Meat On Ocean: Legendary Steak in Santa Monica

75-day dry-aged ribeye, mashed potatoes and mac 'n' cheese at Meat on Ocean in Santa Monica

Meat on Ocean is the steakhouse LA has been waiting for, where new-age and old-school come together to showcase time-honored fine dining in a way that that long-time Angelinos and visitors alike can revel in. This is more than a restaurant, instilling in its guests not just a dining experience, but for many a timeless moment where the senses unite under completely new sights, sounds, aromas, and of course, tastes. 

Part of the experience is their gargantuan dining room that essentially encompasses five restaurant atmospheres in one, ensuring that no two meals are the same. Each section of this massive open-air space caters to a different audience. Classic plush red booths under longhorn displays line one wall, paying homage to the classic steakhouse. Further down that same wall is more modern décor, for those seeking something newer with the same intimacy. Large group tables line the restaurant’s center, adjacent to a long bar that pays homage to a spot where you’d order a dirty martini, yet churns out cocktails that compete with any modern mixology program. Meat on Ocean then seamlessly transitions to a hybrid of indoor and outdoor seating, where tables closest to Ocean Ave. enjoy a windowless escape with a full roof over their head, as well as gorgeous ocean views with the Santa Monica Pier in the backdrop. 

Patrons are not just diners at Mean on Ocean, but also audience members, many with a full view of the market-style display of wines stacked in wooden boxes, as well as the butcher’s area, where the day’s cuts are prepared. Even the smell is reminiscent of a rural European marketplace, where fresh meats, cheeses and wines are exchanged with love and care. 

Then you find the aging room, custom-engineered with the sole goal of developing the perfect dry-aged steak. Kept to 35 degrees and 85 percent humidity, this fortress is sealed with steel doors and lined with fans that circulate Himalayan salt-infused air to accentuate flavor over time. Staff members put on special clothing before entering, so as to not contaminate the meat with foreign smells by simply walking past them. Steaks age in here for up to 75 days. Good luck finding another room like this in any restaurant, let alone one that could otherwise rest its laurels on simply being close to the beach.  

The aging room is just the beginning, however. Meat on Ocean has developed a mind-blowing seven-stage cooking process to ensure that every bit of refined flavor reaches its full potential on your plate. A team of chefs guide each steak through a journey across ovens you won’t find in most restaurants, ranging from several hundred to more than 2000 degrees, to make sure color, temperature and consistency are nothing short of perfect, regardless of how you like your steak cooked. 

By now it should be no surprise that Meat on Ocean serves one of the greatest steaks you’re going to get in Los Angeles, and short of a trip to Japan’s Kobe region, likely one of the greatest steaks you’re going to get…period. Biting into a Meat on Ocean steak is other-worldly, whereby literally months of preparation and countless levels of detail hit you all at once. Many fine steakhouses will have a crust, a finishing ingredient or a single cooking technique that defines their signature flavor, but at Meat on Ocean, it’s a full process, a lifespan, so to speak, that raises the bar to a level simply unattainable for most. 

A robust menu doesn’t keep itself to steak, however. As if its meat preparation process wasn’t enough, Meat on Ocean is under the King’s Seafood umbrella—the same owner of the illustrious Water Grill right down the street. That means fresh, sustainable seafood achieving another almost unfair level of quality, prepared with an equal level of culinary mastery. One bite of their Chilean Seabass, or their sensational octopus, and you’ll easily understand.

The intrigue doesn’t stop there. Meat on Ocean takes advantage of every part of the meat it sources, reduces excess fat from their beef into a tallow, and incorporates that tallow into many other aspects of the menu. This means beef tallow fries, exceptionally buttery meatballs and so much more. 

And yes, of course Meat on Ocean makes nearly every dessert in-house, including a decadent bread pudding and a rotating ice cream menu. And that cocktail program? No syrups involved, just pure muddling and mixing of fresh berries and other ingredients. 

Filling a restaurant the size of Meat on Ocean, in one of the most expensive areas on the planet, would be a daunting task for virtually anyone in the business. But now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of the way this place runs its show, there should be no doubt as to why Meat on Ocean is packed every day of the week. Just make sure to book in advance, and specify which part of the restaurant you’d like to make yours for the evening.

Meat on Ocean is located at 1501 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Open 11:30a – 11p Sun – Thu, 11:30a – midnight Fri – Sat. Avg. out-the-door price for appetizer, entrée, side, split dessert and 1 – 2 drinks is ~$145/person. For reservations and more information call (310) 773-3366 or visit MeatOnOcean.com.