Border Grill Santa Monica

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justla

Joined 7 years ago

Great everything.. This place is great. The margaritas are awesome, the food is top notch and the service is super friendly. I had a great time and would go back in a heart beat.

The only thing I didn't like was the shrimp ceviche had too much mint. Other than that we had the chicken panuchos, the cochinito and the skirt steak. All flavorful and tender.

Love it.

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jraposa

Joined 7 years ago

Great Happy Hour & Very Creative Flavorful Food & Drinks. The Border Grill has been a favorite of mine for years. The food, drinks & service is still top notch. Happy hour is also the best in Los Angeles.

This is a great place to take out of town guests, get a quick bite & drink for hapy hour or have a really delicious lunch or dinner.

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sverige

Joined 6 years ago

Great Happy Hour!. The first time I went to Border Grill was for there Happy Hour. When we first arrived at around 5:30 nobody was there, but by 6:30 it was packed! Margaritas were $3.50, and although small, they were at least strong. Chips and 3 kinds of salsa are served with drinks. We got a few appetizers and there are about 3 kinds of appetizers for each price- $3, $5, $7 and $9.75. I was happily surprised at how good most things were. We order Green Corn Tamales, Chicken Panuchos, Duck Wings, and the 2 Hot Tamale Assortment. My favorite was the Panucho- kind of like a soft taco with chicken, blackbeans, and guacamole. The ducks wings were really good too. I wasn't a huge fan of the green corn tamales only b/c I didn't care for the sweetness. Of the 2 tamale assortment, the cheese one was quite good, but the chicken I didn't care for either. Since the happy hr didn't pan out too badly, I went to dinner there this weekend. I feel like each dish is either good or it really isn't. Note- our service was great. The sauteed shrimp dish did well with the shrimp, but the soupy rice left something to be desired. I highly recommend the Grilled Chicken Chilaquiles. That was my favorite! Also, the carnitas were good, but not too original. Overall, a good experience, but it really depends on what you order.

Doesn't Recommend

weatherman54

Joined 6 years ago

Trendy latin restaurant that TRIES but misses!. The setting and enviroment is a Neat and colorful a blend of latin America with 70's modern design, but , If your in the mood for authentic Latin cuisine this is not the place. Found Menu to be very descripitve and inviting to try various dishes however most meals come off more like a fancy version of your typical beans and rice, with a few reduction sauces. Prices are a tad high for what you get. More attention to presentation is kept with a lack of controlled cooking. Dishes are made pretty but flavors are too strong and confusing. We glanced around the room and nobody's food looked inviting to us. The Ono fish I ordered came blackened but raw on the inside, that came off more chewy and tough than expected and was still hungry when finished. Poor execution of the dish of what sounded good. An assortment of decent mixed drinks however I had a Beer and same glass as water glasses seemed a little cheesy. Over all we were confused with what type of food this place is trying to serve if you have the money to spend on a trendy latin food that TRIES to put a zing in the typical beans and rice boring Mexican food enjoy Border Grill and its location. If you want to experience quality and expert taste and authentic Latin cooking of similar prices as Border Grill try the cuban delight, Mojitocuisine in Valencia CA.

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spenwald

Joined 6 years ago

SURPRISINGLY AMAZING SEAFOOD. I?m just a valley girl, but I was visiting friends in Santa Monica all day last weekend, and decided since I was at the beach all day, I wanted seafood for dinner. So we went to a Mexican place? I was skeptical when my friends first suggested Border Grill for seafood; because they were in the mood for something else. Didn?t think I?d be happy with the seafood at a Mexican place, but then I ordered the Pescano Veracruzano. It was delicious, who knew olives on fish could be so good. It was probably one of my favorite seafood experiences ever. Also, what?s great about Border Grill is they are very aware of the environment ? all sustainable seafood (there seafood isn?t helping to deplete the oceans), they serve Canadian Seafood (in support of the Humane Society protest of the Seal Hunt), and they don?t have any Tuna or Swordfish on the menu due to high mercury content. Not only was my stomach satisfied, but was so was my brain, OK so I obtained my knowledge solely due to the fact that I was trying to keep conversation flowing between the cute manager, Nathan, and myself ? but it didn?t hurt that he was smart either. So if you?re in Santa Monica and suddenly find yourself stuck in a group with a lot of different cravings, go to Border Grill, there?s pretty much something for everyone.

Doesn't Recommend

wckdtch

Joined 6 years ago

WON'T GO AGAIN. My husband and I had high hopes for BG...just walking in it looked like a fun place. However, our experience turned out to be pretty negative in all areas. We had to wait forever to be seated, and to get a drink in the bar. Granted, we didn't make a reservation, but we got a little irritated when we saw people who walked in after us without reservations seated before we were. Our waiter was pretty bored with us and kind of gave us the impression that we were imposing. The food was so-so, but definitely not worth what we paid. Needless to say, we won't be returning!

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hldnrain

Joined 6 years ago

Great Weekend Brunch. Just tried Border Grill?s Brunch for the first time last weekend. The place was pretty crowded, but the food was so good we didn?t mind. I had the delicious Banana Pancakes, they come with this amazing coconut syrup, wow! My friend had the Border Grill Benedict and we were equally impresses. If you are looking for a place to eat and meet up with friends on the weekend Border Grill is a great spot. I just recommend you make a reservation.

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chcole75

Joined 6 years ago

Great quality lunch spot. Cool place to pop in for a quick lunch. Dropped in about 12:30. The place was half empty, still had an energetic vibe. I had carne asada tacos and a side of flour tortillas - all for about $15. Really good, fresh food. Tortillas were awesome (I always get them instead of chips) - someone on here pointed out how stingy this place is with tortillas. There are only 2 per order, which works great as a side - but if you want to incorporate as part of your meal, or share with the whole table, probably not quite enough. Seated immediately, food came quickly. Will definitely go again.

Doesn't Recommend

h2o86

Joined 6 years ago

Mostly Mediocre. I was pretty disappointed. The tamales were undercooked, the fish wasn't very fresh and the margarita was far too syrupy without enough lime - I couldn't even finish it and it was only about 8 ounces for $12. The salsas were very watery and missing something. One of them tasted like shrimp cocktail sauce - not great for dipping the chips they were served with. The steak was very good but we weren't asked how we liked it and it came rare. I could have paid $30 for this meal and not have felt any desire to go back; certainly not for the $90 it actually cost for two people to dine. This restaurant would be better off scrapping the Mexican theme and sticking to food they know how to make, and I like Americanized Mexican food too.

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usctim

Joined 6 years ago

Fantastic food but the service was lacking. The food here is creative upscale Mexican and it did not disappoint. The cocktails are equally creative and interesting and tasted great. The restaurant is a bit loud but that wasn't as much of a detractor as our service was when my girlfriend and I had dinner here about 10 days ago. Our waiter was very attentive at first and offered us suggestions regarding the drinks. However, once our food was brought to us by a runner, the waiter vanished, never to appear again. It was only after I hailed a busboy 30 minutes after we finished our meal that the waiter finally came over and without apologizing, asked if we needed anything else. This is one of those experiences where luckily the food was good because the service was lacking.