Summer House Santa Monica Review

I was sold a 13.00 bottle of wine at 17 dollars a glass... The salmon was well prepared although my lobster cavatapi may as well been box Kraft Mac n cheese... Oooo but the desert counter and the friendly young lady behind it made all the difference in the world

I came here last week with a table for two reserved for 8pm. The place was packed and we didn't get seated for our reservation until around 8:40pm. A couple check-ins with the hostess, and she politely offered to comp an appetizer, though the message didn't make it to our server. I got the feeling our situation wasn't unusual, as the couple waiting at the bar next to us were comped a drink for similar delays.

Slow start aside, this place has all the ingredients for a huge hit in the neighborhood. The space itself pulled me right away from the winter misery outside. Everything was washed in white paint and the team definitely did their research when pulling that California influence back to the Midwest. Garage doors in the bar area will make for a perfect warm weather hang-out. The beer list was short but well rounded, as wine is definitely the focus here. I had a great glass from Ridge, which was part of a rotating explorer program featuring a specific winery (I think).

The food was really good and the chefs definitely took their west coast experiences to heart. We had the crab pasta and the skate wing. Both were really well crafted, but the portion sizes were a little on the smaller side. I think it might be best to treat the menu as a small plate/large plate situation, rather than appetizers and mains. Grab a few items and pass them around the table.

I'll be back here in a couple months when small kinks are worked out and I'm sure most will have a great experience in the near future.

Great food good service had a great brunch with the wife

The ambience of this restaurant is phenomenal. It is really open, bright, and very lively. It can get quite loud, but the transparent roof is really cool on both sunny and rainy days. Our server was extremely attentive and was always topping off water. The food was good, especially the grilled chicken and their side salad, but was a little underwhelming for the price. Also the fries are hard to dip in any sauces because of how small they are. As far as ranch goes it definitely was not homemade and I could've done without it. If it we're just for the cookies, my review would be even more favorable because they were large, fresh, and delicious.

Made a reservation for a Saturday afternoon with a group of 4. Arrived early and were told the previous party was still seated there... What is the point of a reservation? We ended up getting seated about 30 minutes later. Overall the food was pretty good and we had a great waitress. Would not recommend going for brunch if you are on a time schedule even if you have reservations because they don't mean anything.

We had an event here. This place was amazing. Food was incredible. Atmosphere was great. Would definitely go again.

The staff was very kind and the food was really great I have the three egg breakfast with a nice cold brew coffee and my friend had chocolate chip waffle and loved it.

It is 3,6! I don t know i had high expectations from this place. But service, food was delicious.

Loved the decor!! Food was great and must have the mango sorbet

The food at the restaurant was fairly good and our party enjoyed at least that aspect of dining here. The staff was quite rude and stand-offish during our entire encounter with them. In particular, our waitress cut one of the members of our party off mid sentence and gave us attitude throughout our meal. In addition, the silver wear that they gave us to use was dirty. If the staff can find a better attitude I might consider coming back to dine here.

Loved the vibe of this place. Food is on the expensive side and they served burnt hash-browns the last time.

Great spot. But, the staff is a little crazy about clearing plates.

The atmosphere at this place is great for brunch or dinner with friends! Great natural light for a bright environment. The bagel sandwich I got was good, nothing too special. The hash browns were dry and hard, I didn t eat them.

I would go back here again and order something different! They have a great cocktail menu!

Went there to have dinner, the host said an hour wait even though there was open seats at the bar..

AND whatever you do, do NOT order the " fight for all three " sushi plate for 21.00... its misleading. Its written like you get all three serving sizes worth of all the 3 flavors at a discounted price, instead of ordering all 3 separately. But instead you get 1 of each flavor the size of a single served dish.... Scam/ rip off!

I absolutely love the food and the atmosphere, but today I'm a little more than perturbed. I had a reservation for 4 for lunch. My lunch guests were late but I asked to be seated anyway I asked for a specific table and was told that it was being reserved for a party of 6. Lo and behold a party of 4 was seated in that spot. Really? Why? I'm here at least once a week and sometimes more. They know my face. My name is in their system. I tip very well. Why was I denied my table choice? It was available.

Amazing food. Enjoyable atmosphere. Very knowledgeable staff

Small menu but everything we ordered was delicious .

The food and service was absolutely amazing! It is beautiful in there. We were there early so there was
No wait but as the morning went on it definitely got busier. Highly recommend making reservations ahead of time. The food has such great flavors and there is a wide selection of food. New favorite breakfast place! (Pictured are the breakfast tostadas, French toast, fresh fruit plate)

Our favorite brunch in the city. Family friendly but you don t feel like you re dining only with other families! Guaranteed great dose of Vitamin D even in winter!

Beautiful place elegant design.
We're sat in vitamin D room. I love watching the celling here. High and glass celling with natural light. Simple breakfast but excellent quality and prepared. I love breakfast cocktails a lots. Highly recommend for yogurt and gin cocktail. Definitely coming back again.

Food was not hot when arrived, the $12 drinks taste like kool-aid as in zero actual alcohol, the service was good but not enough to make me want to return for brunch and spend $50 just to leave hungry and sober.

Their valet parking only accepts cash and it is $14. Thankfully, CITI bank is located across the street diagonally, I withdrew $20 from the bank and give all of them to the Valet assistant because it was 98 degree outside and they seemed working so hard. But I wish they can accept credit cards like most of valet parking services in downtown. Other than that, the food was great and the restaurant had really good vibes! You guys should try the restaurant! Their food is not too salty and they used very fresh natural ingredients- I can tell!

Good food. Great open breezy feel on a cold winter day.

I normally only give positive reviews but I had such a bad experience at this restaurant I wanted to share. My party of 4 had a reservation for 8:30pm. We arrived at 8:20 and checked in with the hostess. We waited until 8:45 before I went to the hostess to inquire about our table and we were told we would be next to be seated. It was not until 9:07pm (47 minutes after our reservation time!) that we were seated. No exaggeration here. We were waiting for our seats when a fire truck pulled up and took someone away in a stretcher because they "Passed out". That was the table we got. We literally had to wait 47 minutes for someone to pass out and be taken away by ambulance before we could be seated. And this was with a reservation. The food was good but not worth a 47 minute wait WITH a reservation. No apologies from management. They treat their patrons poorly and overbook their reservations. I will never go back here ever again.

I always have great food and drinks here. The feel is light and airy. Makes you forget the chilly Chicago winter.

Jaclyn was very attentive, sweet and caring. She was nice and took care of us, even when we was late. I will be coming back, the drinks as well as the food was amazing. The restaurant has a wonderful esthetic and is to die for.

The was ok and the atmosphere is amazing! Their patio is great! We liked cocktail with peanut butter whiskey!But the server did not pay much attention and nowdays they do not have many tables...

Love love, loved it. Great food. Great people. Great environment. I live out of state and was there for business. I will go back for pleasure!! I had the chicken and mashed potato with butternut squash. Basic. But damn delicious.

This place got a lot of hype but just a typical place. It's seating is nice tho, gotta give them credit for that. My taco was so blah and so was my sisters food. Very bland.

Great ambiance, fresh food, good service. Good healthy eating but was not WOWed by anything. Had Tuna Tar Tar App which was very good and Mahi Mahi Tacos, which was lack luster. Will return and try others...might of just NOT been my day.

I gave your restaurant 3 stars only because of service and COVID regulations(temps and masks)
As far as food I got the chicken sandwich it had no taste or flavor a paper thin piece with some Mayo and pickles where not worth the price. Blah Robert Ervine would have spit it out. Maybe the manager should try chicken at other places in Chicago and see how other places do it. I would not go back or recommend this to anyone.
If we did our homework and read other reviews I would have seen how bad the chicken was. You think they would improve on it.

Great options! Delicious food. I love that you can add fries to anything for a dollar! They have the good thin french fries too- not the thick meely gross fries. Menu is diverse and there is something for everyone. Our server looked like a model from the west coast. Love the look of the servers uniform. On trend and fashion forward. Didn't feel like a chain restaurant. Great spot!

Great atmosphere and service. Food was good but not spectacular. I expected a bit more given the prices.

The hash I got was a lot of potatoes and not a ton of flavor, but still good!

Awesomeness. Try the chocolate cake and the coffee is glorious.

Gotta love Old Town... A lovely afternoon in Chicago spent in the Vitamin D Room at Summer House Chicago, EXCELLENT!!! Due to the long wait times on the weekends, I would suggest making reservations... My besties and I had a starter of the Chips and Guac... So buttery and delicious. For Brunch we had the Hashbrown Eggs Benedict and the Salmon Benedict, both superb. I got my Benedict the traditional way with Hash browns on the side, coupled with the Bellinis.... AWESOME!!!
The service was great and so was the atmosphere. A must try! Oh and the chocolate chip cookie, YUMMMMM!!!

Love the ambiance here! This is favorite place to eat in the area!!

This is for the O'Hare Airport location (not showing up in a Google maps search).

One of the best breakfast sandwiches I ever had (Turkey, bacon, added avocado), and amazing cookies. Rice Krispy treat wasn't bad either. Highly recommend the breakfast sandwich and candied bacon and chocolate chip cookie.

Fruit and yogurt parfait isn't bad, but prices aren't listed and it turned out to be $8.99... For a cup of yogurt with fruit... That's almost enough for me to drop this to a 4-star review, but the fantastic breakfast sandwich won't let that happen.

Everything I've had here has been great. The staff is very knowledgeable and attentive. Just added oysters to the menu and they're the best in the city

Busy, good enough food, server was having a bad life.. It's ok

Ambiance is good. Food are great . Price is a little bit pricey but it's all worth it. Street parking and it's better to have a reservation. Please SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL REY JACKSON PINOY IN CHICAGO THANKS!

Finally a great place with a Cali atmosphere in the city. I love coming here for brunch, great food and drinks. Service was okay, it could be better.

We Love brunch here when we visit so we decided to try lunch when we arrived just too late for breakfast.
Everything we tried was delicious, from chips and guac to burger and sandwiches.
Great accommodations for dietary restrictions, wheat and dairy specifically.
We had a great visit and will definitely be going there again!

Great food and service! Severs seem to really know the menu and are able to make suggestions that are on target. Definitely will be back!

Really pretty place, nice ambiance. Whack guacamole though, taco bell makes better guacamole we had to send it back

Nice place, good biscuit, slow kitchen, slow service, fresh ingredients, modern recipes.

Light and airy environment, healthy options, and friendly staff!

My best friend made reservations for her birthday for a nice brunch. When we got there the hostess was rude and had an attitude. We were seated on the patio when it was rainy and 60 degrees. We politely asked if we could be seated inside because we saw open tables but the hostess told us no. I understand that there is social distancing required right now but I don t understand why we could not be accommodated especially since we made reservations beforehand specifically for a special occasion.

Pleasant vibe, 10/10 for aesthetic. Food is mediocre. Menu tries to do too much and flavor is always a bit on the bland side. I keep coming back bc it s a pretty place, but def don t expect a mind blowing meal. When I went last week the hostess was shockingly rude but everyone else was nice. Cookies are A+++

Good food, but pricey. Fun for brunch or dinner and cocktails are great. Highly recommended to make a reservation as you can expect a wait.

Loved this place. Amazing energy as soon as you walk in. Beautiful and tastful decor. The menu is in the pricey side but worth it. Great place to treat yourself to a lovely brunch.

Made a reservation and got there late (they still checked me in immediately)
They were very pleasant and very polite.
Breakfast was awesome.
We will definitely be back when we visit Chicago again.
Definitely recommend.

Great food, amazing service, outstanding ambience! Highly recommended

One of my favorite places in Chicago! this place is the house of the best veggie burger!! Also they have a dessert bar with amazing cookies.

What a great find thanks google maps. Nice decor I got to sit facing street wall was open so like sitting outside, great weather helped. Reid the server did an excellent job on helping me to pick a dish. Excellent Service Reid and recommendation on the dish.

Had the breakfast tostada the layers of texture and flavors made this dish. Yummy try it. (Only note alittle too much cheese for me).

I absolutely love the food and the atmosphere, but today I'm a little more than perturbed. I had a reservation for 4 for lunch. My lunch guests were late but I asked to be seated anyway I asked for a specific table and was told that it was being reserved for a party of 6. Lo and behold a party of 4 was seated in that spot. Really? Why? I'm here at least once a week and sometimes more. They know my face. My name is in their system. I tip very well. Why was I denied my table choice? It was available.

I love the sunny atmosphere and the food is filling but light.

Good tuna tartare, very mediocre chicken sandwich. Service was ok.probably wont go back when there are other places to choose frim.

Outstanding staff, food and atmosphere. Great people and place!

Always a fun, lively atmosphere for brunch or dinner! Rare to see this place empty on the weekends and typically always need reservations in advance. The breakfast tostadas are as filling as they are tasty and this is one of the few places that really does deliver with its fresh fruit plate (in freshness and in bulk)! The menu won't knock your socks off but just a consistently solid menu top to bottom.

Brunch is so good. Wish they had brunch drink specials. The cookies are mediocre even though they look really yummy. They are so rich and hard to eat!

Food was good. Service was good. Drinks were good. Atmosphere is great, but a bit loud. Great location. Recommend the brussel sprouts salad. The truffle pasta dish I ordered was good, but a bit conflicted. It was savory, spicy, truffle and pasta. I could have done without the spicy profile. Would definitely go back.

One of the few spots still open for dinner in Chicago! The pizzas were fairly good (especially the mushroom ones), but the salad and the service were not on par...

I love this place, the vibe and the food options. One of my fav spots in Lincoln Park especially in the summer, sit out on their patio, enjoy some wine, weather and people watching

Airy, California feel. Lots of staff yet not often present. California service? Come here if you don't have to wait, else go elsewhere.

Cool atmosphere, great staff and better food. If you make it for brunch, try the chicken and waffles. Stupid-good. This is my new go-to place for sure.

Beautiful place, very clean, the design itself of everything in that place is very detailed, staff is very friendly and professional, we had a blast! And of course the food is amazing, had the chicken tostadas, DELICIOUS!

I have got to say this, we had a bad experience. Things happen and when dining out, you aren't always granted everything you want, right when you want it but certain facets are usually met and meals are usually decent.

For a Lettuce Entertain You spot we expected everything to be on point. We were sorely mistaken. Again, cards might have just been stacked against us that night and all fell apart.

We got a great table outside, we ordered an app and a drink, spinach artichoke dip came, it was great and more than a half hour later we saw the waitress again for the 2nd time. Had we wanted another drink we might have been perturbed. Strike 1.

We ordered a couple more apps and requested the calamari to come plain (spicy mayo on the side) and a side of cocktail sauce. Well eventually the calamari came with the mayo on, and no cocktail sauce...Strike 2 (and 3).

We then waited another interminable amount of time only to get our cauliflower side offered to us 15 mins before the main course arrived. Strike 3 (or 4 but we'll keep going).

So, we ordered the tri-tip special which came out cold and we must have gotten a poor cut b/c it was not something we could have enjoyed even if served at an appropriate temperature. Strike 4. We sent it back and got another entree.

So, after all is said and done, they comped us much of the meal and we weren't there to get a reduced price, we love LEY restaurants b/c of their high attention to detail and almost great food gauranteed.

So I will chalk this up to first time jitters, on Summer House's part I guess b/c it was packed and we had to get a reservation 2 months in advance but for what the meal would have cost I would have rather gone to Joe's in a heartbeat...enter at your own risk...this wasn't the best meal I have ever had.