Megan Singleton: Santa Monica take two – dining and drink options

Let’s talk Santa Monica. I’ve added lots of new content to this post with my favourite spots to dine with a view. Or just have a drink! I had 24 hours there but have also stayed about a dozen times all up.

It’s sad how many shops are shut along pedestrianised Third Street, but there are lots more restaurants and bars to try.

https://www.bloggeratlarge.com/fab-rooftop-bars-around-santa-monica/

And I nailed a whipped aubergine dip recipe from famousElephanté restaurant and added a new post on that too. It tastes so good!

https://www.bloggeratlarge.com/elephante-whipped-eggplant-dip-copycat-recipe-nailed-it/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News talks'b.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Megan Singleton, good morning. All right, we are in Santa Monica.
We were talking last week about getting whether you would
get in a driver ass taxi, which we both declared
that didn't really sort of sound like a good.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Idea to either of us.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
But there are some really great things to do in
Santa Monica, and two of them are whining and dining.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yes, look, it's a great city. It's one of eighty
or more and I think there's eighty eight cities that
make up Los Angeles, so it is actually a city.
I know, it's a city in its own right. And
I have to say, you know, we all heard about
the fires a few months back that was around Malibu
and stuff. There's absolutely no evidence of that in Santa
Monica at all, so people shouldn't be concerned that things

(00:52):
have changed there whatsoever. And in fact, I found a
whole lot of new and upgraded and new branded hotels there.
I actually stayed, and I've stayed there about a dozen
times now, so this really was an update for me,
and I dated the blog post on some really great hotels.
But what I also found was nice little spots to

(01:13):
eat and drink, including even the rooftop of the main
shopping mall. If people know Santa Monica, they'll know Third
Street Promenade with the pedestrianized shops for about three blocks
and then that's anchored at the end by Santa Monica Place,
and up there was usually just an old food court,
you know, with an our burg outdoor patio and you
can see the sea from there. Well, now there's two

(01:35):
or three really cool restaurants up there that are really
making the most of that spot, so that's quite cool
and affordable. Obviously, you know, you can go walk along
the beautiful main Ocean avenue and I had a beautiful
blue cocktail at the Georgia, and the Georgian Hotel has
been there since the nineteen thirties and it's just iconic.

(01:56):
And I stayed in a new one called the Pears Side,
which I called it a hidden gym in playing sight
because it's literally opposite the entrance to the pier. But
I don't think I've ever noticed it before. It used
to be the Holiday and now it's got this sixth
floor mural painted on the front of it. It looks
amazing and it's just a block or two from as
I said, the shops and just so many other great

(02:18):
laces for eating and drinking.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
So if you were going to recommend a few places,
a few restaurants.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
Or bars, yeah, well the restaurants. I went to one
called Alafonte. Now that is a hidden gem, and it
really is a hidden gem. My brother told me where
it was and I found it, and they do this
incredible He said, oh, You've got to do the eggplant whip.
So I loved it so much. I got the girl
to tell me the ingredients, and then I came home
and I've whipped it up and I've actually put I

(02:46):
actually succeeded. I did an aubergine whipped recipe and I've
put that on the blog too, so that's a must
go there. I had a lobster roll, amazing lobster roll
at the Surfing Fox, which is on the ground floor
of the Pear Side and where else. I had a
wonderful cocktail at the Georgian and then the Regent, which
used to be the lows on the bar each front,

(03:07):
did a really scrummy breakfast right overlooking Muscle Beach, so
that's a bit of a laugh if you want to
shoot out and look at all of the muscle MutS
on the beach.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Is it expensive to eat and drink?

Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yes? Oh well I kind of dined out, you know,
I did it a bit cheap, Like one cocktail was
sort of twenty s US dollars plus plus. You know,
there's the tax, there's the tip. The lobster roll was
about twenty twenty five May eggplant dip was about that
you could go full on and have a steak or
an actual lobster. Everything in America is expensive. I honestly

(03:39):
think you've just got to go to cities like Galveston
if you want to afford a meal. So save up,
save up, and go.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Thanks so much, Megan. I'm not sure what that says
about Galveston. Anyway, you can find Megan Wrights puts all
these and all this information into blogs. You can find
that at blogger at large dot com.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live Ton News Talks. There'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.