When we decide to dine out for dinner, we want to experience a different environment, people watch and/or treat ourselves for enduring and surviving yet another busy, arduous workweek. I judge a restaurant not just by the quality of the food but also equally on its service. Tonight’s food was delicious and very reasonably priced so that is what this review will focus on because of the manager, Jose, who intervened after I had come barreling into the kitchen screaming, agitated, asking for our food, because it took 25 minutes to get our drink orders, 10 minutes to get the lid to our coconut shrimp sauce which we were taking home with our leftover shrimp and 30 minutes after ordering to receive our salad and 2 entrees. 

What we chose to remember from our evening was the part that was enjoyable and memorable and the reason we made the trek to the beach. Santa Monica and the Pier, to be exact, have had a special place in my heart since I was a kid. My dad had a job in Santa Monica so on weekends, he would make the trek from West Covina to Santa Monica to show me some of the places he discovered. The pier was one of those places that was magical for me then and now. Despite the mass crowds, especially over the summer, it’s a happy place, where one can feel like a child, feel like you’re on vacation and be whisked away from all your grown-up worries. 

I somehow came upon Seaside on the Pier on the Santa Monica website. I looked at their menu which was very reasonably priced and decided to book a table on Open Table. I knew we were going to run a few minutes late so we tried to call on the road but nobody answered. In the midst of the crazy traffic on Ocean Avenue, I let my husband out so we wouldn’t be late for our 7:30 reservation and I went on the hunt for parking. After I found a lot, I walked with the crowd of tourists from Germany, Russia and other countless visitors from other countries venturing to the famous pier.

Luckily, the restaurant wasn’t too far from the entrance and I headed up the stairs to the restaurant where my husband was seated on the second floor, in the outside patio by a heat lamp. It was great seeing people on the pier, from all walks of life, seeing kids, dogs, teens wearing shorts, sweatshirts and flip flops, everybody on their own journey and different paths. 

The first to arrive were the coconut shrimp. They were piping hot and needed a few minutes to cool off so they could be eaten. The batter was tight and stuck to the shrimp. They were perfectly crisp on the outside and the shrimp was meaty. It’s sweet and sour sauce was a nice accompaniment. 

The next batch of food was the chicken Caesar, the seafood pasta and the grilled salmon. The winner of the evening was the pasta dish. There were lots of chunks of seafood and the Alfredo sauce had a bit of heat to it. The salmon was also quite good, perfectly grilled and lightly seasoned with a side of tasty cilantro rice and mixed green beans. The chicken Caesar salad with chicken was good but of all the dishes, could probably be skipped on our next venture. 

Jose took us on the rooftop which has a fantastic view of the Ferris wheel, the pier and the ocean. I think once the kitchen staff, the servers and the host tighten up, this place will be a force to be reckoned with as the view is sensational. Yes, it’s located in a very touristy area but it doesn’t have offensive tourist trap prices and the food is actually quite good. Seaside on the Pier is on my Must Watch list.  

Seaside on the Pier

250 Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica, CA 90401

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