Sonoma Wine Garden

Happy hour here is really fun. We enjoyed the mushroom flatbread and charcuterie plate that was loaded with cheese and meat. Exotic. Electric. Sexual. Provocative.
The house red/​white are good though wish they were pinots/​sav blanc rather than cab/​chard. Also, the cab is served from a tap cold. Which is fine but kinda weird. Not chilled but cold like brr.
Can’t vouch for the dining room but overall nice long happy hour (3 – 7 erry day) and yummy bites.
Don’t forget your Unilocal check in for a free brownie bite!

Beautiful décor. My favorite thing about this place was the stunning wooden door at the entrance. Hosts were a little confused at the reception and it was apparent that the cocktail server was struggling out in the patio to keep up with his Guests. Besides some timing opportunities with the greet, the food was great. Goat cheese appetizer, ahi app, flat bread. Overall my friends and I had a nice time. The cocktails were fun and the General Manager and manager were very hospitable stopping by the table to ensure we were being taken care of. Good place for cocktail and brunch and a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean and on the patio side a nice arboreal view.

I not being a HUGE fan of LA I tend to miss out on some of the yummy eats LA and its surrounding areas has to offer. This being one of them. This is the PERFECT PLACE for a date night, party or get together of frien-​a-​mies, enemy’s or any sort of group gathering.
First off this places is located in Santa Monica so parking is a premium and you have to pay for it. It located and the über hip and chic area near the beach, promenade and mall area so you really can’t miss it except for the fact its a bit of a hidden gem unless your shopping and find it after ascending the escalators and wondering to toward the back of the upper deck area for a view of the ocean. Yes that in itself is quite a view to behold on a nice day.
I was here for din-​din with a hhhmmm… let’s call him a REALLY GOOD possibly a chance of being more than a FRIEND should everything continue to go as it has been. That being said «A» had scoped out this place and made the reservations for us.
We arrive and are greeted and he gives the reservation name and we are promptly seated. From the outside looking in I could see there was outdoor seating shrouded by olive trees and some sort of covering but figured that they also had indoor seating where WE would be seated because of course it was habanero pepper hot and humid with a side of hot as hell and our reservation was for 5pm. What can I say this has been quite a FRICKIN HOT SUMMER and I don’t tend to enjoy myself or food eating outside in the HEAT. I was a little disappointed that we would be sitting in the covered patio but went with it since it seems like most of the restaurant seating is outside.
It was a lively place. Loud music but not to loud that you could not here the person across from you talking. Plus there were several patrons there for a drink or lunch or a gathering of sorts. There was something happening in just about every corner of the restaurant. The energy with electric but had a SUPER DUPER casual feel.
Our server came over right away and took our drink orders and we asked for WATER of course and I got a iced tea. As soon as she walked away someone came over with ice water which was great.
We perused the menu to see what we wanted and our server came back with more water and my iced tea. WONDERFUL service. We were pretty ready to order and both ended up getting seafood to keep it light since it was so warm… excuse me FIRECRACKER HOT out.
I got the ono fish with mango salsa and steamed green beans «A» got the grilled king salmon with warm quinoa taboulleh, lemon vinaigrette. «A» suggested we share both dishes which is ALWAYS right up my alley because you get to taste more than one thing at a time.
My Ono was SLAMMIN! SUPER MOIST and the mango salsa was REALLY GOOD! It even had smigy bits of tomato’s in it and guess what… shocker…I ATE THEM and didn’t taste any tomato like I normally do. The salmon and taboulleh was BOMB-​A-​LICIOUS! SUPER MOIST as well! I have never had warm taboulleh but it was SOOOO GOOD! Everything was cooked to PREFECTION neither of us had any complaints. GOOD food, GOOD company, GOOD service, GOOD conversation, and GOOD atmosphere.
The fact that it was extremely hot out even with the light warm sea breeze and the welcomed cascading covering the staff was ON POINT in refilling our water glasses way before they were empty. THAT in itself was AWESOME just to NOT have to ask for cold water!
I will TOTALLY be back!

Happy hour STEAL! EVERY DAY from 3−7pm and 10pm-​closing on Thursday-​Saturdays. Chain restaurant feel with the food and everything, but a little upgraded version :)
Ordered:
x Wild Mushroom Pizza (forest mushrooms, fresh ricotta, wild arugula, white truffle oil, mozzarella) — SO yummy! You can really taste the truffle.
x Hummus with Onion Flatbread — The hummus itself was just OK, but the flatbread was amazing!
x Artichoke and Spinach Dip w/​Toasted Crostini’s — This was probably my favorite thing. The crostini’s were crunchy-​ish, so if you’re not about the hard bread life, I recommend you asking them to swap it out for flatbread or something.
We ordered endless amounts of wine and our bill so reasonable (considering how much we ate/​drank)… thank you happy hour!
Only gripe about this place is that service was so slow outside on the patio.

$ 35 for an entrée and bottomless mimosas.
The steak and eggs and pizza are delicious. My steak was cooked perfectly! Great, attentive service. Definitely will be returning!

Came here on a team building event. We had reservations for 13 and the hostess tried to sit us at a set of low lounge chairs with even lower cocktail tables for our lunch meal. When we asked for a regular table, they said that they did not have any additional tables except for a private lounge which was being used for a party. They offered to set up a table in the room, despite the party being set up. We were ok with that, as we were hungry.
Great selection on the menu. We tried to order the mussels. Out of inventory. We tried to order 2+ other dishes. Out of inventory. We were sitting in the sun and asked our waiter (Tea) to lower the shades. It was broken. Almost everything was going wrong with our experience at Sonoma Wine Garden. Still we put on our positive attitudes and made it a good meal.
Appetizer #1: Bacon wrapped dates served with blue cheese. Delicious! Well prepared and fun to eat!
Appetizer #2: Three orders of truffle fries topped with Parm cheese. Delicious. Give us more of this bad boy! Everyone fought over this dish.
My main meal was the seafood pasta. It contained mussels, scallops, fresh fish, shrimp and other goodies. Tossed with a thick linguini and red marinara type sauce. Delicious dish.
The General Manager even greeted us on our way out. Appreciated the hospitality and generosity of the gent! We’ll be back for more business!
Food Grade: B
Service Grade: B+
Worth the Money Grade: B
Overall Impression Grade: B

I called to make reservations, I spoke to a women (sorry I forgot the name) who was helpful. Since it was my first time I had a couple questions. In addition, thanks to Unilocal I noticed that outdoor seating was available and I requested a table by the window. The women explained to me that it wasn’t a guarantee of the availability but would put in a request. I was thankful for her even giving me the heads up. As we arrived I was I was engaging on their fab décor, wine/​champagne bottles everywhere. I really enjoyed the vibe there; music, people, trendy. Luckily our waiter sat as at a perfect location outside by the window. I was really happy because it happened to be the only one available. We ordered mimosas while we skimmed through the menu. The service was very attentive, consistently refilling our beverages and asked if we needed anything additionally. Hope you enjoy, check out my foodie page @foodgurula