Best Date Night Restaurants in Santa Monica 2026
Published · Updated
The date-night pick in Santa Monica for 2026 is Mélisse. Editorial runners-up: 1 Pico, Muse, Pasjoli, Citrin.
Sixteen Santa Monica restaurants sit in our directory. Six earn a date. The list opens at a fourteen-seat, two-star room on Wilshire and ends at a Bib Gourmand that rewrites its menu twice a week.
Six Santa Monica Tables for Date Night
Two Michelin stars. Fourteen covers. Josiah Citrin opened it on Wilshire Boulevard in 1999. One tasting menu runs twelve to fifteen courses, roughly $400 a head, the duck press wheeled to the table. The benchmark date in the city.
On the sand at Shutters on the Beach, 1 Pico Boulevard. Floor-to-ceiling glass, the Pacific at sunset. Handmade pasta and fire-grilled seafood, about $140 to $220 a head with wine. Proposals happen here.
108 West Channel Road, in Santa Monica Canyon. An Art Deco room by Marc Ange, rotating museum-grade art. Herb-crusted rack of lamb, inventive cocktails, $110 to $160 a head. The most designed date in town.
Dave Beran's bistro on Main Street, below his tasting-menu room Seline. In the Michelin Guide. Pressed duck, decadent bar snacks, $100 to $160 a head. Serious French cooking, relaxed enough to talk over.
One Michelin star. Josiah Citrin's a la carte room at 1104 Wilshire, sibling to Mélisse next door. A large central bar, warmer and louder than the flagship. About $150 to $250 a head with wine.
Jeremy Fox took the kitchen in 2013. A Michelin Bib Gourmand. The menu changes with the Wednesday and Saturday farmers market, $90 to $140 a head. A narrow, candlelit room. The easy mid-week date.
How to Book
Mélisse takes fourteen covers a night; book three to four weeks out. Citrin and Pasjoli want one to two weeks. 1 Pico, Muse and Rustic Canyon will often seat a couple within a few days, and any weeknight is easier.
7.30pm. Ask 1 Pico for a window table at sunset and Muse for a banquette under the art. Mélisse runs one tasting menu a night, so book early and arrive hungry.
Frequently Asked Questions
The editorial pick for 2026 is Mélisse, Josiah Citrin's two-Michelin-star room on Wilshire Boulevard, where one tasting menu is served to fourteen covers a night. For a more relaxed date, 1 Pico on the sand at Shutters and Dave Beran's Pasjoli on Main Street both take couples without ceremony.
1 Pico at Shutters on the Beach is the most romantic table in Santa Monica: floor-to-ceiling glass directly over the sand, the Pacific framed at sunset, handmade pasta and fire-grilled seafood. Muse, the Art Deco room in Santa Monica Canyon, runs a close second for a candlelit evening.
A date dinner in Santa Monica runs about $400 a head at Mélisse, where the tasting menu is a fixed price before wine. Citrin and 1 Pico sit around $140 to $250 a person. Muse and Pasjoli land at $100 to $160, and Rustic Canyon is the value pick near $90 to $140.
Book Mélisse three to four weeks ahead; it seats only fourteen covers a night and the weekend slots go first. Citrin and Pasjoli want one to two weeks. 1 Pico, Muse and Rustic Canyon will usually seat a couple within a few days, and any weeknight is easier to land.
Santa Monica runs smart-casual. A collared shirt or a dress clears every room on this list. Mélisse and Citrin tilt a touch dressier without requiring a jacket, while Pasjoli, Muse and Rustic Canyon are comfortable in good denim. Nobody here will turn you away for skipping a tie.