(310) 395-0881

1104 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401 34.0245 -118.4914

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Neighborhoods: Mid-City, West LA

MELISSE.COM

Years in business

Established in 1999

Hours:

Tuesday - Thursday: 6pm - 9:30pm

Friday: 6pm - 10pm

Saturday: 5:45pm - 10pm

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 1.24.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Diners Club, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Romantic Dining, Quiet, Special Occasion Dining, Fine Dining, Notable Chef, Private Rooms, Business Dining, Online Reservations, Date Spot, Group Dining, Notable Wine List, Private Parties, Prix Fixe Menu, Sommelier

Cuisine:

New American, European, French

Notable Chef:

Josiah Citrin

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Melisse

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – Between the dark green-suited waiters and the hosts, the staff's food knowledge is staggering. Perhaps this is because Chef Josiah Citrin makes frequent appearances in the dining room to chat. Every meal is carefully administered and adroitly explained--equally welcome if you're a couple seeking romance or a larger party paying homage to the kitchen. – – The Food – Surfer-dude-turned-uberchef Citrin has an uncanny way with vegetables and bright, herb-inflected flavors. The Santa Monica restaurant, named for the French word for lemon balm, brings local…

Editor's Tips

Parking:
If you don't want to valet, residential parking north of Wilshire or metered parking on Wilshire are the best bets.
Save Money:
A tasting menu allows you to sample two or three items per course for $95 per person.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “The atmosphere is comfortable, the service is exceptional the food presentation is just as amazing as good as it looks.”
  2. “The decor also makes for the perfect special occasion place.”
  3. “The atmosphere is always beautiful and calming.”
  4. “Our table was super cozy and tasting all the little courses was a romantic treat.”
  5. “heard through several people that this was the ultimate romantic restuarant in LA.”
  6. “The service is impeccable, the food delicious, and the ambience is to die for!”
  7. “The restaurant has a nice atmosphere.”
  8. “It's a very nice environment and atmosphere.”
  9. “The atmosphere was very romantic and relaxing.”
  10. “Even though it's pricey--my business collegue suggested this place for lunch--apparently the restaurant just had a nice remodel--so the decor was beautiful and made me feel like I was on vacation having lunch.”
  11. “This is a place for special occassions, romantic getaways and to enjoy the best French food in LA.”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “The chocolate,chocolate,chocolate dessert was fabulous and so was the soft shell crab, well EVERYTHING for that matter!”
  2. “My appetizer (scallops) and dessert (chocolate, chocolate, chocolate) were good.”
  3. “recommend this place as a nice dessert experience - but not for dinner.”
drinks
60.0% positive
  1. “Great wine list and friendly, knowledgeable sommelier.”
  2. “Oh, before I forget, the wine was excellent as well.”
  3. “Passes the napkin-folding test but fails responsiveness on the water and request for the wine list.”
  4. “Plan on spending $100+ per person, or more if you have expensive taste in wine.”
  5. “They have good recommendation and suggestions for the wine.”
food quality
68.11999797821045% positive
  1. “While the duck was delicious, I'm glad I went with the cow.”
  2. “We got a complimentary cold cucumber soup, which I liked, but the fish, although good, lacked taste.”
  3. “We had a risotto dish which was served on a flat plate, and the risotto arranged in a line about two inches long.”
  4. “This is, by far, the best food I have ever had.”
  5. “Great food,but service was hit and miss”
  6. “Nice, light end to a satisfying meal.”
  7. “The food and service here are unbelievable -- we had so many people waiting on us -- everything was delicious -- perfect anniversary spot --.”
  8. “started with the incredible Poached egg w/caviar,lemon fraiche, great little trio of lobster, nice sonoma foie gras and terrine combo.”
  9. “The food was good.”
  10. “This is a place for special occassions, romantic getaways and to enjoy the best French food in LA.”
  11. “The food is excellent.”
  12. “Several times our courses were delivered by busboys who gave us terrible explanations of the dishes which I could barely understand.”
  13. “The service was impeccable, and presentation of each dish was great.”
  14. “The atmosphere is comfortable, the service is exceptional the food presentation is just as amazing as good as it looks.”
  15. “Absolutely the best food I've ever had”
  16. “Upon receiving our large check we noticed that he had charged us for the full price plus a supplemental charge of the dish of which I had only had a bite & had made me sick.”
  17. “The service is surprisingly friendly for a place that you would expect some snobbishness from, and overall I think a meal here is worth every penny.”
  18. “The food is incredible.”
  19. “The food was excellent.”
  20. “terrible service, mediocre food”
  21. “Avoid the appetizers and soups which are particularly overpriced for what you get.”
  22. “The service is impeccable, the food delicious, and the ambience is to die for!”
  23. “If you are a foodie and want an extravagant evening with good food you should go.”
  24. “We decided to order our own food instead of doing the 3 1/2 hour, 9 course meal.”
  25. “The food is fabulous, service great (even a footstool for your.”
  26. “the food was not that great, good, but not outstanding.”
  27. “The food was amazing, but you really have to enjoy rich french foods and a three hour dinner.”
  28. “Had lunch with a friend and found the service impeccable, but the food a bit bland.”
  29. “Glad I didn't order the kobe beef.”
  30. “have been here ten times and never had a bad dish.”
  31. “This is a special occasion restaurant with excellent service and great food.”
  32. “poor lighting (the waiter used his flashlight to help me with the menu); could barely see the food; seating was fine; not crowded.”
  33. “Excellent food at a high price.”
  34. “The chocolate,chocolate,chocolate dessert was fabulous and so was the soft shell crab, well EVERYTHING for that matter!”
  35. “The place is beautiful, the service is perfect, and the food is the best.”
  36. “After a disappointing meal at Bazaar, I was excited to find out that my best friend in the world was taking me to Melisse as his departing present.”
  37. “Too much meat - I don't think there was a chicken option on the menu and the dishes are very busy - we 5 or six different subdishes, sauces, etc....The Halibut was tasteless and looked like it had been sitting, and the lamp chops were slightly gamey, thou”
  38. “It was an outstanding meal and a lovely time.”
  39. “The food was superb.”
  40. “The lamb was mediocre.”
  41. “The food was not even that good.”
  42. “His food is terrific.”
  43. “If anyone wants to impress someone with exquisite cuisine, I highly recommend Melisse.”
  44. “We did not even realize how much time had passed, which I guess was alright with the staff because not once did they bring the time to our attention, they simply allowed us to enjoy our wonderful meal.”
  45. “didn't really enjoy the sauce accompaniment (tastes like Maison Akira's) though i must point out getting the skin crispy is something not every place can do well (2117 does it well too).”
  46. “The room is classy and the staff taks pride in presenting and finishing at tableside the excellent dishes that come out of owner Josiah Citrin's kitchen.”
menu variety
50.0% positive
  1. “Too much meat - I don't think there was a chicken option on the menu and the dishes are very busy - we 5 or six different subdishes, sauces, etc....The Halibut was tasteless and looked like it had been sitting, and the lamp chops were slightly gamey, thou”
  2. “We order the tasting menu and are very immpressed.”
  3. “Last night, we had the $200/person truffle menu, and it was superb and worth every penny.”
  4. “poor lighting (the waiter used his flashlight to help me with the menu); could barely see the food; seating was fine; not crowded.”
overall
77.77999877929688% positive
  1. “And although Melisse isn't ranked #1 in any dining guide (but it's always in the top 10), I can say without a doubt that it is the best restaurant in Los Angeles.”
  2. “This is by far hands down the best restaurant in LA.”
  3. “My family and I went to Melisse just before leaving town on a trip to France and we still agree Melisse is the best French restaurant we have ever experienced!”
  4. “Melisse is our favorite restaurant in LA.”
  5. “didn't have such a great experience at this restaurant.”
  6. “This is probably not a great place for large groups unless you reserve a private room.”
  7. “Only great place in L.A.!”
  8. “Melisse is the best restaurant that I have ever eaten at.”
  9. “the best waiter at the restaurant is David.”
service
81.3700008392334% positive
  1. “Great wine list and friendly, knowledgeable sommelier.”
  2. “poor lighting (the waiter used his flashlight to help me with the menu); could barely see the food; seating was fine; not crowded.”
  3. “went here on a saturday night; the wait staff was extremely helpful and courteous.”
  4. “The service is impeccable, the food delicious, and the ambience is to die for!”
  5. “The service is surprisingly friendly for a place that you would expect some snobbishness from, and overall I think a meal here is worth every penny.”
  6. “can't imagine reviews where people did not like this place.”
  7. “heard through several people that this was the ultimate romantic restuarant in LA.”
  8. “terrible service, mediocre food”
  9. “The room is classy and the staff taks pride in presenting and finishing at tableside the excellent dishes that come out of owner Josiah Citrin's kitchen.”
  10. “The waiters were all very polite and efficient, though, and the place was very elegant.”
  11. “All the little extra touches are memorable as is the impeccable,sharp service from the pleasant staff.”
  12. “And that poor evening that I mentioned, there were some serious flaws in the service but they were remedied, apologized for and a week later we received a generous gift card from the restaurant.”
  13. “Had lunch with a friend and found the service impeccable, but the food a bit bland.”
  14. “We did not even realize how much time had passed, which I guess was alright with the staff because not once did they bring the time to our attention, they simply allowed us to enjoy our wonderful meal.”
  15. “The food and service here are unbelievable -- we had so many people waiting on us -- everything was delicious -- perfect anniversary spot --.”
  16. “Great food,but service was hit and miss”
  17. “he is the best waiter I have ever seen.”
  18. “This is a special occasion restaurant with excellent service and great food.”
  19. “The place is beautiful, the service is perfect, and the food is the best.”
  20. “The food is fabulous, service great (even a footstool for your.”
  21. “The atmosphere is comfortable, the service is exceptional the food presentation is just as amazing as good as it looks.”
  22. “The service is impeccable.”
  23. “can't rave enough, it was truly one of the best meals (along with flawless service) that I've ever had.”
  24. “The service is excellent.”
  25. “The flavors were amazing and the service was impeccable, as well.”
  26. “We liek to eat at 6pm so we have the full attention of the staff.”
  27. “The service was excellent, very attentive, but more efficient than warm and friendly.”
  28. “The staff is slow, unattentive and complacent, downright lazy.”
  29. “The staff was impeccable, intuitive and completely on their game (especially David - he really personalized the evening for us).”
  30. “The service is fantastic, especially David.”
  31. “The service was impeccable, and presentation of each dish was great.”
  32. “the best waiter at the restaurant is David.”
  33. “He is one of the best, most knowledgeable, and most accommodating waiters I have experienced.”
  34. “The service was superb, with choreographed serving of all plates (ie.”
value
50.0% positive
  1. “Excellent food at a high price.”
  2. “Last night, we had the $200/person truffle menu, and it was superb and worth every penny.”
  3. “Plan on spending $100+ per person, or more if you have expensive taste in wine.”
  4. “And that poor evening that I mentioned, there were some serious flaws in the service but they were remedied, apologized for and a week later we received a generous gift card from the restaurant.”
  5. “Upon receiving our large check we noticed that he had charged us for the full price plus a supplemental charge of the dish of which I had only had a bite & had made me sick.”
  6. “Avoid the appetizers and soups which are particularly overpriced for what you get.”
  7. “Even though it's pricey--my business collegue suggested this place for lunch--apparently the restaurant just had a nice remodel--so the decor was beautiful and made me feel like I was on vacation having lunch.”
  8. “The service is surprisingly friendly for a place that you would expect some snobbishness from, and overall I think a meal here is worth every penny.”
wait time
0.0% positive
  1. “These are bad economical times, restaurants are slow and competing for your business.”
  2. “We had a risotto dish which was served on a flat plate, and the risotto arranged in a line about two inches long.”
  3. “The staff is slow, unattentive and complacent, downright lazy.”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

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1 Star Rating: Poor

06/12/11

Treated abusively

by BethLEncino

We had a devastating experience here last night. This was my second visit to Melisse; the first was in 2007, and every morsel that came out of the kitchen blew my mind. When we left for the restaurant I was actually clapping my hands with excitement. Initially we were treated beautifully, especially by the wonderful sommelier, who is frank, funny, and full of character. We ordered the 10-course menu and settled in with anticipation.

But it soon became clear that something was amiss in the kitchen. Courses began arriving more and more slowly, and two hours after our order went in, we politely inquired of the waiter whether everything was okay. We had received only four of our courses, which are tiny, even by French standards -- by then we had eaten an amuse consisting of a preparation of two halves of a cherry tomato; a soft-boiled egg; a half-ounce sliver of fish; an espresso-sized cup of corn soup; and a piece of foie gras no larger than a golf ball. Although we had arrived only mildly hungry, we were now starving; also, inexplicably, the servers had also removed our bread plates, and we were just sort of waiting, staring, beginning to feel neglected.

The waiter acknowledged that the kitchen was slow tonight. Twenty minutes later another course finally emerged. And then it was nearly 40 minutes until the servers put the meat course on the table -- two postage-stamp sized slices of wagyu beef. I looked around for the waiter -- was he not going to come over to talk to us about the course, perhaps review the ingredients in the garnishes or discuss the nature of the preparation or provenance of the ingredients? No; we were left to try to figure out what each thing was by taste. By now we had also finished our wine and the bottle had been removed from the table, but nobody inquired as to whether we might like something new to drink, We started wondering what was going on.

Then the maitre d' appeared and asked if we liked the course. I nodded, not wanting to mention the absent waiter, but my partner spoke up, quietly and politely reflecting that something strange was happening, because the service had slowed to a crawl. The maitre d' said that yes, it was a busy night. And I said, again politely and quietly, "you might want to know, it was over 35 minutes waiting for just this course," gesturing at my iphone sitting on the seat next to me, which is the only clock I have.

His response was not to apologize or soothe. He shot back, "You want to go back into the kitchen and see how hard they are working?" and then turned on his heel and left our tableside. This was not a polite invitation to tour the kitchen, which I have done elsewhere, most recently at French Laundry. It was a defensive response. We were bewildered and consumed the course with our now-warm glasses of water. It was now over three hours since we arrived at the restaurant.

Moments later, Chef Citrin appeared at our table. I stupidly thought that perhaps he was there to help get our experience on the right track again. No. He raised his voice to us. He berated us for having a "bad attitude." Then he angrily told us to leave his restaurant.

I was dumbfounded. We tried to explain what had been happening, but he did not want to hear any of it. He was rude and insulting. I burst into tears, and the sommelier and the waiter milled around in the background, shooting me sympathetic glances. We got up and left, me crying my way out of the restaurant on what was to have been a special night.

Once or twice I have seen belligerent and abusive patrons be asked to leave a restaurant. We are not like that kind of patron, and this was nothing like what happened last night. We are seasoned, polite, appropriate adults who arrived eager to spend $1000 on an amazing meal and worship at the altar of a brilliant chef. Instead, we were abused, and 24 hours later I continue to feel as if I have been kicked in the face. I still can't quite believe it.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/04/11

phenomenal!!!!!

by coraline1011

fancy restaurant ever,great service ,great environment,I would come by oftenly, if i got money.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/03/10

Best Food in Town!

by Lisah

So I ate at Melisse about, 2 months ago and it was fantastic! On Wednesday there is a deal going on on Preferdine(dot)com ($50 for $100 at Malisse) that I’m really excited for – I love a good deal at a restaurant that I had a good experience with.

The Details on Melisse

Place Categories:

  • best french food
  • impeccable sharp service
  • fantastic entire experience
  • very nice atmosphere
  • best waiters
  • recommend special occasion place
  • great wait staff
  • mediocre food
  • outstanding wonderful meal
  • incredible knowledgeable sommelier
  • favorite sonoma foie gras
  • creative chef
  • fabulous chocolate dessert
  • great dining experience
  • superb penny
  • bad dish
  • love lobster
  • witty brit
  • love melisse
  • good appetizer
  • full experience
  • not that plesant sommelier
  • enjoy hour dinner
  • best french restaurant
  • more efficient service

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