We go to Tar and Roses regularly. The last 4 times, we have been kept waiting for our reserved table about one half hour. Not good.

What a lovely place. I came here with my boyfriend for our anniversary and we had such a wonderful experience. Its small and intimate and the staff is really knowledgeable and friendly. We ordered 1 snack, 1 small plate, 1 large plate, 1 veggie, & dessert all to share together with a glass a wine each and it was the perfect amount. The wine and food was all delicious and I am looking forward to coming back for more! It is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for!

I have written a more complete review on trip advisor, here are the more salient points:
1. Confusing menu - recommended 3 plates per person! Silly and money oriented.
2. Chicken swimming in vinegar. Why so? I’ve been around the world, especially East and never experienced such a thing. The chicken itself was extremely well cooked when disgorged from its swimming pool.
3. Most of the food choices my wife made weren’t available. Sadly.
4. Over selling. See point 1.

We were visiting California for five days from the East Coast and this was by far one of the best meals we ate. Our server, maybe Maribelle/Mariel, was awesome--perky and pleasant, super knowledgeable about the wine choices, and spot on with menu descriptions and recommendations. At her suggestion, we started with a clean, bright and citrusy ceviche. We moved on to the eggplant bruschetta along with two California cheeses and the accompaniments of their board. The crispy raisin bread and spiced nuts, both superb in their own way, epitomized the attention to detail I found particularly noteworthy here. We followed with asparagus with burrata and corn gnocchi with squash blossoms. The flavors of both dishes were simple and clear--exactly the way food should be prepared. To end, though already full, we gave in to the suggestion to try the strawberry custard dessert. Pure delight--it should not be missed. If only I lived near Tar & Roses. I would be there every week.

Yummy as always! We had excellent service. Thank you, Brad. Especially love the squid ink pasta!

Birthday dinner for my husband's 65th. We were a party of four. Two of us ordered the hangar steak. My friend's arrived plated beautifully with 5-6 spears of asparagus peeking out artistically from under the kale. Mine arrived with no asparagus. I asked the runner about it since the entree description said it came with asparagus. She was surprised and took my plate back to the kitchen. It came back a few minutes later with two asparagus spears laying on top of the plate. Disappointing. There was some sort of odd white purée, purported to be "potato cream," on the plate that was disconcerting. The steak was good, the asparagus (both spears!) was delicious, the kale was meh. My husband loved his Shellfish Pot, and I think our other friend enjoyed the duck. No birthday dessert was offered. Service was good, but I see no reason to go back.

Great food, our waiter was super, nice energetic vibe...all good until the last few minutes of our stay. After just finishing dessert and paying the bill, we were approached by whom I think was the manager. He asked if he could offer us a round of free after dinner drinks if we vacated our table. As he put it.."I have some hungry people waiting..." We didn't want to make a scene, so obliged him. On leaving, did not see crowds waiting.

Not cool. We just spent $250 for the three of us. Seems like a few minutes of talking after dessert shouldn't matter. It is hard to believe that our table out of at least several dozen tables -- was the only one finishing. Did I mention we were all women? I doubt the vacate request would have happened with men.

We won't be returning.

I have eaten all over LA... But I came to Tar and Roses the other day and was absolutely blown away. You have to try it yourself to understand!

We came from out of town and everyone we spoke to (concierge at Casa Del Mar, sushi chef at Nobu Malibu, etc...) raved about Tar and Roses. It was an anniversary dinner, sitting down at 10 pm after a Friday night show. We tried an assortment of appetizer style dishes so we could get a wide range of flavors. It was all fantastic and the server was very friendly and knowledgeable. Wish we could have eaten there a second time. Definitely on our short list for recommendations and future west side visits.

Fried big fish is very delicious and merverick. And we enjoyed happy dinner.

I've been 3 times now and each time the food is better than the time before. Every dish I had was exceptional, even the amazing tart for dessert. I wish they had a full bar but that's a minor issue when the food is so stunningly delicious

Reliable favorites continue to please: oxtail dumplings, mushrooms, and short ribs.

Went here on a nice date. Food was incredible, service was impeccable, great recommendations by our server, and he even helped time the dishes so that the flavors complimented each other. Can't recommend enough. Such a great experience.

One of LA's best restaurants, let alone Santa Monica. Consistently fantastic food with a wonderful staff. Love this place!!

Exceptional food, service and decor. Could not recommend highly enough. Period

We've been meaning to try Tar & Roses for years and it did not disappoint. I'm only disappointed it took so long to go. We had a very simple but sublime dinner -- the dry-aged ribeye (perfection) + king trumpet mushrooms (easily one of the best mushroom dishes I've ever had) + chocolate "tar" bar for dessert (just ridiculous). All in all, an excellent dinner and I can't wait to return. The only thing I would like to see change would be their wines by the glass offerings -- both reds that my wife ordered were average.

Always a great time! Loved every bite! Highly recommend the chicken and toffee pudding.

We sat at the bar, which was surprisingly nice. It was just two of us; 3 would’ve been too Difficult to talk. Not a great place for vegetarians. They have vegetarian dishes, but the flavor isn’t very exciting. Impressed by their house red wine, and their selection of other wines & liquor.

This was the best dinner we had during our time in LA. We went with our waitress's recommendations even though we had settled on different items previously. She insisted that certain dishes tasted extra good because they were in season and I am so glad she did. I would call this place modern/fusion tapas. The oxtail dumplings melted in your mouth, and the beef phopaccio was the best and most pleasant surprise. I 100% recommend this place if you are in the Santa Monica area.

Delicious, creative food, good wine, and great service. The waitstaff and servers were very knowledgeable about the food and the menu.

Incredible food. Amazing service. Delicious wine. What more could we want

Great food and great service!

I took my boyfriend here for his birthday, it was our first time there and we absolutely loved it! Everything we had to eat was fantastic. Definitely recommend, and I’m sure we’ll be back!

The food was delicious. Definitely worth trying. You won’t be disappointed.

We had never been to this restaurant despite living in the neighborhood, so we decided to give it a try. We particularly liked the English peas - which were marvelous. It was our anniversary, and the wait staff had been informed, apparently by the reservation, and wished us a happy anniversary, which was a nice touch. We ordered primarily tapas style, and that was great. We did see the whole snapper fish entrée, which looked fantastic, and I think we'll order that on our next visit.

Service and food is outstanding. Every single dish is well thought out and balanced and the service is phenomenal. If you need to impress someone, take them here.

Tar and Roses was terrific! The best meal we had in a long time. Everything we ordered was unique and delicious. The service was smart and responsive. Highly recommend.

Fantastic spot with creative food that caters to manu different tastes. Great vegetarian options. The brushcetta/cheese/meat "create your own" app was phenomenal. Kudos to the staff for knowing the wine as well and recommending pairings. Great vibe and great food.

How sad.. baked the rest. two weeks in advance, asked for the patio and - OF COURSE - didn't get it. The hostess was rude, said they did not have the seats available, YET - the patio was 1/2 empty. Noise level is sickeningly high and they have music blaring as well. I asked if they could turn it down a bit, and they said NO..

Menu variety is terrific, BUT everything, and I mean everything, is too salty and over seasoned. The whole fried fish ($69.00) was overcooked and dry and the " wok fried snap peas" greasy behind belief. Server and bus boys were great and SERIOUSLY - this place sucks.

Amazing dinner. The whole fried snapper was the best dish.

Exceptional Service and great food. No complaints from a guy from Miami.

Super noisy. Friendly attentive service. I am vegetarian so all the cooked veggie dishes were very inventive and yummy although on the oily side. Friends had meat and all excellent!

Chef Andrew and his team always deliver an exceptional experience. The food seems to get better everytime i go. One of my favorites, keep up the great work Chef and team!

Love it here! Whole snapper is the BEST!

Delicious food!!! Great service! Need a better air conditioning system though. The temp made my experience a bit uncomfortable.

Excellent food, unique menu, and good service. We arrived late for our reservation but the staff took care of us and we celebrated my husband's birthday with delicious and unique dishes and great wine. Would definitely recommend if you are in that area.

Everything was 5 star, from the service, food, server and dessert.

Food and staff is amazing 2nd time there - can’t wait to go back!

Every bite we had was excellent. I wish they had cocktails, but that's a personal preference. Don't be shied away by the proximity to the Santa Monica tourist madness, the ambiance of the restaurant was very calm and classy. We will return, and often!

Great place for special occasions, would recommend for more anybody that enjoy eating great quality food