Upper West

Amazing as always. Best food, ambience, service.

I love this place. We went with 3 generations (from 13 to 85) after the middle-aged generation kept recommending it. Before i start on how much the adults love the food, let me say that they will scale back the complexity of items if kids want things a little simpler, e.g., leave the peppers and bacon out of the mac n cheese, or give them a simpler burger.
The food is complex in the sense of having many very interesting ingredients put together--and its executed very well. Our group also included a vegan and vegetarian who found plenty of good things to eat in spite of the high number of meaty dishes.
Our waiter was extremely accommodating and helpful. It's not a tiny place, so not hopeless to get a reservation (and on the Sunday night we were there a UCLA med ctr group was using the private room for a meeting. I can easily imagine wanting to have a group of 15-20 there.)

Was an amazing time, food was amazing and services was super professional :)

Food was fantastic and the service spot on. A little expensive for what you got, but really good quality. The noise level was very high in the dining room but we sat on the patio, so that was much better. We will be back!

Always consistently very good. ... and great atmosphere!

Great happy hour!! Good bang for the buck with cocktails and food menu!

The food was amazing for carnivore and vegetarian alike. The ribeye was to die for. Grilled avocado with pine nuts and other goodies was awesome. The octopus was savory and tender.

The food is delicious and yet not the usual same old same old we find every where.
I have been going to Upper West for years and I keep going back.
The service is stellar and I love the ambiance.
I highly recommend this little gem which needs to be discovered and savored.

Lunch with a friend who wears a hearing aid so it was a little too pound since there’s nothing to absorb the sound. Other than that it’s a great restaurant service was excellent. Our waiter gave us time to talk without interruption.

I come here somewhat regularly. The food is terrific and the menu is eclectic and novel. It's always an excellent experience. This time, the service was a little spotty (I think they may have been training new staff), but the owner worked hard to ensure we had a great time. Will always be glad to come back.

Great atmosphere. Food also great!

One of the best salmon I had in a very long time
Very nice atmosphere

The food here is consistently excellent. Great staff. Easy parking on the street.

We always have such a great time at Upper West and this night was no exception. Our server’s recommendations were spot on and we enjoyed trying some of his suggestions. Crudo and baby back riblets were wonderful and my husband is planning to go back and have the short ribs again. Chef Nick is welcoming and we loved chatting with him about the menu. One of our favorite places

Burthday/anniversary celebration...waiter comped
Dessert! So thoughtful!

Friends Birthday

The food is absolutely delicious. We all enjoyed what we ordered. We will be sure and come again.
Service was good.

Best place in Santa Monica, Great food and service! Nic, the chef, the best! Elad and Fred, the owners, fantastic!

I like everything about the restaurant and am delighted with my visits. The food is outstanding and the service very good. Nick, the chef, always has delicious and interesting foods to try.

For a space on Pico tucked under the freeway this is a surprisingly good restaurant with flavorful meals and a nice staff. A real gem in the blasted hellscape that is Pico between Barrington and the beach. Recommend.

Upper West has become our favorite restaurant. We made a point of booking a table for my wife’s birthday. We appreciated the flexibility when we had to shift a night because the birthday led us another direction.

The meal was wonderful. The staff struck the perfect balance of attentiveness.

Thank you,

The noise level is nothing energetic...it loud and a quite frustrating.

We had a really top notch dinner Saturday evening. Our party of five share the grilled octopus, hummus and hunan chicken for appetizers. All were excellent although I truly enjoyed the hummus with pickled cauliflower and carrots on the side. For the main course I cannot speak highly of the special, the crispy whole branzino with succotash. A truly remarkable dish. I hope this remains on the menu at least on weekends. All in all, a really nice experience for my family.

We had a group of 12 for a family reunion coming from the East Coast. The food is excellent as always-prepared well and very interesting combinations. The wait staff was terrific and the owner a delight. This is the Fifth time I have been at the restaurant and if I lived a little closer I would probably go there weekly!

Perfect place to celebrate any occasion. Food and service were awesome!

I have been before but it was a first for the others in my party and they loved it and thanked me for introducing them to Upper West!

The food was great but the service was terrible. Food was slow and we only ordered appetizers. An order was also forgotten. Finally, we needed to track down the waiter to get the bill even though he knew we had somewhere to be at 730p.

We always enjoy going to upper west either with big group of friends or family or even just me and my husband. Great food, service, ambiance and I love the variety of paintings they have. Highly recommend it to any size of people.

Very good ............................................................................................................................)

Best ahi tuna tacos in the land! I think it's combo of the freshness of the fish, the sauce and those plantain taco shells. Divine!!

Excellent menu. Love their ginger cosmopolitan!

We had lunch. Cauliflower side dish was very nice but the chopped salad was too rustic. Dressing was ho hum

The food is delicious, great menu. Cucumber martini is delicious. Love the corn fritters, crispy rice, Curry chicken salad. Everything is great.

I got called into work so I didn’t get a chance to eat but the server was amazing

We enjoyed another fine meal at Upper West. This is our go-to place before shows at McCabe’s. Standouts this time were the Wedge salad (big enough to be a meal in itself, and dried cherries were a great addition) and Crispy Glazed Chicken (lots of flavor, perfectly cooked, and the mango and fennel made for a nice finish).

the air con wasn't working and that was a big bummer.

We ordered from the Dine LA menu. We were confused why it was taking so long to receive our appetizers. Someone brought out our main dishes before the appetizers were brought out and our glass of wine was never delivered (it was also not on the check).

Love this place! Great service and the octopus and cauliflower (2 separate dishes) are both good enough to dream about!

Not only was the food and service even better than we had hoped, but wonderful personal care was greatly appreciated. My wife has hearing impairment on one side and so I had requested in making my reservation a table that would be as quiet as possible. When we arrived, the hostess very discreetly and appropriately took us to one table, and very soon after said: “I have an even quieter table available if you like.” All was offered without a hint of condescension and in such a genuinely kind way. We were there to celebrate a double birthday party with special friends, and on our way to the theater afterward, and our waiter was so understanding and timely in bringing us the three courses of our delicious meal. We will most certainly make this a top choice restaurant whenever we are in Santa Monica.

This was my first visit to the restaurant. I had viewed the lunch menu on line as I do have some food issues and found it to be inviting. My friend and I arrived, were greeting warmly and seated right away. The tables were a little close together so the noise level was not perfect. I would not want to be there when it was super crowded. My friend had been there multiple times and always enjoyed it. I ordered a BLT sandwich and what I received was not what I expected. The sandwich was HUGE. Very thick bread, too much bacon (yes, there can be too much bacon) and a very strong dressing that took all the flavor away from the BLT. I did not enjoy it, so I took most of it home for my husband. He didn't like it at all and won't eat but a couple of bits. I informed him that every dish I saw delivered to patrons were piled high and the sandwiches were oversized. This could be a great restaurant for someone, but not for me. Sorry.