Back on the Beach Cafe in Santa Monica is the perfect place to sink your toes into the sand, forget about your daily troubles, and enjoy a relaxing afternoon soaking up the sunshine with a tasty meal. As soon as I sat down, I immediately felt myself unwind in the eatery’s casual atmosphere. Children were building sand castles around us in between the tables and diners chatted over the sound of seagulls and the sea.
The Cafe is located far enough away from the Santa Monica pier to escape the madness of touristy chaos but close enough to downtown Santa Monica that you can make a day of exploring the city. You can pay to park in one of the daily Santa Monica Beach lots next to the beach if you’re planning on spending the entire day on the beach, but the price of the beach lot varies depending on the season and time/day. There’s also hourly parking at the Annenberg Community Beach House for $3 each hour.
I’ve heard there can be wait time for a table during peak hours when the weather is warm (I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend their morning/afternoon/evening eating food on the beach) but we went during happy hour in June around 5pm and were seated outside immediately.
Fair price-tag warning: you cannot go to a restaurant on a beach in Los Angeles expecting to be frugal, because you’re paying for the view. And what a worthy view it is… Conner and I only went for afternoon drinks, and my cider came out to $8, Conner’s beer costing about the same- but it was worth it to be so close to the water in the sea air.
Back on the Beach Cafe is located immediately next to the Annenberg Community Beach House, and is open all year round. Summer hours started on June 1st this year, and will continue until the Fall when the daylight gets shorter- Winter hours are 8am-3pm since the sun sets earlier in the day.
Breakfast (or BRUNCH 😉 ) is served until 2pm and includes a variety of both meat based and vegetarian friendly menu items like the farm house omelette, buttermilk pancakes and even *bananutella french toast.* My favorite part of the menu is that most dishes are made with grass fed beef, cage free eggs, and free range chicken.
Lunch is served until 4pm, and features healthy fare like the summer kale salad, the house made quinoa burger, and grilled fish tacos.
Dinner is served from 5-8pm and includes many of the same dishes from lunch with the addition of heartier fare like the skirt steak or grilled rainbow trout.
I would absolutely love to return to “Back on the Beach Cafe” sometime for a weekend brunch on the beach (I can feel the mimosas waiting for me). For now I’ll just have to hold onto the memory of watching the sun set over the water with a cider in my hand and my toes in the sand.
Back on the Beach Cafe is located at 445 Pacific Coast Hwy, Santa Monica, CA 90402, open 8am-8pm in the Summer and 8am-3pm the rest of the year.
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