Always a pleasure eating at Upper West. Fred and his team greet you with hugs and handshakes and our server goes beyond serving with appropriate banter and good will! The food is tasty and you leave with a sense that you will return soon!
February 2024
We had the best time at Upper West! We came as a larger party for a birthday and the staff was SO accommodating and SO welcoming. The drinks and food were phenomenal. The ambiance was SO cute. Definitely booking with them again!
Upper West's ever-changing menu draws inspiration from around the world while maintaining eclectic flavors unique to them. The bar offers Happy Hour Wednesday-Sunday from 4:30-7:00pm serving refreshing craft cocktails, handcrafted beer. The dinner menu is always evolving and includes ingredients sourced locally from the Santa Monica Farmers Market as well as local farmers such as Weiser Farms and Niman Ranch. Upper West is the perfect place to book large events for 20 or more guests and is an excellent private party venue for hosting corporate events, birthdays, anniversaries, holiday festivities, rehearsal dinners, and more.
About the restaurant: In this part of Santa Monica, where dining options are relatively scarce, we are always happy to have interesting options like Upper West. When a crowd assembles at the bar and adjacent high-topped communal tables, that can make the modern dining room, with its 28-foot ceiling, very lively. (In other words, if you want a quiet atmosphere, come early.) There's also a projector for screening films and sporting events on the wall. Food & Drinks: Longtime chef Nick Shipp uniquely enhances every dish with an unexpected twist. The traditional pairing of burrata and tomatoes gets a boost with black chai salt and tomato-peach-chutney. If you are in the mood for a burger, there is a juicy one served with a steak knife skewered through the toasted brioche bun. Macaroni and cheese is loaded with mozzarella, gouda, white cheddar and roasted papilla pepper. Desserts continue the comfort food theme with house-made ice creams and brioche bread pudding. The globally sourced wine list is short, and the beer selections change seasonally. Cocktails put a twist on the classics. Keep an eye out for specials like half-price bottles of wine on Thursdays and happy hour Wed.-Sun. 4 p.m.-7 p.m.
