Darren’s Restaurant

Cool vibe /​atmosphere. Friendly staff. Typical MB pricey drinks. Haven’t sampled much from the menu yet, although I did try the «renowned» chowder at a friend’s suggestion, which was pretty good but a bit too sweet. I was fairly happy overall with my latest visit until the check came, and I found they had charged me $ 22 for a bowl of this soup. Ok, even if this stuff was the freakin’ nectar of the gods would it STILL not be worth $ 22. I’ll probably stop in again again at some point, but for now this kind of killed it for me…

Out of all the restaurants in the south bay I have three favorites this is one of them ! The food the drinks and the service are all outstanding and don’t be afraid to sit in the bar everyone’s very friendly !

This place is fabulous! Our server (Jessica) was great and provided great service. We have been here many times and love the food… drinks too! I also want to add that Darren’s participates in donating towards many fundraising events… I do a lot of work for non-​profits and they have always been very generous. Thank you!

This restaurant is overrated!!! We went for dinner last night with our friends and the experience was nothing like what it stated in Unilocal with their high ratings. We had ordered a drink and taste like cough syrup. We’ve been to many of the restaurants in Manhattan Beach and I can say that this restaurant was the worst dining experienced we have had. I ordered a pork chop and we had to wait for awhile for our food. When the meals finally came my pork chop was raw. I showed it to the waitress and she was trying to deny that it wasn’t cooked. I was surprised that an experienced chef would allow to have a raw pork chop served to a customer.
We were very disappointed!!! Please see the picture, it only gets worst as you cut the pork chop in the middle.

Came here on a Monday night with the hubby for my birthday. The food was very good, but it is definitely an expensive restaurant. We ate in the bar area to participate in the happy hour specials, which are only for food. You can see their current HH menu on their website, but basically they have certain items half off. We had the corn muffins, Brussel sprouts, and salmon for eats. Drinks, my husband had a beer and I had the Nadia. The muffins ($ 2) were good, served with truffle butter. Brussel sprouts ($ 7) were nice and crispy (fried), good flavor, but a little too salty for our taste. The salmon ($ 30) was amazing. It was Thai-​spiced and served over squash noodles that had their own delicious sauce. I really enjoyed my drink, too. It wasn’t too strong, but had a fresh grapefruit flavor. The cocktails are around $ 15.
The ambiance is pretty good. Location can be difficult on a more popular night. Although it’s mostly metered street parking, there is a garage with meters nearby too. Our bartender was interesting… that’s all I’ll say. If you are okay to spend the money or looking for a nice night out, I would recommend trying this place. It’s too expensive to be a regular stop, but I’d go again for a special occasion.

Living in this area, I’ve had my ups and downs with my favorites restaurants, but Darren’s has really just gone and raised the bar. Our server (and GM), Bart, has got to be the example of hospitality in the restaurant world. Everything he recommended was unbelievable, his wine choices were everything I wanted, and he charmed us with his dedication to perfection and desire to make his customers feel like family. This place does not hide behind the façade of a kitschy name and «hip» reviews because it simply does not have to. Delicious food made by a chef whose senses are in tuned with his taste buds served by a staff that is genuinely happy makes for an unforgettable experience.

This is our weekly go to restaurant. Great food, service and exceptional wine. Best restaurant in Manhattan Beach IMHO. Worth every dollar. Great vibe if you are into the Manhattan Beach scene. It’s always been great and still is after all these years. Not a bad dish on the menu and a couple of real standouts.

Was there last night for a quick bite. I ordered the shrimp ravioli, not the best dish on the menu. My boyfriend ordered the lobster chowder and it was not good either. It was extremely sweet. Our server was horrible, she asked how everything was, when we said it was ok she just walked away! We didn’t see her after that, we had to ask the manager for our check since she would walk by us and completely ignore us. Never going back.

Food is great, drinks are amazing

Yes yes yes! Stumbled upon this place by accident. Every place in the area was a 30 minute wait or longer. This place was no wait if you sat at the bar. It was a Friday night.
As soon as we walked in I knew it was going to be a good dinner. The whole place smelled like truffle which I freaking love.
My friend and I tried a few different martinis off the menu and the bartender did a wonderful job– all the drinks were delicious.
Ended up with the Hawaiian ahi poke and the angus burger sliders and both were amazing!
I highly recommend this place. It’s a good place for a date as well. Very cool ambiance.

Had dinner here last Thursday night. Exceeded our expectations big time. Food service perfect!!! Fleur d lys has nothing on this fine dining estab. Go here now.

Poki is so good! We went in for the happy hour menu and everything we had was excellent. Very friendly atmosphere. Everyone is super nice. Try it! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Loved the seafood pasta and the mussels with garlic bread. Both were flavorful, savory, buttery, delicious dishes. The seafood was cooked perfectly and both sauces were pleasantly smooth and creamy. The crab cake was good, but needed more zing. We had to ask for some hot sauce and lemon to squeeze over it.
Service was fantastic. Kelli was a great server! Super sweet and attentive. The atmosphere was both cozy and fun. Perfect date spot!

Their vegeterian steak was amazing! I am usually not one to love extrememly expensive restaurants but I was taken here for a special occasion and was not disappointed. The staff was so nice and friendly and the ambiance was quite nice as well.
Great place for a nice fancy dinner. you get what you pay for!

We are a bit embarrassed we had not eaten at Darren’s, particularly since we are locals and I drive by it every week. Our loss but happy we finally did!
Utterly delicious… EVERYTHING! The Buffalo Risotto was insane as was my husbands Braised beef short rib — mouth melting. Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower were a delicious addition!
We were so happy and full with our meal that we didn’t have room for desert.
I guess we’ll have to visit again and again!

My friends first took me here, and I took my husband back her for our anniversary dinner. It’s a great restaurant in Downtown Manhattan Beach, with food that is so good you will probably eat everything on your plate like us!
You can make reservations here, and I would recommend it, especially on a weekend. They have a new sous-​chef and are starting a brunch menu. We tried one of the brunch dishes with our dinner — the lamb meatballs with a fried egg on top. This was amazing. It was like a hearty, flavorful stew with a surprising finish — the egg. Yum! My husband wished he had ordered two of them. We also had the side of carrots that were seasoned to perfection, and came with peanuts.
We also tried the beet salad — red and yellow beets with goat cheese and dressing. If you love beets, try this. It’s as light and yummy as it sounds. The presentation is picture perfect.
I had the sea bass for my main course. It was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside with a light flavor on a bed of spinach. Totally incredible. I’ve also tried the salmon here, it’s a very unique salmon in that it’s prepared with peanut butter and a panko crust. Try it you foodies :).
For drinks we had a Moscow Mule and I had the Strawberry Kiss cocktail. Strawberry purée, champagne, vodka, incredible! Light for you lightweights like me out there.
Dessert was the triple chocolate brownie with peanut butter frosting and salted caramel. Ah-​freaking-​mazing. If you love chocolate and love peanut butter well… you can’t come here and not get this dessert. Also, we were pleased that they comp’d our dessert because it was our anniversary, it also came with a candle. Nice touch.
Our server was Mark/“Ice”. He was awesome.

Hands down my favorite spot! It’s full of friendly staff and awesome regulars… I like to call it the Cheers of Manhattan Beach, where everyone knows your name. The food is fantastic and you can tell that the staff really cares about your dining experience.
You have to try the Sweet and Spicy Lobster Chowder, it’s unlike any chowder you’ve had before and it’s made to order.
Go to Darren’s, you won’t regret it!

I took my parents here when they came to visit us. Nice, contemporary restaurant one block up from the beach.
Food quality was very good.
Mussels– good. Loved the broth. More bread to dip might have helped.
Forbidden rice– good. Liked the cranberry and mango.
Corn break muffins– good.
Broccoli w/​pork belly– very good as well.
Overall we liked our meal but thought it was slightly expensive given the size of the portions (which were pretty small). I’ll probably come back but most likely for their happy hour which appears to be a better deal.
Parking in the area is also a challenge.

Really like but not truly love. In fact, by far, I would rather go to nearby stops of Fishing with Dynamite (
), Manhattan Beach Post (
), and Little Sister (
). They’d all have to be busy with a long wait before I’d revisit Darren’s.
Newly remodeled with a new face, they’ve eliminated the patio. The one thing that is unique among the 3 aforementioned restaurants. A nice bar and small dining are remain, in dark and medium browns, with rafters for a ceiling.
The Seafood Pasta (4.0 stars), Peanut Butter encrusted Salmon (weird, 3.5 stars), and Forbidden Rice (4.5 stars) were on the agenda — it was all slightly north of good. Dessert, however, was quite fantastic with a peanut butter and sea salt brownie (5.0 stars). A wine menu featuring both glass and bottle were decently priced.
Wonderful service by Nadia was the highlight of the evening.

My husband and I came here to celebrate our 3^rd anniversary :) He always keeps the location of our dinner a secret anytime we’re celebrating anything – anniversaries and Valentine’s Day to name a couple. He’ll tell me the city the day of –_​_​_​– He said the restaurant was business casual, but I figured since it was our anniversary, I’d get dolled up and it would still be okay. However, I completely forgot the atmosphere of Manhattan Beach. In any given day, I’m pretty sure I can walk in to any fancy restaurant wearing flip flops, casual shirt, and jeans and I’d still be able to dine in. Manhattan Beach (the pier anyway) has a chill vibe. It’s what I love about it.
Anyway, the restaurant was LOUD. From the outside, it looked empty since no one was waiting outside and no bright lights appeared inside. We were seated right away by the hostess. My husband sat across from me, but after shouting a few times, we decided it was best for him to sit next to me so we wouldn’t lose our voices :(We could hear everyone’s conversation because everyone was shouting. Do not come here if you’re looking for a romantic ambiance.
Our order:
1) Baby heirloom tomato panzanella: This was a good start to our dining experience. The tomatoes were crunchy and tasted fresh. I really enjoyed the cheese with it too because it provided some saltiness to the dish.
2) Sweet & spicy lobster chowder: least favorite dish of the night. I think it was the combination of sweet corn and coconut broth that I didn’t like.
3) Braised beef short rib: this was a good dish, but it didn’t stand out to me. The rib was also on the dry and hard side. When I think of this kind of dish, I think soft and moist and melts in your mouth.
4) 12 oz. boneless USDA Prime Ribeye «Cap»: My husband was unhappy when he first cut into it because there wasn’t any ‘blood’ dripping from the meat, but the closer to the center he got, it was the medium rare he asked for. Overall impression? It was alright as well.
5) Game’s On Risotto: delicious, delicious, delicious! It was hands down the best dish of the night! The risotto was cooked perfectly!