Robata Bar - Santa Monica

Warm and inviting atmosphere, casual. Good food, although I wish they had a few more vegan options.

Unfortunately the fish did not seem very fresh. Maybe it was because we ordered from the happy hour menu. I was very disappointed.

Was a little confused with the location, it's directly next to another sushi restaurant, and they actually share the same kitchen. We were very confused walking into the restaurant, seeing both restaurant names on the inside. Owned by the same people presumably, their menu is simpler with fewer items than Sushi Roku next door. Extremely overpriced, but expected considering the location. Spent over $100 on two rolls, 2 cocktails, 8 pieces of low scale nigiri, and a single skewer of 3 BBQ'd previously frozen shrimp.. Wasn't blown away by anything in particular. Left hungry.

Service was very uncoordinated; could be easily solved with a dedicated host. Portions were small for the value and the unexceptional quality.

Small tasty plates. Just divine!

Waiters was super great. Food was mediocre. Sake was off so they compt us the first round of drinks which was very nice of them. Cocktails are good but on the sweet side. The sushi and the grilled skewers were good but not excellent. Good tourist place. Not for foodies.

I just loved it. The food was great and came fast! Drinks were awesome and came fast too. Happy hour has great options for food and drinks!

Better than expected - a new favorite! Great food - absolutely delicious - wonderful service. Will be back, love the laid back vibe.

Very much a tourist’s restaurant. While the menu looks good, the staff are checked out and the food quality was mediocre at best. Skip and try to find another Japanese restaurant away from the promenade.

This is a great place for light bites ! I didn’t wanna commit to a huge dinner for my birthday - the skewers did the trick ! The sea bass is life changing ! Loved the birthday sparkler :)

Food and service both very good. Ambience nice. Music was too loud, but overall a positive experience! Will be back.

The bar was great, food was great, little amount for the price. And the staff was more interested in greeting other returning customers, employees, extras going through the bar into the back door???!!

Super nice waitress, really good ambience, and great food! Pricey but understandable since it's santa monica.

Great place for happy hour and their skewers and small plates. After happy hour the price of the skewers doubles and triples. Still, most of them are pretty tasting, and of course the full bar helps!

I don’t even eat sushi and I love this place- the truffle edamame is delicious and came out hot. Chilean sea bass yaki is the best.

Good service food setting and just overall good time here

Nice option for something a little different. We loved the truffle tempura roll, super good and vegetarian.

We went during what was happy hour pricing for certain items and ordered from both regular and happy hour (hh) menu. Black Cod Robata was best item by far (wasn’t on happy hour menu). Tuna on sticky rice was also delicious. The hh deal was 3 Robatas for $7. We tried chicken meatball, shrimp and tomato w bacon for this deal. First 2 were good but tomato and bacon inedible as bacon was downright soggy. We still had a our menu and host freaked out that a drink was on top of menu and asked us to move the drink. Def a bit OCD there. Server Melina was wonderful but couldn’t shake being scolded by host. Skip the happy hour drinks as they are def sweet or low quality (no Chardonnay: Pinot Grigio was offered for special pricing). Sushi items were standard offering-nothing to write home about. Would come back for specific items and perhaps when we aren’t being watched like a hawk.

decent food... VERY overpriced. Would not return. Better values elsewhere!

Great first date spot! Food was incredible and the service was great!

The food is consistently good. Tried the truffle Brussel Sprout fries. Delicious! Sushi yummy.

This place was adorable! I really liked everything about it! The fish was delicious! I’ll definitely go back :)

Didn’t even pay attention to the birthday request.

Fantastic choice of dishes, best Yakitori in town. Great service, reasonably priced.

Amazing service and amazing spot to go to for small plates to share. Especially great for a date.

Great food, comfortable ambience, service with a smile... best Yakitori in town... never get tired of dining at Robata Bar.

All around excellent choice of Japanese pub food. Excellent Yakitori, the highlight in my opinion. The rest of the menu was also excellent. Courteous and friendly service which is always important.

Great staff and great environment to be in.

Not great. Food was overpriced for what it was

Great service and great food! Everyone and everything was amazing!

It was ok for a robabta bar, I wasn't impressed as I have been to others with more choices.
It was a nice place by the ocean however as a Santa Monica resident, I won't be going back.
Sushi wasn't good at all.

Above average sushi with great drinks and service.

Just so you know about happy hour - it’s only good if you sit outside or in the bar. We were on a girls’ getaway trip and my friend and I had our 4 daughters with us so $5 sushi rolls sounded perfect but alas - we were seated at a table. When we mentioned happy hour the manager came over and in a not so polite way informed us that happy hour didn’t apply to us since we were seated at a table. She then blamed Opentable because Opentable she said hasn’t let them make this clear. And didn’t even offer a free edamame or anything else to keep things happy (which would have cost them like 50 cents). Talk about passing the buck. After that, the service was decent and so was the food. Just was a bummer start to our dinner.

You must check out their happy hour menu. They have wonderful food options. I especially liked the grilled asparagus and shiitake mushroom skewers. The grounded chicken and chicken with green onions were delicious too. I even found a good happy hour drink with the help of my wonderful server Kathy. She recommended the cold sake and I liked my beverage too. The happy hour is from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. nightly at the bar and totally worth checking out. It’s a great value with warm and attentive service in a beautiful setting just one block from the beach.

Hidden gem, I've been going for the past 3 years. Excellent Sushi and Sashimi. Innovative dishes, excellent service.

Just went after reading a review. The food was fine- quite expensive - cost us over $150 for three and that was with some of the food from the happy hour menu. Servers were very nice. We sat outside which is nice but nothing exceptional.

Solid robata menu with some very good items. Best items were the grilled shishito peppers with garlic, grilled chicken wings and Wagyu beef skewers.

The room was very dark and had trouble reading the menu. They have a great selection of sushi and robata dishes, all delicious!!

Good time. Best girlfriend ever.

This is a good American dinner with a twist. Surrounded by locals and travellers, normal people having normal food. Lots of basics but the muscles and the flat breads are great. Extra tastes added to everything making the meal an adventure. Even the margarita comes with a chilli kick!
If you are looking for good food at a reasonable price in a friendly place then you will find it here.
Jennifer, our waiter, was great fun and went the extra mile.
Street parking outside.