Babalu

Upon stopping by with a friend last weekend, we saw that Babalu had been replaced by Art’s Table.
I might have been tempted to try Art’s out, but the proprietor (Art?) was so aggressive in thrusting menus into our hands (when we made the mistake of pausing for two seconds on the restaurant’s corner) that I felt like I was in some tourist trap, rather than elegant Montana Ave.
So my friend and I got out of there as quickly as possible, and gave The Courtyard Kitchen our business instead.

I went to Babalu for dinner with my husband last night and it was DELICIOUS! I have always been a fan of this restaurant, but tonight they had some new specials which makes me think they got a new chef. Whatever they are doing, they should keep doing it!
We started with an Albacore Tuna quinoa salad, which was apparently only being offered that one night as a special. It was sooo good! It was the perfect mix of flavors with pesto, lemon, spinach, and pistachios. I got the Salmon as my entrée and my husband got the Filet. Both were perfectly cooked and the sauces and sides were amazing!
The service was awesome! It was really bust because of the annual Montana Ave holiday walk, but we were seated within 10 minutes, and the staff kept us updated on the wait time. Our waitress (I think her name was Toya??) was very sweet and knowledgeable about the menu and the wine selection. I wish we could bring her to every restaurant we dine at! The food also came out quickly. We will definitely be back soon with some friends.

Food was very disappointing. Nothing was delicious.
I wanted the banana cream pie, which was their famous one. But they sold out. Made me even sadder. Don’t wanna come back again.

Babalu is a great, casual restaurant on Montana.
I like to get the veggie sandwich (hold the goat cheese and mayo), and side salad. Veggie sandwiches tend not to be my favorite thing, but I love this one– it’s got grilled portabellos, roasted red peppers, is on toasted bread, and they don’t skimp on the avocado (I think there are some other veggies I’m missing, maybe zucchini or eggplant). I like to put hot sauce on it. The side salad is always fresh and comes with a dressing that I love.
You can sit outside if you’d like.
The service here is great, it’s always so nice to see Maureen.

Have been here twice, once for breakfast and once for lunch, and I have yet to have a good experience. One star seems a bit harsh, but both times the service was slow and negligent and the food was bland and left a lot to be desired. It’s too bad, because the place is cute and in a great location.
I had the salmon salad (I substituted salmon for ahi tuna), and despite being colorful, there wasn’t much flavor. It lacked many ingredients to begin with, the lettuce was field greens from a bag and the cheese was Parmesan from a canister.
There are plenty good restaurants in Santa Monica, so I won’t be back here.

I was in a group of 3 and the only open tables were the small 2 person tables. (about 4 of them were open). we asked if it was possible to either squeeze in an extra chair or slide 2 tables closer to each other. I can understand if, as a restaurant, you would rather not move the seating around. but don’t blatantly LIE to me about some made up city regulation that prevents you from moving a seat around. so definitely off to a bad start. and knowing they are busy they had already seated a group of 2 in a huge booth that seats 4.
So after about 30 minutes of waiting we were seated outside. my friends were mostly there for the bottomless mimosas. which i opted out of. the dishes were dirty so that was also a turn off.
The only redeeming thing is that their food is decent. it’s not terrible but it’s not the best brunch i’ve ever had. if you’re in santa monica. enjoy the scenery/​neighborhood and find a more fitting restaurant for your weekend brunch.