Water Grill - Santa Monica

Best oysters we’ve ever had!

We love it here! Great food and decor. We often bring out of town visitors here for a special meal. The lobster roll is a must try. You will leave full and satisfied.

went with my wife. My steak was perfect. Hers was cold. They took it back to remake it. Inside great. Outside Burned. It was the bummer part.

Beyond that... everything superb!

Best seafood restaurant in California by far.....oysters are incredible and so is the lobster roll

Great food great service recommend the crab legs🦀

We absolutely loved our dinner at Water Grill! The food was amazing and the service was great!

Maître d' was accommodating even as we arrived at least 15 minutes late for our reservation. Waiter wore too many masks which kind of makes it difficult to hear the specials, on top of sitting only several feet away from traffic. Dessert was not offered, I just had the check dumped in my lap after our entrees were cleared and had to ask for it.

Highly recommend! Sword fish was absolutely delicious!!!

never a disappointing meal here! one of my favorite restaurants!

Great service and food.

Food, as ever at The Water Grill, was good and very consistent, the service was the let down, rushed and the greeter was pretty off hand and should not be front of house. Our server was good and knowledgeable so no complaints there.

My friend and I had a lovely lunch outdoors with the beautiful ocean view. We went on a rare hot day (for November) so it was beginning to get a little hot. Our server was happy to move us to a table with more shade.
The food, as always, was excellent. We had a dozen kumomoto oysters and they were as delicious as usual. And the fish and chips remain the absolute best in LA.
We both just love this place and were happy to see it doing well during such a difficult time, especially for the restaurant industry.
Cheers to all!!

My waitress wasn’t honest about pricing and my $72 lobster has tasteless.....

Peter and the rest of the staff were amazing! The food was just ok today. I’m a frequent quest there so maybe they just had an off day for food because I’m usually very satisfied.

The seafood here are always grilled to perfection. Even dishes that sound so simple, like the salmon are also outstanding.

Our server Tron was great, but we did have to wait about 15 minutes to sit down. Very nice evening

This location, food and service was simply exceptional. The staff is super friendly, super safe and super attentive. The food was simply off the chart tasty!!

Absolutely amazing service.
The shellfish platter wasn't great to be honest, but the rest compensated.
We had a lovely time.

Would have been much nicer inside; but I understand the times.....

excellent service and food - unfortunately outside rather than in they're nice restaurant

Great location, food was excellent, a must-visit again.

This is review during Covid, so the lack of ambiance and lack of value are partly due to the fact I was freezing and the heat lamps don't really do the trick. The loud sounds of emergency vehicles and the bus stop next to the restaurant definitely reduce the value. When you go to a restaurant that is $50-100/head, you expect a lot more value than you get right now. With that said, the food was great, servers were excellent.

Sea Bass was excellent... Brussel Sprouts slightly over cooked but tasty.... Chowder slightly bland but creamy...
Staff very accommodating and friendly but not enough outdoor heaters based on being so close to the beach....
Very cold and hard to enjoy dinner

Food was overpriced. It was essentially a very expensive Red Lobster as far as food quality went, though I'd choose Red Lobster next time. The pre-meal bread was dry and tasteless. The (very expensive) lobster was far too chewy and rubbery. Our shrimp scampi was drenched in butter and seemed to have no salt in it. The Cheesecake was dense but nearly flavorless. The Key Lime Pie was decent, but far more tart than most I've had. I wouldn't really recommend eating there during COVID in the evening because you can't see the ocean, you're sitting almost on the street (some seats are actually on the street), and it's very loud and rather smelly. Overall I'd probably go there again if it cost 1/4 the price.

I have 5 tars for all categories. We ate on the sidewalk part of the restaurant (COVID mandate) the street was being repaired which is why I listed noise level as moderate. The food and service were excellent and I would definitely go back.

It’s been awhile since we’ve visited Water Grill in Santa Monica. The ambiance is FAR from “normal,” but considering the situation that we are living in right now, I’LL TAKE IT! The host was pleasant. Servers had masks. Tables were spaced out. There were plastic partitions up. The food was delicious! We had ordered oysters and jumbo shrimps for appetizers, Chilean sea bass, and king crab legs for our entrees. DELICIOUS. All in all, VERY SATISFIED. Will definitely be back.

I hated sitting on the street that have cars passing me while i eat and yes the food may have been good and the service was good. but it is not good when all you smell is ⛽️ gas from the cars passing. Also my table wasn’t leveled it was wobbly and for my birthday I expected so much more. I am Disappointed.

Our server was amazing. Our food, not so much. They’ve also put up fogged plastic which prevents you from seeing the sunset, which was kind of the point. Their prices are a bit much for what they deliver. Sea bass was over cooked. Deboning left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, the most flavor of the whole meal came from a 5 spice sausage in the broccolini. Would’ve been a decent $35-50 plate- with drink- in most of LA (though, still, overcooked). At $72, the product is just not competitive when compared to what’s out there.

Awesome environment and great food ! Would go again .

It was really windy and cold the day that we went there. The host made us wait outside for 15 min.. we were so cold and had to stay out of their way. Our waiter was really nice. Food was a little salty, but it was ok.. we always go to Water Grill in Costa Mesa and have a great time there.

The one thing we were most pleasantly surprised by was the fact they still have a full menu despite the difficulty of operating under social distancing guidelines. The seafood tower was excellent, as usual. The only reason I am giving the food four stars is because the bone-in ribeye was not as flavorful as we had hoped. Service was attentive, friendly and prompt.

Hard to evaluate fairly because of Covid dining restrictions

We had a fabulous Birthday lunch. John gave great service and was fun to meet. Despite the COVID plastic walls, masks and other restrictions, it was an absolute lovey experience! Oysters, champagne and the spiney lobster were a perfect combination.

Our family of four decided to eat dinner at this restaurant because in addition to the exceptional quality of food, we felt safe dining here during this time of COVID: tables were sanitized, staff wore masks, and even it being outdoors, there were dividers between each group of tables. With the view of the palm trees and the sun setting, it was an overall great experience!

Foods are unreasonably expensive

The shrimp cocktail was the worst I've ever eaten world-wide. Seems shrimp was frozen and served right after defrosting. Didnt taste fresh or edible. How can a seafood restaurant next to the ocean serve bad fresh shrimp. They can! I sent the dish back but as a first course it truly was a meal spoiler. I got my friend to try it and he was just as disappointed. They denied it was frozen until a manager admitted it was. Do better Water Grill. All other food was good. Further outside dining uses foggy dividers so ocean is hard to see. That was a big oversight blocking the view of the water. So overall 3/5.

Great overall experience. There are plenty of heat lamps, so not a chilly dining experience. Service was great and food quality is high. Would return.

Went to Water Grill to celebrate a friend’s birthday. However due to COVID outdoor seating allowed only. The restaurant did a great job creating space between guest and had great service and food!

I love this place and it's food! The 1.5lbs lobster looked like 3 lbs. and they have their CoVid act and heaters and tables together. Always a winner

Had to flag server down for refills. Ordered no bacon but burger came with bacon.