The Veranda Restaurant

Well what can I say, came in with some expectations but walked out a bit hungry for real food! This place gets 5 stars for location, 4 stars for service, and food presentation & taste a disappointing 2.5 stars, yielding a 3.5.at most. Here are more details: —
Located at The Georgian Hotel on Ocean Blvd. offers free valet with dining. But if you parked at very inexpensive parking garages around Santa Monica, it’s a few blocks from the pier.
The Veranda is at the entrance for the Hotel. Few tables around and unrestricted view of the Ocean and street. I was seated promptly and had several waiters ask for my order. Very attentive & friendly staff!
From the brunch menu ordered the 6 oz Steak & eggs. When tasting the steak, it was lacking salt, taste was meh. It seems the cook just grilled it with not adding anything. My potatoes as well, no taste.
So if you want a nice view, good service, I recommend this place. The food. Not so much.

Last breakfast in Santa Monica we decided to do in our hotel the georgean, a local art deco landmark… and… convinient located an elevator away from our room;) it’s called «The Veranda», I had the steak & eggs and the boss lady had their «French toast soufflé»…great food, even better ambiance and views…

Breakfast eggs benedict ranchero was excellent and filling! Great views on the front porch in a neat hotel!

3 stars is spot on Unilocalers! This is a place you come to for the million dollar view and the ambiance, not the food. That being said, I’ve been twice and would go back again. I’m always drawn to The Veranda when I’m walking down Ocean. I just love the bright blue Art Deco building with the Parisian style wrought iron railings. So pretty! It’s the perfect place to sit with a glass of wine, some appetizers, and stare out to the ocean or people watch. None of the food is memorable and the service is just okay. Last time I went I had a whatever omelette (needed lots of hot sauce!) and a fruit salad that tasted like it was thawed from being frozen. Again, it’s all about that view. Until I get my own beach house, I’ll probably be coming back here.

Where do I start? Came here for breakfast this morning (Saturday 11:00 am) with my friend. We were looking for a ocean view kind of brunch after a long night out. We were seated rights away, the Waitress — which I didn’t get her name because she Rudely did not introduce herself came by and asked us if we would like a drink. We waited about 10 min for our water. 10 minutes !! Anyways when she came by to take our order she wouldn’t even look us in the eye she was looking around at everyone else it was so beyond awkward my friend and I were both confused with her mannerism. I asked if she could make us a Michelda (which is beer and Bloody Mary mix for the record) she replied no we don’t have that. Seeing that’s a little odd due to the fact they a full bar I got up and ended up asking the bartender himself. Turns out yes they do have beer and yes they do have bloody mix. Ding ding ding we have a winner ! The waitress proceeded to death stared me as I was talking to the bar tender) super uncomfortable as you could imagine). Then she proceeded to follow me back to my table and demanded to see some ID. Which I can’t be mad at she was doing her job but getting in my face and rudely glaring at me and in the rudest tone really ticked me off. I’m sorry you don’t know your menu and couldn’t make my simple request. Anyways food sucked. Soggy limp bacon so gross. Didn’t get my English muffin — had to ask. Food was just flat out awful. Now it’s time for the check looking at it thinking wow ! That really racked up quick. Turns out no name charged my friend and I $ 20 dollars for 2 «2 bloody Mary’s» I’m sorry $ 10? For a corona? And a splash of Bloody Mary mix? Seems to me like I’m being ripped off. No name told me because they add salt and pepper and a lime that they had to charge me for a cocktail. To me that seems unfair and so over priced. We won’t be back. Due to the fact to the rude untrained unprofessional staff with lack of basic bar knowledge. I work in the hospitality industry I notice everything and know when a establishment cares about the guest. This restaurant clearly has work to do.

Horrible service had to walk up to the bar to order never refilled our waters this place is a joke stay away!

We come here quite often. The view is to die for. I love the setting and the relaxed atmosphere of this place. We usually come for a late lunch so I can not say anything about breakfast or dinner. We have had their French Onion soup, sandwiches and desserts. Kitchen closes 2:30pm for a hour, so if you come close to 2pm be ready to order fast… The prices are not outrageous and the food is pretty nice, but you really come back for the view and nice people watching. I have always had good service here so I do not now what the other people are talking about.

I can’t speak for the whole menu but I ordered the french toast soufflé and it was beyond delicious! I also tried a bit of the ham and bacon which was also yummy. The hotel was cute and unique, inside and out. I give 4 stars since I expected staff to be more attentive.

I have bee trying different breakfast places in the past one week. I have been to Vegas, Arizona and Utah … All i can say that this place is the best .
Had a perfect eggs, bagel and finale. To die for french toast

Considering it was ocean front dining in Santa Monica I was extremely impressed by the prices. My boyfriend and I wanted to eat and watch the sunset and this restaurant provided the best location. We had tried 3 restaurants on a Friday night in March and all were booked with reservations. Not only did this restaurant have availability but, we got a seat outside right in front. We started off with a cheese platter which was very good. My boyfriend got the Chicken Forestiere and I got the Filet of Salmon. I thought the dishes were good but, not amazing. We then had the Tiramisu for dessert which was really good. Overall for the price, location, and view I highly recommend this place.

Great breakfast with a beautiful view! I enjoyed the Santa Monica Omelette vegetarian style paired with Petite French Toast Soufflé. Surely one of the best French Toast I’ve ever eaten! Light, fluffy, and not overly battered. Make sure to request outdoor seating, it’s worth the extra wait!

Very good breakfast! Had the Santa Monica Omelette. It was nothing special, but nothing bad at all. Service was good. Tables are spaced rather closely. There may be a wait because there isn’t that much seating. Expensive, too.

Get ready, because you get TWO reviews for the price of ONE! Giddy up!
TLDR: Amazing for late night wine and desert. Pretty bad for breakfast.
Location: 5+ stars. Incredible ocean view.
Service: 5+ stars at night; 1 – 2 stars for breakfast
Price: Reasonable for location
**EVENING**
My wife and I stayed at the Georgian Hotel for her birthday. After dinner and some shopping we returned to the property for some wine and desert. (Got the chocolate lava cake. super good.) Our waiter, Charlie, was easily the VERY best waiter we’ve had in years. Super friendly, super caring and just a pure joy. They should make him manager of the entire hotel. Charlie had The Veranda rolling towards 5 stars for sure. but then we had breakfast the next morning…
**BREAKFAST**
After our great experience the evening before, we looked forward to breakfast. Long story made short, it was pretty disappointing. The servers were nice, but not attentive or competent in the least. Had to chase them down for coffee and water refills. HUGE no-​no at breakfast. Don’t make me chase you for a coffee refill. Seriously… The food was OK but just OK. Then they didn’t bring out all the items for my combo meal and messed up the bill. I can’t recommend breakfast here.
Overall: 3 stars. I was leaning towards 2 stars but Charlie was just too awesome. Shame the breakfast crew ruined his 5 star service the night before.

Meh. I’ve always wanted to grab brunch or cocktails here, and finally did recently. It is a charming hotel and I love the history of this place, but the noise and service and quality definitely make it a 2-​star place. The people-​watching is phenomenal though.

Our food was quite good, and the drink selection was strong. They had some local beers available which made my husband light up.
They were in the beginnings of the weekend lunch rush when we walked in, and they seated us along with our baby-​in-​a-​stroller without so much as a sigh. We’d just come from another place that all but turned us away just for having a baby (fair at busy or evening hours at SOME types of establishments, but not in this case), so the difference in treatment was a welcome relief.

If I had to summarize this place in a phrase, it would be ‘killer views, awful food.’
Backstory: I came here with a group of 6 for a Sunday brunch. It was a sunny Santa Monica morning, and one of my buddies was gunning to go here because of a rave review given by a coworker.
The Atmosphere: Atmosphere is this restaurant’s saving grace, and the reason I bumped it an extra star. The Veranda is located on the ocean-​facing veranda of the Georgian Hotel — itself an instantly recognizable art deco landmark hotel by the Santa Monica Pier. The hotel itself is beautiful and the views from its restaurant are even more beautiful. When you sit here with your homies, you’ll be staring right at the nearby ocean, with only Ocean Ave. and the beach in between. There’s good people watching on Ocean Ave. but its road traffic can be a little noisy. Nonetheless, you are pretty much sitting ocean front at this place, so for location and views, it’s hard to beat.
The Food: Pretty bad all around. Bear in mind we were a group of 6, and each of us ordered something different. My lady ordered Mac and Cheese, I ordered the Waldorf sandwich with sweet potato fries, one of my buddies ordered some french toast soufle or something like that along with a steak burrito, his girl ordered something girly, another person ordered a Monte Cristo, and I forget what the last person ordered. Anyhow, every single person’s dish was bad. Bland. Like crappy hotel food. My sweet potato fries were passable, but the Mac and Cheese was worse than Velvetta.
The Price: The food may have been bad, but the price was very good. Most of the dishes were around $ 10 or so, which is pretty cheap considering this restaurant is located in a pricey Santa Monica ocean-​front hotel.
Service: Pretty good. We were seated quickly, which was nice, and no order was messed up. On the other hand, they did bring us our check pretty quickly, which is the universal «GTFO» from a restaurant eager to seat new people. But I don’t blame them — as my Russian pops would say, «business is business.»

Oh I think there are too many harsh reviews of this place. The location is great, a lovely spot to sir outside and enjoy the fresh sea air. And it’s a wonderful vantsge point for people watching — hoards of California exercising enthusiasts ran along the seaside road opposite the restaurant, stopping to do sit-​ups etc. The service was excellent, and the food is solid. My omelette was fine, but probably too many jalapeños. My husband had pancakes, again, nothing out of the ordinary but good enough. Sure, nothing spectacular, but prices aren’t too high. Know going in that you are paying for the location.

Great food. The service was very slow. I went alone and 2 other groups got their food before me. The staff is very friendly but slow and a little confused. This is NOT the quick bite kinda place.
The location is great! Patio seating is a good spot for people watching.

GREAT LOCATION, HORRIBLE COCKTAILS.
It pains me to write this review, as I have traveled to Santa Monica several times and been in awe of the beauty of this hotel. My review of this hotel/​restaurant is limited in scope to the one cocktail I purchased there, the Paloma
Foremost, it should be pointed out that the location is amazing. As with several of the other restaurants in the area the porch has a view of the ocean/​pier/​sunset. If you are looking for a relaxing place to watch the sunset and enjoy a drink this is a great place.
Hoping to do just that, I sat on the porch and ordered a Paloma. I try not to be a cocktail snob, but considering that they cost $ 12 each and the hotel is around $ 400 a night, I had high hopes. They were dashed as soon as the Paloma was brought to my table.
Foremost, it is served in a soda glass with a straw. A cocktail should never have a straw in it unless it is a small red mixing straw. Second, for those of you who don’t «Habla Espanol», «Paloma» is Spanish for «watered down grapefruit juice mixed with too much club soda». So while I had hoped to enjoy a refreshing cocktail, I instead slugged a nasty grapefruit concoction. Due to my aversion to drinking cocktails via staw, I stubbornly sipped the cocktail only to realize the the club soda lay on top of the cocktail, so my sips tasted like club soda run through a dirty hose that once contained some fruit juice. My only other option was to use the straw, which I did for a few sips, only to find that the bottom just tasted like grapefruit sludge.
To add insult to injury, I am pretty sure there was no alcohol in the drink. I realize a good cocktail isn’t supposed to burn or *taste* like alcohol, but this just tasted like grapefruit juice and club soda, which is actually a pretty disgusting combination when you think about it.
To conclude, I made better cocktails when I was a kid stealing booze at family weddings (hello Screwdrivers!!!).

Paloma is Patron Silver tequila, grapefruit juice, club soda, and lime juice topped with a lime wedge. It tasted like a grapefruit margarita on the rocks with twist of lime. Perfect for sipping on a summer day! Thumbs up, way up!
Manhattan is a classic cocktail of Maker’s Mark bourbon, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters garnished with a cherry. This was a very strong cocktail and tasted slightly woody yet had a very sophisticated flavor. Thumbs up!
Mini Monte Cristo Sandwich is a decadent stack of turkey, ham, Gruyère cheese in a battered egg bread fried to a golden brown. The crispy egg bread was not too greasy but could use a little more cheese to increase the gooey sensation. The turkey, ham, and cheese worked well together and raspberry sauce added the umami flavor. Thumbs up!
Grilled Chicken Waldorf salad was grilled chicken breast, arugula, chopped apples, diced celery, candied walnuts, grapes, and orange infused cranberries tossed in a light apple-​orange infused mayo dressing. This had a nice combination of flavors — refreshing apple, fresh green arugula, tangy cranberry. Unfortunately, the dressing was a little too light. It might work better with a balsamic vinaigrette but it won’t really fit the Waldorf theme.
Steak Diane is a grilled 6 oz. «baseball» steak grilled and smothered in a creamy mushroom-​madeira sauce. The steak was grilled to a perfect rare and tender as can be. The mushroom-​madeira sauce was excellent and paired well with the steak and the vegetables. Thumbs up, way up!
Pork Medallions with Lemon Caper Sauce was roasted pork tenderloin sliced and drizzled with a classic lemon caper sauce, topped with lemon and thyme. The pork was cooked a little too long making it a little tough and dry. The lemon caper sauce was excellent and helped moisten up the pork and also worked great with the vegetables. Thumbs up!
Veggie Meatloaf is fire roasted tomatoes, toasted walnuts, diced celery, yellow onion, fresh garlic, parsley and green bell pepper and topped with fire roasted «Ketchup» and served with green beans in a hazelnut gremolata. The «meatloaf» had a very soft texture and was very loose for a «meatloaf». But I really liked the flavor. I grew up eating vegetarian «meat» options in the 1970s and this «meatloaf» is very innovative. This is a great vegan option and your vegan guest will definitely be satisfied. Thumbs up, way up!
Fresh Fruit Floating Island is fluffy baked meringue «floating» in a sea of vanilla crème anglais, topped with blackberry drizzle and fresh berries. This was an awesome dessert! It’s light, fluffy, and not too sweet. The vanilla crème anglais reminded me of Italian zabaglione, almost custardy in flavor. The fresh berries were a nice touch. Thumbs up, way up!