Seaside on the Pier - Santa Monica (CA)

1 /5 Alyssa Sano: Save your money. To start, host starts walking us to our table then suddenly stops, turns around, hands us the menus and tells us to go sit next to the other people then walks away. So we go sit ourselves. Server takes about 20 minutes to come just to get our drinks order. Then another 20 minutes to come take our food order. Someone else delivers our food after another 25 minutes. You can tell nothing is fresh. I ordered fish tacos, the other person in my party ordered a burger. Burger and fish definitely have been frozen. Fish tacos-terrible sauce, wet tortillas, and just overall bad flavor. Burger-under seasoned, wet bun, and bad texture. Best things we consumed were the beans that came as a side for the tacos. On top of all this, server was nonexistent. Then when he made his appearance finally the first thing out of his mouth, "are you done or what? You want the check?" Just save your money and go somewhere else.

4 /5 D2778 1: I spent an afternoon around the pier, and this seemed to be one of the recommended places for food. Seating was tight due to it raining, but just as the rain stopped my food came out, so I seated myself outside. My food was good but not life-altering; I got the catch of the day. I had a couple pigeons join me....it was peaceful out of the inside crowd. The downside, is the salt in the shakers was wet and wouldnt come out very well.

1 /5 Sam Nomads: I almost never write reviews, but this time I feel morally obligated to warn anyone considering this place. We ordered two burgers and a seafood pasta. The waiting time was absurdly long, with no explanation or apology. When the food finally arrived, it was a complete disaster. The burger was dry, empty, nearly raw, and borderline inedible. It tasted like it was thrown together without any care, skill, or basic understanding of cooking. I have genuinely never been served something this bad in my life. This place has no standards, no respect for customers, and no business serving food. Save your money, your time, and your stomach — do not eat here. This is, without exaggeration, one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had.

3 /5 Grace Lee: PLEASE GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!! No wonder the restaurant was not busy at all... Service and atmosphere were great! Funny and entertaining staff but the food was not good. One of the dishes we ordered was Margarita Pizza and it was the worst pizza we ever had. It was worst than the frozen pizzas that you get at grocery stores. The Chicken Ceasar Salad was as bad as the pizza. The chicken that they put in the salad was from a freezer. Some werent even defrost all the way. It tasted like a rubber. Not worth your money.

2 /5 H K: I genuinely wanted to love this place. Honestly, I gave it multiple chances — with all respect and with all my heart. I adore spending time on the Santa Monica Pier. There’s so much to do, so much energy and fun. And to be completely fair, Seaside on the Pier does have one thing they do exceptionally well: the cocktails. Their Piña Colada served inside a fresh pineapple? Incredible. One of my absolute favorite drinks on the whole pier. It’s refreshing, delicious, and honestly a must-try if you’re in the area. And the rooftop patio — the view from up there is stunning. You can see the entire pier, the ocean, the sunset. It’s the perfect place to sit, relax, and enjoy the moment. If we’re talking about cocktails and the view, this spot is amazing. But… anything beyond cocktails is a completely different story. We tried ordering food here several times, on different days, weekdays and weekends — and the experience was consistently disappointing. They advertise their “famous lobster roll” right at the entrance to lure people in. But that lobster roll is almost impossible to eat. Truly. We tried it more than once just to be fair, and every time it was the same. Burgers? No. Fries? I honestly don’t understand how a busy restaurant can mess up fries that badly. It doesn’t matter when you come — morning, evening, weekday, weekend — the situation never changes. Drinks are great, views are fantastic… but the food is just not edible. And what frustrates me the most is that this restaurant has all the potential to be the star of the pier. They have huge foot traffic, they have plenty of staff, they have the location, the rooftop, the ocean breeze, the vibe — everything. Yet it feels like no one is actually interested in elevating the place to the level it could easily reach. So here’s my honest summary: ⭐ One extra star for the cocktails — they really are worth it. But if you want to enjoy a nice meal with the view, grab food somewhere else and bring it with you. Come here only for the drinks and the scenery.