The Penthouse

Excellent service, views and dining experience. Came for a business dinner with a colleague and we thoroughly enjoyed our time after a hard few days of work. We were also guests at the hotel so reservations were easy and started with happy hour which had a small selection of drinks but were priced well for the ambiance. Our server MICHAEL was incredibly knowledgable and answered all of our questions, made wine recommendations and overall provided a lovely complement to the evening. The visit from Executive Sous Chef MANUEL who served our wagyu steak, torched table side was the icing on the steak (ha,ha). Highly recommend for a business dinner or special occasion.

We met family here that were visiting from out of town. This place is fantastic.Our server MICHAEL paced the evening perfectly for us. He was very knowledgeable about the wine and the menu items and in general, turned dinner into an event. The service was beyond impeccable, to use a cliché, it was mindful.The views here are drop dead, gorgeous, and the location cannot be beat. You have breathtaking views of the sunset over the ocean and the city view of Santa Monica. my husband and I lived in Santa Monica years ago, and I could not have been prouder.The meal was absolutely wonderful. The oysters were from Nova Scotia and the mignonette sauce that came with them was out of this world. The crispy rice cakes were each two bites of heaven. We ordered a pretty good variety of things and each dish was a delicious and creative.The prices are as jaw-dropping as the view but the is a special occasion place. They open at 5 and have a one-hour Happy Hour that is well worth the price. This time of year you can still catch the sunset between 5 and 6.

Dine LA Special - Worth It? Let's Find Out.So, Dine LA is here, which means we get to try fancy spots at a (somewhat) reasonable price. This time, I checked out The Penthouse at The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. It was my first time visiting, With its prime location overlooking the coastline, I was excited to see what they had to offer.Parking:Went for dinner, and parking wasn't a hassle at all. Lots of street parking around, but if you're feeling fancy, valet is available for $18 with validation.Ambiance:Walking in, the vibe was classic European-chic, almost like a Greek coastal restaurant. The lighting at night gives cozy, romantic vibes, great for a date night or family dinner. Also it has nice lounge bar area And since it's on the 18th floor, the ocean view is supposed to be amazing except it was pouring rain when I went. They gave me the "best view" seat, but yeah... all I saw was a foggy gray wall. Guess I gotta come back for brunch or sunset to get the real experience!Service:Honestly, 10/10. From the host to the servers, everyone was super friendly and actually knew their menu. My friend got an espresso martini (which they liked), and the staff kept checking in, making sure we were good. Even the manager personally came over to explain dishes and make sure we were happy. Top-notch service, no complaints here.Food - Dine LA Tasting Menu ($75 per person)Alright, here's where things got... interesting. The menu looked promising, featuring caviar agnolotti and wagyu steak (items exclusive to Dine LA). Sounded fancy, so expectations were high.Amuse-bouche & Bluefin Tuna Tartare - Loved both. They looked beautiful and tasted even better. Great start!Everything else? Meh. Super mid.Salad? Way too salty. Couldn't finish it.Pasta? Overly rich and heavy. My friend couldn't even eat it.Wagyu? Definitely not like you'd expect from MB7+ marbling wagyu i usually had. It tasted more like an average steak you'd get at a regular steakhouse. Pretty underwhelming.For a restaurant that charges $$$$ and the expensive sourced ingredients, I was hoping for better execution. The first two courses set high expectations, but after that, it kind of fell apart.The food wasn't terrible, but it wasn't worth the cost. However, the service and ambiance were fantastic. I might come back for brunch just to enjoy the view.Would I return? Maybe for the view, not the food.Worth it? Only if you're here for the vibes.

This was a touch experience to rate. If I rated it solely on the food, it would get an additional star. Unfortunately, the overall experience was not satisfactory.I will begin with the positive. The food was well presented and flavorful. We received a wonderful tuna tartare amuse bouche from the kitchen. I rarely eat bread but this warm bread with the seasoned butter was delicious.My entrée was the lobster ravioli which also contained a lobster tail and even some claw meat. I enjoyed the amount of lobster. The sauce was too sweet for my taste but did not take away from enjoyment of the dish.I had a few bites of the caramel cheesecake dessert and loved the lightness of it, the fruit on the plate and the crunch of the caramel popcorn garnish. The restaurant has cabana type tables with city views. The bar gets very lively into the evening. It was absolutely packed.Now, for the not so good aspects. Our service from both our server and the bus staff was, to put it in the most polite way, "sassy". Too much attitude and too little response. Our order took a long time to come out so we asked for bread. They brought out three slices for a table of eight people. We asked for a knife to cut the bread and was told to use our butter knife. On average we had to make at least four requests for each thing and most of the time were told to "wait" when we even tried to request something. Our server also canceled a few dishes without being asked to do so, which I assume contributed to the long wait for entrees.The general manager came by to obtain our feedback and tried to remedy things the best he could - that was much appreciated.

Beautiful interior, jaw-dropping!! Of course you are mostly paying for the view. Food was pretty good, but expensive. We got the Short rib cavatelli pasta ($38), which was super good, the beef was so tender (8.5/10). The Truffle pizzetta ($38) was flavorful, but I have had better pizza (7.5/10). Lastly, the mac and cheese($25) was decent, super cheesy and can't go wrong but super small in portion (8/10). Overall, food is expensive relative to their portions. Service was amazing though, our waiter was attentive and checked up on us regularly.

We had a brunch with 11 people before the 1pm Cique du Soleli Kooza show in Santa Monica. The Penthouse Restaurant is atop the Huntley Hotel on 2nd St. It has killer views of the Santa Monica beaches, the bay and the city. The ambiance of the hotel lobby and the restaurant are very upscale and comfortable. The breakfast menu is varied and includes all the great selections that will please most everyone's' palate. The food was excellent and our server Patty could not have been better or more friendly. The service was excellent. The hotel would be a great place to spend a weekend hitting the beach, pier and the many shops and restaurants in Santa Monica. Below are some breakfast selections and views from the restaurant.

I had a great experience at The Penthouse. My husband made reservations for 12 for my birthday brunch and service was exceptional. Once my entire party was present, we were seated. Our waitress was attentive and made sure we were all good. Food and drinks were great! And the views are stunning.

Went out to The Penthouse for dinner and drinks. The food was good. The service was good. The ambience was fantastic. Beautiful views from the penthouse of Santa Monica. If you have not gone, I highly suggest that you go when you go at night or you go like for lunch in the middle is not the same like it's either 8 o'clock or like 2 o'clock. I feel like you're the best cause you can see all the way to the ocean and it's very pretty views That's the selling point of the penthouse! I mean, the vibe is cool. You know there's music playing there's people that are just beautifully and it's a pretty crowd and you know it's a typical Los Angeles pretty people bar! So we had a table and his right smacked to happen in the middle so we had really good views so there's a lot of fun people watching... this is one of those places that is like a staple. You have to go there at least once a year and just remember how cool it is but I'm more into authenticity so this isn't a place where I would frequent on a regular basis simply because it's in a very touristy location you're gonna catch a lot of people just visiting and I'm a native. I grew here. Everybody else flew here (or drove) so I like being around people that are natives. It are nativ-ish. (Been here at least 10 years)...There's no agenda. but it's definitely a place that you wanna stop by. It's a great date night spot and it's a great spot to take your friends that are in from out of town!

Great ambiance and friendly service. Came here for brunch. Beautiful view! Lighting is perfect. Food was delicious and fresh :P

We visited The Penthouse last weekend. The restaurant is located at the top of the Hurley Hotel in Santa Monica, and it offers a spectacular coastline view. It all started with the elevator ride--once it began to rise, I was amazed by the stunning view, which I hadn't expected at all.I loved the elegant interior design, featuring white as the base color, along with white curtains and chandeliers; it's very romantic! The food was pretty good as well. The Grand Seafood Tower ($110) had a generous portion, including black tiger shrimp, oysters, crab, clams, scallops, and mussels. Everything was very fresh, and I especially liked the scallops. Unfortunately, we couldn't finish it all and couldn't take the leftovers because the chef told us we couldn't take raw seafood home. What a waste! So, if you have only two or three people, I suggest opting for the Petite Seafood Tower. The Truffle Cacio e Pepe ($39) was very delicious, and the Duck Duo à l'Orange ($44) was great! The Wagyu Filet Mignon ($85) was also good.The service was fantastic! Thanks to the host for arranging a table with such an amazing view and for creating unforgettable memories for us. Our server was attentive and friendly as well. Overall, we had an unforgettable dining experience at The Penthouse, and I will definitely visit again.