Tar & Roses

My wife and I went to Tar and Roses for her birthday last night and we absolutely loved it! Service was excellent and we recommend ordering the Bone Marrow, Lamb Shank and Strawberry Ricotta Crostata dessert. The Duck Breast was good but not as balanced of a dish - it could have used more Brussels sprouts so I do see why the server suggested ordering a vegetable dish.The Lamb Shank was the best we've ever had - it is served on sweet potato puree, was perfectly cooked, with 3 pita breads to eat with and top with Greek yogurt (labneh) and their delicious hot sauce (zhoug or sahawiq).The strawberry ricotta dessert was served on a baked crostata that had a croissant-like crispness to it. The honeycomb ice cream it came with was a perfect pairing and I could eat tubs and tubs of it! We devoured this dessert and wanted more!Overall, I highly recommend Tar & Roses - they have many small dishes to try, or a whole fried snapper for two or dry aged ribeye for two that they're famous for as well!I would park in one of the parking structures near 3rd St Promenade which has the first 90 minutes free.

Such a great spot for dinner on the west side! The larger the group, the more options you can sample. The CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE, BONE MARROW, and OXTAIL DUMPLINGS were standouts for starters. For small plates, the CHILI GRAB CAKE, YELLOWTAIL CRUDO, CHARRED GEM LETTUCE, and KING OYSTER MUSHROOM LETTUCE CUPS are all excellent choices. As for mains, the DUCK BREAST and WHOLE FRIED SNAPPER are both must-tries. Highly recommend this place! ENJOY! PS: I got lucky finding street metered parking. That's pretty much what's around. :/

The oxtail dumplings are a MUST! It had great flavor and texture. Every bite was a burst of happiness. The shell fish pot was really good too. It was savory, warm and had a hint of curry spice. I loved the flavor of the miso eggplant but a piece I tasted was undercooked. I would skip the lettuce cups. They were just ok. The bread pudding dessert was another winner for me. It was warm, sweet, full of spice and not too big portion wise for an end of the meal dish. Service was excellent. The ambiance was chic, intimate, and dark. This restaurant is located about 6 blocks from the beach. Parking can be challenging so factor in time for that. Overall, a treat!

I wasn't impressed nor unimpressed. There were a few things that could've been better in terms of the food itself. I have only compliments for the service.My friends and I came without a reservation on a Thursday night and got seated within several minutes. It was pretty packed in there. The server/waiter was friendly and came by our table often to check how we were doing, clean up plates, and refill our waters. When they cleared the table after the appetizer to give us clean silverware and plates, I felt very bougie and fine-dining-esque. I appreciated that the new plates and utensils were warmed. The warmth was a nice touch that I hope was intentional and not just the result of the dishes being recently cleaned. The single downside was that we were seated next to the kitchen door and the restrooms. It didn't smell or anything but it was slightly distracting to see people come in and out of the kitchen. The restroom itself could've been nicer. It didn't feel like a restroom I'd expect inside a $$$ restaurant but maybe I haven't been to enough $$$ restaurants. I liked the cloth napkin. I am quite the messy eater at times and it came in handy a lot. The broccoli veggie dish was so charred that I'd say it was burnt. The burnt flavor was very strong and overwhelmed any flavor of the sauce it laid on. The sauce for that dish on its own was lovely though. It tasted like red pepper hummus but smoother and more addictive. I wish there was more sauce to floret ratio or maybe less of a burn on the broccoli. Honestly, the failed flavor profile of this dish is what makes me rate this restaurant as such. For the prices that come with a fine dining experience, I expect for the food to be top notch in all its flavor capacities with no excuses. In a heartbeat, I could cook this dish better at home and that was disappointing.The eggplant dish had a really nice texture. It wasn't super squishy. The skin gave it a nice bite. It soaked up the chili oil flavors rather well and the salty savory garlic crisps that were sprinkled throughout it just made it a very addictive dish that I wanted to keep eating. I would give this dish on its own a 4.7/5The maitake mushroom dish was lovely. It was really savory umami, yet balanced. These mushrooms are a favorite of mine so I'm glad they had it on the menu. The first bite I took honestly tasted more burnt than anything but as I had more, the addictive umami flavors started to shine through. It paired very nicely with the bed of white beans that it laid on. The breadcrumbs were also a very nice touch.The fried cauliflower had an awesome texture on its own. We got the lavender honey and cheese on the side and that was a very smart choice because I thought the cauliflower tasted best without the honey. There were also fried pieces of what I believe was lavender leaves and super thin orange peels sprinkled throughout the dish. The fried lavender was rather pleasant but the thin orange peels seemed to add little value in terms of flavor but it was a nice pop of color. I'd definitely want to try this dish again because of how nicely fried the cauliflower was. I can't tell if they coated the cauliflower lightly with breadcrumbs or if they just straight up fried the veggie on its own but it was a very well constructed dish. The lavender honey didn't really taste too strongly of lavender though but I felt like I could sense the slight floralness although that might've just been a placebo.I tried the sauces of the lamb dish and I thought they were all very tasty. I enjoyed what I believe to be the sweet potato puree the most. The blended herbs and oil sauce was a nice touch and I also liked the plain yogurt. There were some red juices which I thought was just the juices of the lamb but it appears that that was some kind of wine reduction sauce. I thought that sauce was also rather well balanced and executed. The lamb meat itself could've been better marinated I feel. It did slide right off the bone but it was missing something to take it to the fine dining level. Oh, and I enjoyed the garnish of pomegranates. They provided a beautiful bursted yet not overwhelming feel to the dish. The ribeye was good. We got it medium rare and the rareness kind of shocked me a little but I feel that it was properly executed and the perfect amount of red, or at least that's what I think. I don't order steaks often and I definitely never get them medium rare despite gordon ramsey's suggestions. However, it wasn't a very impressive steak. My friends commented that they've had better steak so I feel they might not have felt it was worth its price tag. The arugula salad that came with it was nice and simple, not much to fault with there. It was just arugula, balsamic dressing and some grated parmesan. It's what I expect of a salad but nothing more.We didn't get dessert although the sticky toffee pudding or whatever it was called sounded rather enticing.

I was very excited to try this place due to the reviews so booked this for my family on a special occasion.The menu has a great selection with so many delicious sounding items. We got the king oyster mushroom lettuce wraps, ricotta gnocchi, chilli crab cake, duck breast, and snapper for two. The king oyster lettuce wraps were bland and left much to be desired. The sides like raddish and carrot were bland and it definitely needed a lot of sauce to have any flavor. We had to get the snapper which we had seen multiple photos of. The presentation was amazing with the fish standing up, and the scored sides are a great idea to allow easy eating and more frying surface area! However the fish was extremely dry and the best park of the dish was unfortunately the side of soba noodles. The ricotta gnocchi was great and extremely soft and the duck was also good, but extremely small in portion size. The crab cake is all crab which is great but the sauce was a little too ginger-y.I love the ideas they have behind the dishes but the execution and portion sizes don't justify the price at all. Service was good and the restaurant is very nice on the inside and has some pretty outdoor seating next to the street.

Came here based on a recommendation from a friend and we absolutely loved it. Everything was top notch - service, food, ambiance. I loved that they also did half pours of wine. Our server, Pete, was helpful and knowledgeable. We had the Black Cod, Corn, Softshell Crab, Yogurt Beet Dip, and he also had the Lamb Shank. Each bite was better than the next, we were in food heaven. Highly recommend.

Tar & Roses is like an establishment in Santa Monica. It's been here for a while and tons of people have already written reviews and I'm going to just add to it. The place is pretty huge as there is a front seating area, a back area, and even outdoor seating. There are heaters in the back and outside but it can still get a bit chilly so bring a jacket in the winter. Service was already off to a great start as we were seated even though we arrived a bit early and they automatically asked if we wanted some water. We went with most of the classic recos from other reviews for our meal.Starting with the Oxtail dumplings. Comes with 4 dumpling with a drizzle of what feels like a sweeten au jus, Packed full of oxtail which was tender with what feels like pieces tendon. Tasty and solid but also feels like since it is the must order, it feels a bit boring but still a good starter.Roasted Beet and Yogurt Dip was scrumptious if you like beets. The texture had few bits of beet yet was smooth with the yogurt. The dip to bread ratio was ok but could've done with a bit more bread because you can only take so much beet per mouthful when it is a dip.Fried Cauliflower was delish. I mean it's fried. From the menu, it seemed like it would have a very complex flavor with it's lavender honey but it honestly just tasted like fried veggies with some sweetness. No inkling of lavender but a very food side.Shellfish Pot a good shareable entree. It has tons of seafood and reasonable worth it for the price. The curry broth had sufficient flavor but what I wished is they could've made the broth thicker.. It would've been able to coat the seafood better and also the bread that comes with the dish.All dishes were solid and I'd recommend to try all of them. The service was really food even though it was busy. I'd recommend coming for a meal. Be warned, wine only just in case you were looking for cocktails.

This place is so perfect for a cute date night spot or girls night out! This is located in Santa Monica! Parking may be a little difficult as they don't have a designated parking area, but there are some street parking! The selection of wine is amazing here and the top of selection as well! Definitely worth sharing the tapas

100 Desperately ready to go back and try more. Everything we had was INSANELY GOOD! I'm gonna be lazy for now and just leave a pic but will update with more detail later.

This place was highly recommend by Sofia Vergara and was excited to try it whenever I had the chance. When we walked in it has a nice feel, but very boring. The waiter was extremely nice and explained the name of the restaurant which added back that personality. Now the food: The food was good nothing to complain about, but was just underwhelmed. The oxtail dumplings were soft and full of juicy meat. I also got the steak which was super tender, but the side vegetables were mush and didn't enjoy the sauce. English peas you can't eat and have to eat like edamame which was not explained and made no sense since the peas were smaller than edamame. The summer squash had beautiful balance of spicy and fresh flavors. The eggplant on the other hand was just a mush of hot oil. We could have tried more things, but what we got did not blow us away. Still a good spot, just wouldn't recommend for the price point.