Rustic Canyon Wine Bar

10/20/09

average

by 5foodie at Citysearch

I had dinner here the other night. The ambiance in the restaurant is really nice, the lighting is perfect and the staff is very friendly. The food is average nothing special but it feels like fresh organic food which is nice. The wine list is way too extensive and there is not even a bottle under $40. I saw wines on the list that were more than double that I have seen at other restaurants.

• Pros: nice ambiance
• Cons: long and expensive wine list

07/06/09

Great atmosphere and even better burgers!

by LoSmittie at Citysearch

Mondays are specialty burger and artisinal beer nights. Tonight's highlight was a burrata burger with burrata and fresh tomatoes on top of a juicy patty. A cold beer is the perfect accomplice. Don't forget to try the donut holes with chocolate dipping sauce. This place is definitely a keeper!

• Pros: Great food, rustic decor, good wine
• Cons: Smaller menu, parking

01/04/09

a special place for special occasions (where every dining experience is a special occasion)

by senoritabonita at Citysearch

A friend of mine recently introduced me to this gem of a restaurant in Santa Monica. Since we had nothing planned for New Year's eve (the holiday is overrated anyway), we decided to celebrate at Rustic Canyon with a small group of our closest friends. What a great time we had! We pigged out on eight exquisite courses -- including succulent oysters, fresh tortellini, and sinfully delicious dessert. Near midnight, the friendly (and good-looking) staff passed out tiaras, hats, horns, and of course flutes of champagne. We counted down and toasted to the ending of a crappy year and the beginning of a new year with promise.

By the way, my friend had warned me that the one downside to Rustic Canyon is that when it gets busy (and it's always busy), it is impossibly loud in there. But we were pleasantly surprised to see newly installed sound absorption panels on the ceiling. We had no trouble hearing one another on New Year's. Guess Rustic Canyon is pretty good at taking customer feedback, so speak up. I do!

01/02/09

Kid and Palate Friendly Rustic Delight

by kg115 at Citysearch

My cousins were visiting from manhattan with their two kids, ages 5 and 9. Quite the little foodies! Due to their busy schedules, we had only one night to spend together. As a proud, life-long westsider I wanted to share with them something I felt represented santa monica at its best. It was a no brainer. I took them to rustic canyon! As expected, everything, from the persimmon salad to the special butter pasta hand made to order for a finicky 5 year old, to the perfectly cooked skirt steak and deliciously crisp fries with aioli, was on point. Even the house made pickles that that come with the impressive burger are a delight. The wait staff was amazing. My little cousins wanted to take our waiter, Gabe, home by the end of the night! Not only is he good with kids, he makes a mean latte. As if everything wasn?t already good enough, we ended our night with zoe nathan?s amazing pastries. We ordered the banana cream pie, apple rhubarb crostata and cookie plate! The banana cream pie, with its perfectly flakey crust, slightly salty caramel and rich vanilla pastry cream, is probably the best you?ll ever have in your life. The cookie plate is an experience in and of itself. Just like the restaurant, it has a little something for everyone: tastefully tart lemon bars, caramel wedges, mini chocolate cupcakes, a delightful cream puff, fruit crisps, ginger and chocolate chip cookies galore! Rustic Canyon, thanks for being something consistently good in my world!

12/09/08

really gone downhill since the old chef left

by SantaMonicaFoodie at Citysearch

I used to be a regular at Rustic Canyon, but the place has really gone downhill since the old chef Samir left. The once great burger is now a sad excuse for a meal. The fries are soggy. McDonald's has better fries! Why did the new chef ruin a good thing? You have to wait forever to get your food and the new chef is always standing by the door flirting with the hostess. It makes the customers uncomfortable and by the looks of it, the hostess is uncomfortable too. Maybe the food would come out faster if he were in the kitchen, not standing around blocking the walkway. I walked by on a busy Friday night, willing to give the place another try, but when I saw the chef standing over the hostess shoulder while paying customers wait for their food, I kept on walking. The owners sure made a mistake and ruined what used to be a great place.

• Pros: great location, the desserts are still good
• Cons: long wait, terrible food, incompetent staff

12/04/08

My latest favorite Westside restaurant

by LADiner21 at Citysearch

This is my latest favorite Westside restaurant. Selections change often, food is fabulous, wine selection by the glass and bottle is great and the service is impressive. Listen to your wait staff, they know what to recommend . . .some of my favorites are. . . the beet salad, shepherds pie (sounds weird but you have to try it, so fantastic), either of the fresh pastas, the duck confit, fish, and you have to have dessert! Hands down a must try!

11/04/08

Santa Monica's cozy yet chic seasonal kitchen offers farmers' market-inspired dishes and boutique wines from around the world.

by Martha Burr at Citysearch

In Short
Heavy dark woods, organic materials and high white ceilings create a romantic atmosphere. Votive candles flicker and a jazzy global beat plays low while the young Santa Monica crowd chills at the wine bar, in the small crowded lounge, or at tables and booths. Owner Josh Loeb spring-boarded off hosting wine dinners in his home, and he personally rotates boutique selections gleaned from small-production vineyards around the world. A seasonally driven Cal-Med menu features ingredients from local farmers and fishermen. Sharing is encouraged and the enthusiastic waitstaff is savvy about pairing wine to each dish (or person). Appetizers include a subtle pizzetta of salami and wild greens, or bolder flavors like sliced filet mignon with silky horseradish cream. Mains are light and pleasing, especially the crispy wild snapper prettily nestled in a bed of shaved fennel, or a meadow-y spring risotto with English peas, asparagus and fresh morels.

09/05/08

Like Eating at Home Among Friends With a Gourmet Chef Working Magic in the Kitchen

by baochi at Citysearch

I am probably the biggest homebody I know. I don't go to my friends - they come to me. So it's significant when something actually lures me out of my shoe box apartment. One of my biggest temptations is Rustic Canyon, where everybody knows my name and can predict my favorite drinks and dishes.

Half the time, I dine at RC alone, at the bar where my favorite bartender, Donan, serves me up his latest drink concoction and is polite enough to laugh at my anecdotes.

The other half the time, I dine with friends or business companions in the main dining room, which is somehow oddly appropriate for either fun or professional conversation. While I am no wine connoisseur, it's pleasing to hear my wine maven friends exclaim over the impressive wine selection.

I have a hard time straying from certain mainstays on the menu such as the cheese plate with warm raisin bread, the mussels in a sauce so good that I often ask for a second helping of dipping bread, and the burger with wild arugula. Then again, Rustic's seasonal dishes often sound too enticing to resist. Right now, I'm lovin' chef Evan's hand made butternut squash mezzaluna (half moon shaped pasta), wild chanterelle mushroom and leek root risotto, and pan roasted black cod.

But enough about dinner. Let's talk about my favorite meal: brunch. First, I'll start out with a complaint: Rustic ONLY serves brunch on Saturdays! The rest of the time (mainly on Sundays), I have no idea where to get a good brunch. Pastry chef Zoe has gotta be the most ballyhooed gal in town right now with her heavenly brunch creations. Like sweet? Try a hearty slice of her blueberry cornmeal coffee cake (my fave) or indulge (and then starve yourself the rest of the day) in the chocolate banana bread pudding. Prefer savory? The warm prosciutto and gruyere croissant is a must, as is the fried egg sandwich with bacon, gruyere, and arugula.

What a treat that Rustic Canyon is in walking distance from my house!

• Pros: Farmers market fresh food, the friendly staff, solid dishes
• Cons: Brunch only on Saturdays!

09/05/08

A really great meal, don't miss the doughnuts

by bryce12 at Citysearch

Went to Rustic Canyon with a group of six last night. Food was AMAZING! I'm a Farmer's Market junkie, and I love that this really is a place that cooks from the market. The best dishes were a Butternut Squash pasta that I'm still craving today, Burrata bread salad, these delcious little mozzarella risotto things, and a grilled pork chop with roasted pears. I love the quality of the ingredients they use and our whole table was in love with the homemade doughnuts that came with a rich hot chocolate. We ordered two more of them, but they do take about 10 minutes an order so next time I'll just be smart and order them all at once. I don't know much about wine, but the staff seemed to, and we were very happy with everything we drank.

08/26/08

Rustic Coingone

by knucklehead1 at Citysearch

They should call this place Rustic Coingone 'cuz your coin will be gone when you leave and you will feel gyped. The food is tiny, like that AMPM commercial where the couple goes out for a nice dinner and the food is for rabbits, and they end up going to AMPM afterwards to fill up on junk food. While the wine list is solid, the hungover-while partying all night 20 something staff is a joke, the prices are sky high, there's a lot of noise and the tiny portions makes this a must-miss westside eatery. I appreciate the fresh ingredients, but why treat us like fashion models? How much did that organically grown carrot set you back? People in Santa Monica need good restaurants, but don't fool yourself into believing this is one of them. There is more style than substance here, and that is truly disappointing given the potential of this restaurant/wine bar.

• Pros: wine and organic ingredients
• Cons: everything else