Bistro 31

This place is honestly great in so many ways! The food here is great and very affordable. The set up of the dining is very nice and you’re able to watch the chefs cook your food. Everyone that works here are polite and always checking up on you. I would highly recommend this place, they are vegirarian friendly as well as pescitarian friendly.

They do a decent job here. Must admit that I had high expectations. They didn’t meet them. Food was okay and service wasn’t exemplary. Give them a shot. The students run the place more or less. Like that they are there and they change the menu with the seasons. I’ll be back. Order the simple stuff.

It’s for the students, man. No really, it is. This student kitchen allows future chefs and restaurateurs the opportunity cook, serve, and run a restaurant all within the confines of the Art Institute in Santa Monica.
When you roll up, do not be expecting tons of signs. Located right behind the Activision headquarters and on the first floor of the Art Institute building, Bistro 31 can be accessed just behind the guard desk. Definitely call to see whether the restaurant is open before you go because it’s only open when classes are in session. The interior is quite pleasant with views of the working kitchen. The staff is very friendly and eager to serve. We did not make reservations and were able to be seated for lunch after a minute wait at the door.
The menu is great and the prices are quite fair given that you’re getting fine cuisine that’s been prepped by culinary acolytes. No entrée was above $ 13 and many were in the $ 11 range. The options were quite varied with a daily special to boot. We opted for the trout and the special of the day — 12 hour brisket. The trout was definitely the best dish on the table — well seared with good flavoring. The brisket was good as well, albeit a bit dry. Then again, few places outside of Texas can make really good brisket. We ordered a side of corn bread for $ 2 and found it to be moist with plenty of corn kernels in the mix. Using our Unilocal check-​in, we were able to secure a free dessert with a purchase of a lunch entrée. The lemon bar was quite generous in size and wasn’t too sweet, which sometimes happen.
This is a hidden gem. I don’t think people who work in the office buildings next door even know this place exists. While I may not travel far to make this a destination meal, I would definitely encourage you to visit if your lunch plans take you to this area. For a student run and managed restaurant, Bistro 31 does a great job. Keep it up!

I will go again and see how it is next time, but after today’s lunch I have a pretty mixed bag. I like that is a school, I like the way the restaurant looks (minus the weird «prom» center piece that was way too tall and blocked the view of your company), I loved the service we got. But the food… it was pretty bland. I had the pork loin with gravy and mashed potatoes and beans. That was actually fine, nothing awesome but not bad either. Somebody else had pulled pork sandwich that was very bland and the burger was only ok. The desserts were not good: the pineapple upside cake was super dry and weird and the lemon bar had propositions wonky (too much the lemony filling). Now the price is awesome and service was great, so I will go and see if next time the menu is better…

Student chefs and staff. Gourmet food at «diner prices»
The staff here are super-​friendly, and the chefs (who change from semester to semester) so far have failed to disappoint. The menu is small, but the items they offer are excellent, and the menu does change from time to time.
I recommend calling first to make sure they are open, as they are only open certain days of the week, and are closed during school holidays (spring break, summer break, etc)

Friendly, nice and delicious food.
But i was confused the menu because they changed a lot. Actually i liked the menu last year more. But not bad now.

A hidden gem! This restaurant is inside the culinary chef school! How awesome is that? Talented chefs in the making and delicious gourmet food at a great price!
Steak and shrimp– steak is perfectly seared well. Nicely seasoned a little salty on the edges but the meat was moist and super tender. Shrimp was a little burnt, but was still succulent.
Parmesan fries– amazingly seasoned but could be crispier. I like soggy fries so it was perfect for me
I love that they change their menu quarterly. Top notch service!

This place is amazing! Quality food that doesn’t make a hole in you wallet. It’s located in the Art Institute in Santa Monica. It’s located in the business park, so you will have to pay for parking to park inside or find metered parking.
The restaurant is ran by students, which I think is amazing. The food is cooked by culinary students. Be patient everything does take a little longer and you will probably be spending around 1 – 1.5 hrs if you come with a bigger group. If you don’t have the time to spend, they do takeout as well!
The portions are a little smaller, but honestly it’s the perfect amount. And for the price, it’s worth it. My favorite is the hanger steak that comes with potatoes and vegetables. It’s only $ 9! and you can add a salad for an extra $ 2! Everything on their menu is less than $ 10 except their surf n’ turf, which is $ 11. The menu changes depending on what the students are learning that time. I think today is the last day for this quarter and they open again mid-​April.
+CHEAP GOOD FOOD.

I had such a wonderful time at lunch with my friend. The food was GREAT and the service was even GREATER. I can’t wait to come back again.

Always enjoy coming in for lunch. Meals are amazingly delicious. Staff (current and former culinary students) very courteous. Come by and support the Culinary department and all the great talent!
Must try all the dishes at least once. My Favorite is the Pan Seared Salmon.

My coworkers and I come here too often. They’re starting to recognize our faces here =T haha this is a neat little restaurant ran by the students at The Art institute. Great prices! For example, you can get a salmon for about $ 9 and miso soup for $ 1! Desserts all run for $ 3 each (FREE if you check in on Unilocal!). Portion sizes are pretty small but that usually goes for most nice restaurants. The quality of the food is good but not the best, but you can’t beat the prices!
I’ll post a picture of their menu but they do try to change it up every week or so. For the most part it stays pretty consistent though.
You might want to stay away from their pistachio ice cream. It tends to melt really fast.

We came here last night to support a friend who was goes to the art institute and his class was putting on a 3-​day restaurant there.
It was «cabin» themed and it was very good! Now, I know this review is for Bistro 31 and not for his project specifically, but I thought everything was top notch. The class did a great job. We had grilled artichokes and chili, BBQ and blackened salmon. Everything was spectacular.

Fancy dinner experience but at affordable prices in a very simple setting. Presentation is excellent! Everything was cooked very well, scallops were perfect! Cooked and served by students here.
Was told lunch is packed. No more corkage. Local gem! Can’t beat the prices, they don’t make any profit! If anything, wondering how they’re even breaking even.
Parking for 2 hours. Menu changes each semester. Limited dates open.
If I lived closer, I’d come here every semester to try their new menu!

These student are doing an awesome job! I wish I could cook like this!
They brought freshly made bread to our table that was warm and so soft… we had to get seconds! We had the Pan Seared Jumbo Scallops to start with…(only because it was recommended to us, we have never been big fans of scallops)…they really changed our minds with this! It was so delicious and full of flavor! The scallops were cooked to perfection! For our entrees we ordered the Marys Farm Organic Free Range Chicken and the Sous Vide Wagyu Flat Iron Steak. The portions were just right and flavors on the entrée complimented the chicken perfectly! The steak was cooked just the way I like it and was so tender and juicy! The highlight of our night though was the dessert. Just the right amount, not to sweet nor bland. We had the Mixed Berry Sorbet and the Pistachio Cake. Both left us speechless because we were too busy stuffing our faces! Just perfect!
Special compliments to Chefs Ivonne and Anissa! Great job ladies!

I came here for lunch but unfortunately must have been here during the wrong week or something. Everything was somewhat korean food themed. I got the bimbimbap which was a platter of veggies and two rice balls with a fried egg on top. The food was pretty bland but at $ 6 I would never find such an amazing deal for a full lunch spread.
The service was great and I loved watching the students cooking behind the glass. It was a little tough to find and I felt like a college kid again wandering the halls.
I do plan on giving this place another try and saw that the evening menu had more options. I really love the concept and hope to support this place and dinner is probably the better call.

A very interesting restaurant. As a foodie i feel a restaurant inside a culinary arts school is very important. To learn to value of presentation, serving, plating and to know that there are places to learn good cooking.
There is a clear glass to watch all the chefs behind, which is a bit like watching an ant farm or rats in a maze but enjoyable.
Our friend was in the culinary school and it is important to support them. And the extra tips go to the scholarships for the school.
Our orders contained: Salmon, clam chowder with puff pastry inside.
If you check in you got a free desert, lava cake.
my only suggestion was a couple more desert options. The Hazelnut ice cream was delicious. Would have loved an order of that ice cream as a desert.
Overall a nice place.
And bathrooms are outside of the restaurant and super easy to find.

If you’re looking for a affordable gourmet 3 course meal, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better place. Located inside the culinary institute, it’s completely student chef run. Only student chefs would make a New England clam chowder served over a puff pasty and put whole clams in it! It was chock full of clams with the perfect amount of bacon to balance it out. Probably one of the best clam chowders I’ve had in a while. Got the salmon entrée which was perfectly cooked (not too rare, but still juicy and flakey) and accompanied well by fingerling potatoes and a savory mustard sauce. Portions were pretty good and presentation was excellent. Yes these student chefs piped out our butter for the bread in the form of colored roses (see my photos). They were really nice and you can see right into the kitchen with the full glass windows — if that’s your thing. There was no wait to be seated. My friends got the truffle appetizer and filet mignon entrée; everyone loved their food and finished their portions. They add items to their menu weekly, so huge incentive to come back.
The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because they don’t have a liquor license and the service was a little dicey. They forgot parts of orders (which they would correct immediately) or would hand me the entrée of the friend sitting next to me. That’s ok because we just swapped plates quickly and they were always apologetic. You’re here for the low priced gourmet meal anyways, not for fancy waiting on hand and foot service. Also check in through Unilocal for a free dessert!

So delicious. The Mac and cheese! Felt like I was eating at a 5 star restaurant. I should eat here more often.

This place is fantastic!
Came to check it out and was blown away by the students level of knowledge. This is a restaurant that is opperated by the Art Institutes culinary students. They run the kitchen and the back of the house.
The food varies depending on the course they are in. I had Asian food. There was ramen, dumplings and and Asian style burger. Everything was incredible, especially for the price. Lunch was around $ 15 for 2 courses.
They are only open a couple days a week, so be sure to check if they are open before driving over. I cannot wait to go back and try it for dinner.

This is one of the coolest ideas for a restaurant ever! Located within the Art Institute, this restaurant is completely run by students of the culinary program.
They prep, cook, serve, greet, seat, and — I assume — clean up.
We came here for lunch today and the whole experience was so impressive that I’m already planning a return visit to try everything on their (seasonal) dinner menu!
Prices were fair, portions are average, service is a bit awkward but they’re trying really hard and still learning, so I give them credit for that.
It’s not that large of a place, and there’s a huge picture window into the kitchen so every table has some sort of view of the inner workings.
Table bread came out fast — it was an unremarkable, soft light wheat bread, with softened herb butter. Definitely not worth the carb expenditure. The butter was good though.
They unfortunately ran out of the Roasted Pumpkin Soup, but we tried everything else on the menu:
Tuscan Kale Salad — rubbed with a light vinaigrette, super fresh and dark kale pieces were topped with goat cheese, pecans, apple shreds and pomegranate airils
Bistro Burger — cooked to order, topped with lettuce, roasted tomatoes, pickles and caramelized onions, and served with a little pile of steak fries. I tried this with and without a bun, and both versions were really good.
Broiled Wild Scottish Salmon — served atop a crispy Yukon gold potato and leek cake, with sauteed spinach and a buerre blanc sauce. I totally had ordering envy over this dish! Seasoned delicately, perfect textures, fresh ingredients, so good!
Steamed Chocolate Cake — like a molten lava cake, served with a hazelnut gelato and hazelnut brittle. Great texture and flavor, perfectly mildly sweet, and really memorable gelato.
Port Poached Forelle Pear — the cutest little pear, poached, cored, and filled with some creamy goodness, served with a delicate shortbread, mascarpone mousse and this amazing truffle salted caramel. All the elements including the pear tasted good, but the pear wasn’t poached tender enough. It was difficult to fork, impossible to spoon, and required some serious knife action
Our server clearly made every effort to be as attentive as possible, but the strangest quirk (of the rules that they follow, clearly) made service feel a bit spotty:
When you ask for more water, they go to the kitchen and bring new glasses each time, instead of refilling your glass. This created a recurring wait for really one of the most basic things — water. I’m sure there must be a reason they do it this way, but the water glasses are small and we had to ask for more water a few times, which started to get tiring.
They validate for their lot as well as the lot across the street (where the 24 Hour Fitness is) for 2 hours, so parking is easy. Definitely a plus in my book!
Overall, this is a really special place to experience, and the food is very good. Oh and all tips go directly to the students, so come and eat and show your support! I know I will!