head, and as they're an institution of a an establishment, I thought they'd execute this dish well. I was SO wrong (and quite surprised). I had complete faith that spending $40 for 1 order of the King's fish and chips was gonna be worth it. They must know what they're doing, I assured myself. Absolutely nothing was good except for the lemon wedge. It seemed fresh and was juicy. The fish batter had no flavor. It was soggy on the underside, to the point of falling off the fish. The fish itself was also quite bland. The chips, on the other hand--they were just plain terrible: clearly a mass-produced industrial-made french fry. Some of the chips had what looked to be paprika on them (so their kitchen does have a least one spice), but most them did not have that sprinkling of paprika, and in fact ALL of the soggy chips were devoid of salt. And that's it. When the menu item is fish and chips, but the fish is bland and soggy, and the chips are bland-er and soggy-er, you're left to remark, wow, what a lovely, juicy lemon wedge this is--and for only $40. Malibu Seafood remains my benchmark for fish and chips. Brittania pub in Santa Monica has a pretty good incarnation, and last I checked, even available at happy hour (read: a fraction of the price of Y.O.K.H.). Perhaps Y.O.K.H. is a better pace for...

I had a great burger with bacon and avacado well done. 🤤🤤 It was really good. It was actually much better than I expected. I definitely recommend this place for a great burger. I had a beer as well, I don't remember what kind of beer I had but it was a pretty good fricken burger. I was honestly surprised how good the burger was. I expected a mediocre burger to be honest. But it was far from. The bun was real good and they had they're logo branded in the bun which was pretty cool. The meat was cooked perfectly. ( I like well done) It had a great char broiled taste, it was really thick and juicy. The bacon was crispy and flavorful. The avacado was ripe and perfect. I definitely hiiighly recommende this place for a great burger. One of the better burgers I've had in my life. The restaurant has a brittish feel the servers all have english accents (not sure if they're real but still a good touch). I suppose they're known for their fish and chips, but they're rather expensive for cod. $30 for 2 pieces of fish and fries was a bit more than I planned on spending that day, but based on how good the burger was I will go back and try the fish and chips. The chips (fries) were also really good. They were thick cut perfect crispness on the outside and seasoned. They were way above average fries for sure. I would go there just for the fries honestly. Overall this spot was really good. Cool vibe and nice staff. Go there and get a good burger and fries ( I'm pretty confident the fish and chips...

We have been to King's Head many many times over the years and it used to be great. It is still good, you will like it, but it is no more than average now. The place is old and it shows. There have been no updates and there is quite a bit of dust. It has some nice British art on the wall and it is clearly a British place and that is great. It seems they just are not that concerned anymore. They have a lively bar which gets packed on the weekends and I assume that is good time.

Parking is a bear. You will need to find a public lot to park in. The hostess is very nice and get you to a good seat. The service, however is now quite bad. I could see it coming with our last visit, but it is sad that they don't seem to really care to help you.

There are several things that are no longer on the menu and that is also sad. Their claim to fame is their fish and chips and they are just fine. You can find ones like that anywhere. The chips are not great. The food does come out hot and that is nice.

Their clam chowder has lost a lot of its clams, but it is still tasty.

I ordered coffee, which was warm, no one ever asked if I wanted more. No one ever came to check on us until the check was dropped.

We likely won't be back, but it is not bad at all. There are just better places and we are going to go to those. Maybe we will give them another shot if they brought back their Welsh Rarebit, bit I don't see that happening.

On the 4th of July it is a big party in the bar. You...