J Nichols Kitchen

For the people in a rush, this restaurant is just excellent 👍, go there! For everyone else, the restaurant is really nice, cozy, clean. The tables and seats are really comfortable. I got the J Nichols burger and it was delicious. The meat was juicy and cooked to perfection as I asked. I only wish the burger didn't come cut in a half because it was a little harder to eat and avoid a mess. Anyway, the only thing that really matters is the taste and the taste was excellent! Price is right for the location and the food. Highly recommended.

Unbelievable Reuben. Excellent service. So much attention to detail in little things like the bathroom construction, the perfect ice cubes in the glasses. The perfect mix of lemonade and tea in my Arnold Palmer. And then there was the Greek yogurt cheesecake with honey drizzle and pistachio. OMG best cheesecake experience ever!

I’m putting this review online as a warning to the management of J. Nichols to put a kibosh to this ever happening again. I have eaten here many times. The food is excellent. They’re a little pricy but a nice place to go to have an upscale meal in a casual setting. After a morning of running errands, I took myself to lunch and sat at the counter. I was greeted and I ordered. Look at the photo I posted. That’s a lot of staff behind the counter. No one in that group nor anyone else who walked past me being the counter even made eye contact with me, asked me anything, checked in with me at all. I would have liked my iced tea refilled. No. I finished my excellent club sandwich and had to call out to someone racing by me to get a check. My server who I had not seen throughout my meal was cheery and asked how everything was. I told her my thoughts and she was apologetic and asked if I wanted some more tea. I passed, I paid, and I left. I’m not going to accept poor service without calling it out. A sandwich and soft drink that costs $30 should come with some graciousness. And it’s not as though they’re short staffed. Hopefully, management will read and correct this.

Our last day in Santa Monica and we couldn’t find any restaurant that were open or had breakfast items we wanted. We dined at the other good breakfast spots the prior days and wanted to try something different. I found J Nichols on maps outside of the area we were staying and decided to venture out. I called ahead and was told to join the wait list on the website. We arrived at the restaurant and were seated after 15 minutes so was a bit disappointed with the o line wait list. As for our breakfast experience, the service was great. The ambiance was also inviting and lively. Very busy breakfast spot. Our meals were also tasty, especially the chicken chilaquiles. The pancakes were delicious and the egg whites, onions and mushrooms were a bit on the bland side but could have been lacking a bit of salt. Meals were hearty portions and we couldn’t finish all the Turkey bacon since one portion was three slices, we had two portions. Hash was also hearty, tasty and filling. Our overall experience was satisfactory and pleasing and it was worth the 15 minute drive from Ocean drive. I may return on future visits to Santa Monica.