Santa Monica with kids?

[SuperFineSugar]

Am looking for awesome eats in Santa Monica for one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner. Will have our two kids with us, and while they're extremely adventerous eaters, going to a high-end, fine-dining place is probably not what we're looking for. Can you recommend any place with a great vibe? Locally sourced food and is truly a "don't miss" for a visiting East-coast Chowhounder?

[JE33]

I would suggest Typhoon. Unique location (on the runway of the Santa Monica Airport), interesting design, great views, good local vibe, great food, etc...seems to fit the bill generally.

[SuperFineSugar]

Wow! Boo on Mondays, but thank you all for the heads-up on that. Shoot.

[budlit]

gjelina in venice is open on mondays, from 11:30am, great pizzas

[wienermobile]

You might like Baby Blue BBQ in Venice. One of the best bbq in the area. Good ribs.

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Baby Blues BBQ
444 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

[Phurstluv]

and unbelievable Mac & Cheese - totally off the hook! PS with some of the above suggestions, you will need a car.

[SuperFineSugar]

Thanks everyone! And Phurstluv, we do have a car, and a loose itinerary, so I'll print these out and bring them with me. Terrific!

[nosh]

Note -- Amandine is also closed on Mondays. So is Bay Cities Deli.

[wienermobile]

The Original location of The Counter is on Ocean Park Blvd. in SM and my kids love to build their own custom burgers there.

[westsidegal]

a warning though, the ocean park Counter is slammed during the weekday lunch hours.
they are located right across the street from a large office park.
it is not unusual for them to get to-go orders for 40 custom made burgers at a time.
the kitchen struggles to keep up.
i'd try to hit that place after 1:30 or so. . . .

[Phurstluv]

I took my kids to Anisette for brunch - it was delicious and they found lots to eat.

Border Grill would be a good mexican choice for kids, if they aren't too sure re:mexican, it has some kids choices.

[SuperFineSugar]

Thanks! No, my kids eat anything! They're very adventerous when it comes to food. Thanks for the Huckleberry mention, Servorg, I've heard it mentioned elsewhere, so sounds like a good idea! And I'll take a look at The Counter. Thank you so much all! Keep 'em coming if there are other thoughts.

[Servorg]

In that case (since your kids are adventurous eaters) you might want to consider both Monte Alban for Oaxacan food (just barely east of the Santa Monica border) and some of the Japanese places on Sawtelle (you can walk around and look at some of the shops too) like Orris or Hurry Curry or Kiriko or Hide or Sawtelle Kitchen or 2117 (and others too).

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Kiriko
11301 W Olympic Blvd Ste 102, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Monte Alban
11927 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Sawtelle Kitchen
2024 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Hurry Curry of Tokyo
2131 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

[smfoodie]

You should be aware that Huckleberry is closed on Mondays.

[Servorg]

Doh! True dat! What about Amandine as a substitute? Not too much farther east and good food in a very casual setting.

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Amandine Patissiere
12225 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

[budlit]

sorry to say huckleberry is closed on monday, as are a lot of restaurants here

[Servorg]

You don't say when you'll be in SM but if it's on a Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday and you are interested in locally sourced food then you should plan on attending one of the Farmer's Markets. The weather looks like it's going to be beautiful and it should offer a great vibe, great food and even entertainment. Check the linked website after you click on the Place link and you'll notice that there are links for all of the Farmers Markets (not just the Wednesday one).

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Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers Market
2nd St and Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA

[SuperFineSugar]

I know, I'm so bummed. We'll be there on a Monday, otherwise you are right, that would have been perfect for us. (Next trip for sure!) Any other suggestions?

[Servorg]

Huckleberry on Wilshire would be a good choice as would 17th Street Cafe on Montana. There is a Syrian / Arabic food place in Santa Monica called Sham that might be of interest to you and your kids and even Musha (a Japanese Izakaya style food place) would be a good choice.

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Musha
424 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

17th St Cafe
1610 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Sham Restaurant
716 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Huckleberry Cafe
1014 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401