After seeing Chez Jay profiled twice on Food Network, we decided we had to try it. The vibe and the service are great. The food not so much. The butter steak didn't live up to the hype, and the chicken Marsala was just okay. The warm cookies were more like warmed over. read more

Been going to Jay's since 69 when I first hit town. The place hasn't changed much thank God. Never disappoints, great food, drinks etc but great PEOPLE on both sides of the bar have always been the key at Jay's. I met guys who were actors or worked at the Rand think tank next door. Alice Jay's Mom ran the joint and kept the books. Tommy Jay's cousin was the barkeep. What a joint and it's still there with the same ambiance. If you love LA and haven't been to Chez Jay's your in for a treat. read more

This place is awesome. Old school fisherman style dive bar restaurant. Full bar, great food, awesome drinks. Even the wine is GOOD! But what really made our experience is the seasoned staff. They knew the history of the city, the hotels, even of the promenade. Heike, our server, made our night. When you go request her section. She is truly the best. Made our experience epic! read more

The food was great ! Waitress made it fun. The place is epic. Everyone should at least go once!

You know this place is cool if Lady Gaga drinks here. Seriously - Lady Gaga was here Saturday night when I came here for a friend's birthday dinner. It was pretty exciting. What's also pretty exciting about this place is that the drinks are worth the money. They have some heavy pours - I only ordered Pinot Grigio but they filled that wine just like I do when I drink wine at home (almost all the way up to the brim). While I didn't order any food, everyone else's looked pretty good and they said it was too. You also get complimentary peanuts where they encourage you to throw the shells on the ground. That, along with the interior decor and how small this place is makes it very homey. I mean, you are in the "home" of Jay, right?! This quaint bar/restaurant truly has a great divey feel yet not as many of the "divey" people - and it's right on Ocean Ave. Also, it has $5 valet parking to boot! What is there not to like here? If I lived in the neighborhood I'd definitely make this my local hang, and when I come down again I'll definitely return. read more

Great food and service, we tried the crab cakes (first night offered), Brussels sprouts, swordfish and scampi with rice pilaf ... all was great, even dessert which was the toffee bread pudding, delish! read more

Cool little "near the beach" bar/restaurant in Santa Monica, loaded with LA/Hollywood history. Had a fantastic Saturday night here chatting and drinking with a Texas couple, and Carrie, and Paul, and some USC alumni, and the wedding party! Plus the bartenders Petter & Jeffrey were excellent. Was there on Saturday, October 12th, 2019. read more

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Great food & great service. Heike was welcoming & friendly, and the steaks were great! loved it.

The place is a super cool vibe and you couldn't ask for a better location. Food was pretty good, I had the burger and asked for it medium rare, but it came medium. The service is a bit lacking. Very friendly, but pretty slow to check in and repeat drink orders took a long time to receive. We had to ask repeatedly for more water, which is a personal pet peeve. I'm sure I'll be back when in the area with out of town visitors, but not sure I'll make a specific trip for it. read more

I admit, our sole purpose for stopping here was because of a TV show. I, for one, would never have known about it otherwise. After a work trip to Bakersfield, we made a last minute decision to visit Santa Monica. I've never been, but glad we came. We made no mention of the show during our visit as we are not fanatical groupies. We merely sat at the bar and molded into the locals for the experience. Pete was the bartender, and he couldn't have been more pleasant or cordial. We sat there having a couple of drinks awaiting our reservation to eat and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. The place screams local history, and though it's considered a dive bar, it holds its own amongst good places to eat. I ordered the well liked Butter Steak, and Lara ordered the Filet Mignon. Both were cooked to our liking and full of flavor. The fresh salad and complimentary bread were a nice added touch. This is not an uptight joint, so don't come with that attitude or you'll be completely out of place and dissappointed. Chez Jay seems to get quite busy and popular starting around 6. From the two nights we witnessed. The wife completely recommends the Bloody Mary. read more

Have you ever been so excited to finally go somewhere only to be disappointed in the end... I had Chez Jay on my radar for a couple years now after seeing them on multiple food shows with guys I really respect singing their praises, so when I finally had the chance of being in the neighborhood at dinner time, it was a no-brainer. When we walked in there was only one person at the bar along with one bartender. We were given the choice of sitting anywhere we liked and we chose a large both in the back of the dining room. Our waiter soon came out and brought us our drinks along with some menu's before reciting the daily specials. Having seen this on so many shows before I knew exactly what I was gonna eat this night, so I spent very little time in the menu. They don't have a kids menu but lucky for us they offered to make a grilled cheese sandwich for my son, which he gladly accepted. I started with the shrimp scampi appetizer and then ordered the Butter Steak medium rare/rare. My wife went with the sand dabs and our friend went with the daily special of grilled salmon. Salads and bread came out and their dressings were good (cool to see some throwback choices like Green Godess) My shrimp scampi also hit the table and I dove headlong into my shrimp. The scampi sauce was classic, but I would have liked to see more shrimp or at least larger shrimp on my plate to justify the price. Our main entrees came out next and everything looked good. I found my steak a little over cooked for my taste (I never send food back to the kitchen, my rule) but it tasted fine covered in a nice garlic butter and my sides were very good. My wife's sand dabs were absolutely perfect in taste and preparation. I heard the salmon was just o.k and my son gave the thumbs up for his grilled cheese. Before we finished the night we decided to split a Sticky Toffee Pudding for the table, Huge mistake! We found ourselves fighting each other for the next bit of this divine dessert. It was warm and gooey in all the right places, and next time we'll just each order our own, to help keep harmony within our group. Overall prices were just o.k for what you got, quality was a little less than I expected. It wasn't bad but it wasn't as awesome as I was lead to believe. Service was good and the ambiance was cool classic, Aloha read more

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Wowowowooo Chez jay was amazing We attended a private party after a wedding last night The Bartenders were amazing and attentive and friendly. The setting is super chill intimate Chef Memo Treated us like family !!!! Definitely coming back to visit And have stakes with the wife. read more

Last night we split the filet with béarnaise, a caesar salad, calamari, and Brussels sprouts ( must have ). The place has a great vibe.

Love the ambiance, service and food... This will be our new spot for date night at least once a month.

This place is a total L.A. classic. If I could give a 4.5 I would. The butter steak was fantastic, as was the bottle of Justin's Cabernet Sauvignon we shared. Prices are reasonable and the vibe is super laid back. Chez Jay is a destination spot with lots of history which I have never, and will never, skip when in town. Seriously, this is a must do when in L.A. read more

I really love the Chez. So much history. Stay as you are forever. I love hanging here. Love the back patio addition, wish it was open more often. read more

Chez Jay - Steakhouses Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Best fiod great staff historically amazing place and I would come back and recommend this place to all family and friends

Cool vibe and super interesting history. Love the photos and autographs. The patio is comfy with heaters, couches and pillows. But the food is nothing to write home about. We were rather disappointed. Grilled asparagus and baked potato were just undercooked enough to not be tender. Sand dabs were rather flavorless. Filet mignon was bland. Only thing we really loved were the Brussels sprouts. Those were yummy. Clam chowder was good too. I'd say come for a drink and an appetizer but skip the dinner. read more

Chez Jay - Steakhouses Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Had an absolutely amazing dinner here with my entire family for my Father's birthday. Wasn't sure what to expect going into the restaurant after having read about the history online but was super pleasantly surprised by the entire experience. The place is classic and feels like a piece of the 40s and 50s and the food and service were incredible. Great drinks and great steaks with a timeless feel. Had a ton of fun and the server was the son of the chef who has worked there for almost 40 years! What an incredible dinner and definitely recommend this over the more contemporary (and super expensive) other steakhouses/restaurants in the area! read more

iconic restaurant! food always great and servers knowledgeable and friendly. however, the long term bartender has never been nice...never. if your not Brad Pitt forget any friendly attitude..even if you are the only one at her bar. This is why the 4 stars. read more

Been coming here for YEARS, and I must admit, Reader, I haven't been back in the last year or so, so I was a little shocked that it has changed. What makes an institution an "institution" is not changing, and when we didn't get a relish tray and bread with our dinner, it hit hard. Our sanddabs were still good, as was the chicken marsala, and service was good. BUT trying to make it a little more high-end, removing its kitschy 50s vibe (the back patio is nice, but...) and removing its trademark menu items made it a (sadly) less happy experience than before. A disappointment. Sad face! (And as written in another post, what's with the bathrooms?!? Some of the money that went into the back patio should have at least gone to paint and/or tile the bathrooms. High-end prices with a lesser-than-dive bathroom? Uhm, disturbing!) Bring back the relish tray with dinner service, and all will be forgiven.... read more

I came here last night (4/8/22) for my birthday dinner with friends. I have severe food allergies, particularly to salmon, and the waiter and chef went truly above and beyond to ensure I could safely eat meat from the grill. (I can be disheartening to be forced to only eat salad at a restaurant because of cross contamination issues). Thank you so much for taking care of me. The food was amazing. read more

The food is good, the unpretentious vibe is perfect, and the wait staff are all lovely at Chez Jay. As others have mentioned, one thing that brings this place way down is the bi-polar crusty old owner/manager guy who runs the joint when he's in Act A Dick For No Apparent Reason mode. When he's on his meds, he's fine, but when he's not, his people skills diminish and Mr. Bitter Party Of One appears outta nowhere. If you are lucky enough to avoid his sideshow, you'll probably enjoy Chez Jay. read more

I've lived in Santa Monica for almost 30 years & am embarrassed to admit that I've never eaten dinner at Chez Jay...Now I know what I've been missing as this week I had one of the best peppercorn steaks ever! Along with a baked potato, fresh green beans, a Roquefort salad & warm crunchy garlic bread for a fair price of about $30 bucks....The atmosphere was dark & 'ol school & patrons and staff friendly...Chez Jay is now my favorite steak house in Santa Monica....maybe in all of SoCal! Kudos go to the Chef & his kitchen team....delicious & simple food done right!! read more

Going downhill fast. A very limited selection of wines and beer only on tap. They're starting to take advantage of everybody due to the pandemic the prices of gone up and the quality has gone down. Poor management at this beautiful spot. That's a shame because it's so beautiful but they just don't know how to run a business without gouging the customers. read more

Haven't been in a few years BUT the bar is great. Not sure if they still have a happy hour inside (this was pre-Covid) but the funky bar was full of friendly characters, many tourists thanks to Goliath and Billy Bob Thornton, which sadly is no longer streaming, but generally a great vibe and a helluva lot better than any bougie designer fare near pier or Venice. read more

I never write reviews no matter how unhappy I am but after this experience I felt it necessary. My boyfriend and I ate at Chez Jay yesterday at 530 or so. We both ordered the butter steak. My boyfriend who will literally eat steak anywhere (Walmart steak, Denny's steak, etc) stopped eating after 3 bites. The steak had a horrible sour aftertaste and we knew it was rancid meat. We both have worked in hospitality so we didn't say anything g until the server asked why we didn't eat the food. We explained it had a sour aftertaste but it was fine. We paid the full bill with tip and left. My boyfriend was throwing up all night. read more

I keep comming back to this place! Great food, drinks, cool atmosphere. Highly recommend it! So low key yet full of people! read more

Chez Jay - Steak and shrimp - Steakhouses Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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2 stars for the funky cool old school vibe. On the flip side, The food is horrible! Definitely a place for only drinks and light appetizers. The drinks weren't actually even that great so maybe best to stick to wine and beer. For some reason though, I love the vibe! Maybe it's your pitstop after a night out of drinking read more

Okay, to say that my friend and I were blown away is an understatement! This place is so cozy. The atmosphere is that of a place you can tell has rich history. My friend and I had the calamari steak-that sauce omg! We followed with shrimp cocktail and then we both got the sirloin with shrimp. Everything was incredible!!! Our waitress, Catering was fabulous and so sweet. Will definitely be back. read more

The staff were nice and friendly. We have ordered the sirloin and shrimp combo. The shrimp was soooooo goood. The steak was also tender and juicy. The potato was a bit over creamy but it was delicious. The salad was not that much but t was fresh. The only problem was that it was a bit darker that my normal light comfortable zone which was understandable as it was restaurant and bar. read more

Chez Jay - Steakhouses Near Me - Santa Monica, California

I've been coming to chez jay for thirty years and has been one of my favorite hole in the wall dining places. Since COVID they have changed some menu items. Stopped offering side salad with dinner, changed the garlic bread. The hostess is a little surly and rude, which in the old days was kind of cool and expected ,as was jay, but no longer ok. The food is fair. Steaks are just ok, swordfish is smaller portion. Overall it's lost a little of its charm , the competition food is better. Still a cool place to sit at bar and hangout but no longer special hole in the wall dining experience . read more

Everything here is great, from the food, the drinks, the service, the ambiance, the atmosphere. It's an old school local spot vibe like we've all be missing it. Food is honest and served with love but it's what you would expect from a classic spots. Been here 2 days in a row on vacation and will come back every time I visit. read more

Chez Jay's is amazing!! My mom used to work here (about 30 years ago), so I've known this spot growing up. Bring from the midwest, this is a place I always go to during my southern California vacations. I recently got to go during vaca and it was the same as I always remember. My fiance and I spent time in The Backyard for a couple drinks before eating dinner inside Chez Jay's. The two restaurants are separate, with different menus and staff. Both are fun. Chez Jay's is a dim-lit restaurant with picnic table covers. By the looks of it, you wouldn't expect the menu. The menu is stacked with seafood and plenty of steak choices. I typically order steak here, and have enjoyed a few different ones. This recent visit, we all got a side salad and butter steaks with different sides. My fiance got the rice, I got a baked potato, and our friend got these kind of scalloped cheesy potatoes. The cook delivered us our three butter steaks and mentioned he loves when people order them. All of them were cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful. We all cleared our plates. The garlic bread we got was fantastic as well. Chez Jay's has always been a wonderful staple in the Santa monica area which tends to be overwhelmed at times, but not inside this restaurant. You won't regret eating here, or just relaxing at the bar for a drink and app. I don't have any images of the food, but it's GOOD! read more

This review is not about the food, as I was not able to order any. I made a reservation online, and it ended up being meaningless, because they couldn't seat me, and didn't seem to be bothered by it. I guess once your business reaches legendary status, you can afford to have an attitude. I had been looking forward to trying Chez Jay. I won't bother making another attempt. read more

This food is absolutely FABULOUS EVERY TIME all these years!!! The steak all of the choices are melt in your mouth yum!! The shrimp scampi app double delicious!! It's served on top of butterflyed bread or roll forgot but the sauce soaks in and it's crazy delicious yum read more

Been coming here for years, wonderful place. Made a reservation through Yelp for the 16th at 8.30 for 3. At 10.01 on the 15th, the night before, the reservation was abruptly cancelled. Really dissappointed -- will avoid making reservations through Yelp again. Shame. read more

Chez Jay - Steakhouses Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Been here many times before....but even if you do make a reservation, they still might sit you at the "back" table which smells horribly of piss and horrid urinal cake. Unfortunately, I thought that taking my boss here would be fun and kitschy. BEWARE...do not come here for an important occasion. BAD IDEA. Giving two stars because I love the location. read more

Post Pokemon Hunt, and dinner with Tora M. :) Originally, we had dinner reservations at 5pm after our Pokemon Hunt at the Pier, but due to horrendous traffic, and trying to find parking, Tora was able to get out reservations pushed back to 6pm, yay, and thanks again, Tora! :) Parking: Valet $5, or street metered parking. Chez Jay is a cool, cozy, lil dive bar/restuarant. They serve you complimentary peanuts, and you can throw the shells on the floor. Our server, Tracy was nice and patience with us looking over the menu, and answered any questions we had regarding the drinks and food. He reminded me of Buzzfeed's Youtuber, Andrew (the one that Ashly always did her *crush* skits before coming out as gay). After looking over the menus, Tora and I got: Drinks: I got a Sprite $2.50, and it came in a large, skinny Pina Colada glass. Tora got the Hot Toddy $6.75, I had a small sip, and wow, they were very generous with the bourbon, lol! We also had iced water refilled continuously throughout our meal. Food: I got the medium rare Angus Steak Au Poivre (coated with black peppercorn and then grilled) $29.50 served with a baked potato and string beans. They were also very generous with a huge scoop of sour cream and tons of butter for me to put on my potato. I only ate the sour cream, loved it! :) Served with a house salad with Green Goddess dressing, yummy! Everything was delicious! The steak was a lil hard to cut, but easy to chew with each bite. Topped with fried shallots, this yummy meal melted away all my annoyance with the Santa Monica traffic and parking situation, lol! :) Tora got the Sand Dabs Salmon dish $24.75 - We each tasted a piece of one another's protein. I had a piece of salmon, and it was really good - buttery and flakey. I also shared a piece of my Angus steak with her too. Her meal also came with a house salad and Green Goddess dressing too. Dessert: We shared the sticky toffee bread pudding $6.25. It was sweet and amazing! The bourbon infused caramel sauce was delicious, and served with whipped cream on the side, yes, this dessert is worth getting again!!! Service: Nice and attentive. Tracy came over and checked in on us from time to time, and another female and male servers also checked in with our drinks, and clearing away unnecessary dishes too. Overall, this was a fun place to eat at. After Pokemon Hunt, enjoying a nice meal with good company, I definitely wouldn't mind coming back here again :) read more

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Always wondered about Chez Jay and after living in L.A. for 44 years finally gave it a try for dinner. No longer doing the peanuts. The service was friendly, and the food comes out very quickly. Two of us shared the shrimp scampi appetizer which was very good. 5 shrimp perfectly cooked in a tasty sauce. One salmon entree and one swordfish entree. ( We were disappointed that there were no sand dabs. Apparently a supply chain problem.) Food was very good, especially for the price. Will go back. read more