Best Team Dinner Restaurants in Santa Monica (2026)

Andrew Kirschner opened Tar and Roses at 602 Santa Monica Boulevard in 2011 and still cooks there as chef-owner, building the menu around a wood-burning oven and the Santa Monica farmers' market across the street. The whole fried snapper and the oxtail dumplings are the plates regulars order, but the move for a group is the three-course family-style service for parties of four or more, booked a week ahead: whole-roasted goat, a standing rib roast, paella. The room is convivial and built for sharing. For a team dinner where the table eats together and the kitchen handles the pacing, book Tar and Roses' family-style menu for the group.

Inside Tar and Roses ›

Water Grill sits at 1401 Ocean Avenue across from the Pier, the Santa Monica room in the King's Seafood Company group and the best ocean address among these picks. The kitchen builds a daily raw bar from both coasts, the oyster and shellfish towers exactly the kind of centrepiece a group shares, with Spanish octopus and Chilean sea bass among the plates guests reach for. Pricing runs premium on the catch-driven menu, with DineLA prix-fixe menus from $15 to $65, and private dining is available. The room is large and lively but manageable. For a team dinner anchored by raw-bar towers and a real ocean view, book Water Grill and ask about its private dining space.

Inside Water Grill ›

The Penthouse crowns the Huntley Hotel on the eighteenth floor at 1111 Second Street, one of Los Angeles's best-known view rooms, with 360-degree sightlines from ocean to mountains. The kitchen cooks contemporary Mediterranean from the farmers' market, and the room's real asset for a group is scale: it takes full and partial buyouts and seats up to 130 banquet-style or 300 for a reception. Live jazz on Thursdays and a DJ on weekends set the tone. For a larger team that wants a view and room to host, a department dinner or a celebration rather than a quiet working meal, book The Penthouse and ask about a partial buyout.

Inside The Penthouse ›

Fia Steak sits at 2458 Wilshire Boulevard, the dark, theatrical steakhouse sister to Fia under chef Tim Cardenas, listed in the 2025 Michelin Guide. The kitchen presents Creekstone Farms US Prime dry-aged beef raw at the table before it cooks, with Japanese A5 wagyu and house-made pastas alongside. The catch for a group is size, roughly forty-eight seats across a grill room, dining room and patio, so it suits a smaller team or a semi-private section rather than a large party. For a mid-sized team that wants a steakhouse with theatre and a Michelin listing, book the Fia Grill Room or its semi-private section early.

Inside Fia Steak ›

Jeremy Fox, a James Beard-nominated chef, has run Rustic Canyon at 1119 Wilshire Boulevard since 2013, a neighbourhood wine bar and kitchen that pre-dates the farm-to-table label. The menu changes daily and credits its farmers, the dishes built to share, and a Michelin Bib Gourmand backs the cooking. For a group, the room runs a family-style menu at $90 a person for parties of eight or more and hosts private events up to 120 across the dining room and patios. For a team dinner that wants serious seasonal cooking and a deep wine list at a set per-person price, book Rustic Canyon's family-style menu.

Inside Rustic Canyon ›

Terrazza is the main dining room at the Hotel Casa del Mar on Ocean Way, the Spanish Colonial Revival landmark on the sand, with chef Sven Mede, formerly of the hotel's Catch, running the kitchen. He cooks an Italian- and Spanish-leaning coastal menu built explicitly around small plates for sharing, crudo, house-made pastas and wood-oven pizzas, against 180 degrees of Pacific. The sharing format and the oceanfront setting handle a group and a celebration. For a team dinner where the water is the backdrop and the table shares, book Terrazza and confirm a private-room option directly with the hotel.

Inside Terrazza ›