Water Grill - Santa Monica

I love a good raw bar and Watergrill always seems to hit the spot. They have several locations, but Santa Monica has a great view. I could come here just for a drink and the raw bar, it's always so fresh and delicious.
They usually have a wide selection of oysters and their scallops are my favorite. The juicy raw scallop is done with a yummy citrus pesto and pistachios. It's a lovely umami morsel of deliciousness, I could eat at least 2 dozen all by myself.
The staff is always great and I even love their bread with sea salt butter. When served fresh, it's crunchy on the outside and warm and tender on the inside...yum!
If you are still hungry, order their sea bass. It was melt in your mouth soft with crunchy skin, just the way I like it.

We visited on a weekday for a late lunch. The interior has an upscale wharf vibe. They have patio seating but it was a cool, foggy day so we ate indoors. The hostess was a charmer and our waiter for the meal was attentive and professional.

The menu is primarily seafood with one or two exceptions. Not being a fan of seafood I ordered the bacon cheeseburger. I wasn't expecting much since they're all about ocean cuisine but wow, they make a superb burger!

Some delicious warm bread rolls were initially brought out and it was all I could do from chowing down on all of them. So good! When my burger was brought to the table my eyes popped out of my head as it was HUGE. The juicy beef patty was thick and the tomato, lettuce, and onion were all bright and fresh. The several pieces of bacon layered on top of the burger were not your typical thin, crunchy type but smokey, thick, meaty slabs. The bun was barely able to contain everything between the two slices but held on to my last bite.

There were some incredible fries that came with my burger but due to my overindulgence of the previously mentioned bread, I couldn't finish them all, much to my chagrin.

Although it's hearsay, my wife was impressed with both calamari and lobster roll and told me to encourage any visitors to order them; you won't be disappointed!

If you are looking for a place to have a romantic date and to be able to watch the sunset, Water Grill is the perfect place for it.
We came here in a Sunday and we were seated right away.
Our waitress was very accommodating, kind a very friendly.
I ordered the sea bass which was unbelievable delicious. It melted in my mouth. This is a must try.
My boyfriend ordered the tuna and said it was really good as well.
I am not able to eat gluten at this moment, but the bread rolls looked delicious.

Wanted to love this but such a letdown.

Super dated in so many ways including the food. Vibe of the furnishings and menu is 90's and not in a good way.

Worst was the extremely chatty waiter who regaled us with a lengthy story about the oysters, Rockefeller, which I then ordered on the basis of this positive recommendation, and they were terrible.

My friend ordered the shrimp louie salad - it's less a salad and more a bunch of objects on a plate. He also ordered the clam chowder which was watery with large chunked potatoes but the clams in the shell were a bummer so it had positives and negatives. Not worth the try.

My beet salad had some sort of mustard sauce that was less addressing and more a pasty coating with so much space that it overwhelms any interesting taste in the roasted beets.

Even the complementary bread was tough and chewy. I did like the salted butter that came with it, as did my friend.

The tab for two for lunch came out to $100 with the tip . No idea who eats here nor why.

TL/dr: nope in so many ways

Incredible Seafood with a great view of Ocean Boulevard.
We came here on a Tuesday night and had the Sea bass. our fish was flaky, juicy and delicious as an appetizer. We got the fish tacos and the broccoli sides
The service was first rate.
Please note that you either have to do the valet parking or park in one of the large parking structures in the area.
Highly recommended

The Water Grill has a wonderful view of the coast across Ocean Ave., good service, and good food. Their sourdough bread is insanely delicious-- great finishing salt on the bread. The fish and chips were also good, but I felt like the dish needed some salt and malt vinegar. I hope they donate or upcycle all their white linen napkins because they are as linty as can be!

Tasha ALL THE WAY! We came in on a rainy day, just to get out of the rain. We ended up sitting at the bar and had the BEST time!
Tasha was our bartender, and she was absolutely wonderful! She had great recommendations was super kind and polite and made us feel like we had been friends forever! Her passion for beverages made us both try something new and we absolutely loved her suggestion. We were only going to have a drink, but because of her hospitality, ended up staying for some food.
I would 10/10 recommend coming here for a nibble and drink, and if you get Tasha as your bartender, you have won the lotto!

We made a reservation here to celebrate a belated Valentine's Day. We arrived on a Sunday evening and were seated right at our reservation time.

The meal started with complimentary bread which was very soft inside and had a salty and crispy crust. We started with the crab cake and the seafood platter (to feed 1-2). We added 2 additional oysters to the seafood platter,l. The crab cake was crispy, delicious and had so much crab! The seafood platter tasted very fresh and came with 5-6 different sauces (I enjoyed the habanero one the most). I ordered the cioppino, which was perfect for a cold night. It had so much seafood, including a set of crab legs! My partner got the sea bream charcoal grilled and it tasted great - although was a little small. We ordered Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes as sides. The Brussel sprouts weirdly seemed to have more chestnuts than sprouts.

Our server was Amanda who was great! She checked in on us often and kept our waters filled. We even got a complimentary dessert and chose the chocolate ganache cake. Total ended up being ~$200 before tip.

There is both indoor and patio seating. We went on a rainy day so it was only indoor. It shares a restroom in the lobby of a hotel or apartment complex which another restaurant.

There is valet parking available, not sure how much. We parked in a parking structure on 2nd street between Santa Monica and Broadway.

When i was in Santa Monica i stopped by this place for a lunch meeting and it's very good to say the least but overall one of the best places i have ever had lunch at. The service is impeccable and you never have to look for a waiter because they come by and check on you regularly.

The sourdough bread rolls they bake are better than any bread i've ever had. On this occasion i had the bacon cheeseburger and it was amazing. Also tried the fish and chips and they are amazing as well, perfectly cooked and decent filling portion with perfectly crisp fries.

Will be stopping by soon.

We had a great meal here with friends. This was our first time at Water Grill, while our friends raved above both locations. I didn't realize we would be sitting directly across from the ocean, I am sure the sunsets here are amazing.

It was pretty chilly when we arrived and I saw that they handed the table next to us a blanket to wrap up in. Shortly after that, they closed the giant windows, which was fun to watch.

We pretty much ate everything here. We had crab cakes, octopus, oysters, crab bites, and sea bass. All of the different sea foods were fresh and very well seasoned. The stand outs would be the charred octopus and the sea bass. The sea bass was beautifully browned and the creamy celery root was rich and delicious. We asked for a little extra char on the octopus which concerned the server, but it was perfect when it arrived table side.

Friendly services, beautiful location. We would like to re-visit soon.