What’s new at Santa Monica Place? Redwood Grille is. #ad

Disclosure: I was provided a complimentary meal on behalf of this post.

Santa Monica is always a place I enjoy visiting throughout the year.  A day of shopping, or a day spent at the beach, or to take in the ocean view from the pier, it is a place of fun, and a place where people gather.

The question of where to eat always crosses a person mind when they spend a day there.  After hours in the sun, where to eat, or if you have a night out in Santa Monica, a place to grab a bite before the event takes place.

This is where Redwood Grille at The Santa Monica Place comes in.  Located atop the third floor of Santa Monica Place and opened a little over 4 weeks ago, this restaurant gives a modern twist on classic American meals.  I was invited to try out the restaurant.

The first thing I truly loved about The Redwood Grille was the options for seating.  If you want more of a bar like lounge area, you could choose to sit in the front of the restaurant that overlooks Santa Monica place.  If you are on a date, and prefer a more intimate setting, you could choose a booth within the restaurant, or love to sit outdoors, the patio area is covered with comfortable seating with a variety of options to choose from:

Redwood Grille Patio Seating

But, with any restaurant, it’s truly all about the food.  So lets take a peek at some of the options, shall we?

We started our meal off with a few appetizers.  Three to be exact.  The Grilled Octopus (front and center), Avocado Ahi Tuna Tartar (left) and for our Canadian friends Poutine (right).

The Tartar, very much like a bruschetta spread was very easy to work into and mix with the bread offerings.  The amount of bread paired well with the Tartar that was served leaving your dish empty afterwards.

The Poutine, featured above, came out looking like that.  Now, what is Poutine exactly?  French fries covered with fresh cheese curds then layered with gravy.  Redwood Grille definitely has this down.  Although, Poutine is well known as a Canadian dish, it has become more popular in the US lately.

But the real winner of the appetizers was the Grilled Octopus.  I’ve been to many restaurants where this is served, and came to the conclusion that I just didn’t like the dish.  But, when I cut into this one, I could truly taste the flavors.  Not only that, but the octopus was incredibly tender to cut through.

Now we move onto the entrees.  Redwood Grille has options from Burgers and Sandwiches to Salads to Steaks, Fish, and a few Classics.  It was a tough choice but we chose:

The Lobster Grinder.   A sandwich of lobster, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and basil mayonnaise.  Also served with a side of Quinoa salad.  My SO really loved the Quinoa salad, and ate a ton of this sandwich.

As for myself, the classic Danish Baby Back ribs.  Whenever I get ribs, I’m always hesitant with how messy they’ll be, but even more so, hesitant with how easy it’ll be to cut into.  I was so surprised with how tender these ribs were, and to be honest, probably the best ribs I’ve ever had.

And of course we ended with dessert:

Two Cheesecakes with very distinct flavors.  The one on the left being the New York Style Cheesecake with a raspberry sauce and the one on the right being their Key Lime Pie Cheesecake.  The sauce truly added to the New York Style Cheesecake, and it was all about the crust with the Key Lime Pie Cheesecake.

I briefly looked over the wine list and was very happy to see they offered many varieties of wines from Sparkling to Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigios to Syrahs to fans of Reds with Merlots, Cabernet Sauvignons and Zinfandels.

This is a restaurant that is definitely worth checking out in Santa Monica.

Redwood Grille

395 Santa Monica Place

Santa Monica, CA

For Reservations: (310) 576-0600 or book a reservation through Open Table.

Connect with Redwood Grille on their Website or Facebook