Tar & Roses

Not my first time coming here, but a special visit. My parents in town wanted to go to a nice restaurant. This was decided last minute. I suggested tar and roses. My main concern was gluten contamination. I called the restaurant and was assured gluten free options were available. At the restaurant it was started that cross contamination is possible. Next concern was we didn't have a reservation. But we got there as soon as they opened and they gave us a table under the condition that we'd get out of there in time for the next reservation. Which was completely awesome of them. And of course more than plenty of time for us to get through a quick meal. But normally yeah make a reservation. Because of this the dishes we picked were the least likely to be exposed to cross-contamination. And they were completely safe.For reference we ordered the hanger steak and it was delicious and did not expose us to any gluten. The food is absolutely delicious. Every item perfectly cooked. The wine selection is wonderful. My wine aficionado father did not recognize all the names on the list and that is quite a feat. The atmosphere is upscale and the vibe is chill. Very California. The servers are lovely and very attentive. Your water glass will never go dry. There is seating available inside, in the slightly more open atmosphere and inside and then some sidewalk seating. They have heaters available for you while you wait outside to get into the restaurant or while you're eating outside. Parking in this area is busy. It's downtown Santa monica. There are plenty of parking garages a couple blocks away. Street parking for the most part is it going to be metered where you can use coin or card. It's not impossible to find a spot but on a busy Friday or Saturday night you might circle the area if you're determined to get nearby street parking. Add to the owner and head chef if you are reading this. The tomato that comes with the hanger steak... Which kind of tomato is that and how is that prepared? Hands down the best piece of tomato I've ever had in my life.

Such a great spot in the neighborhood, not sure how I haven’t been here before! Great atmosphere for a date night, the service was very knowledgeable of the wine selection and menu and overall just awesome. We ordered the bone marrow and charred gem salad to start and omg that salad was to die for. Bone marrow was pretty straightforward but good. For our mains we had the lamb shank and the duck breast. Both were fab but I preferred the lamb shank while my boyfriend liked the duck better which is funny because he ordered the lamb and I ordered the duck haha o would’ve loved to try the oxtail dumplings which our table neighbors recommended but my bf is gluten-sensitive so I will def come back with my gluten-tolerant friends to try more of the menu!