Élephante - Santa Monica

Review summary

1. T

   Tania B.

   New York City

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Élephante is all fuzz. I went here to celebrate my 30th birthday and I really hope I hadn’t. First, I had a reservation and still had to wait 35 minutes to be seated despite there being tables available. The front desk staff was particularly dismissive and rude from the get go (for what?). We were told to wait at the bar but then consistently moved and shoveled around because we “couldn’t stand in the middle?” Second, it smelled really bad in there. I don’t know what it was but it was an unmistakable non-food smell. Third, the food was just ok. The whipped eggplant and vodka pasta were very good. But we received an agnolotti butternut squash pasta that was cold. The desserts were good, we got a chocolate tart and a sorbet! The drinks were nothing special. Between the average food, terrible service, and bad smell it was a disappointing night. :(
   

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2. M

   Maycol

   Phoenix

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Like always top notch. We with my cousin and her best friend from visiting from Canada and I asked for a table by the balcony and they were able to accommodate us perfectly. We had a great time and enjoyed the fantastic view. You can’t go wrong with Élephante. Outstanding!
   

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3. P

   Pat

   Denver

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Phenomenal. Everything was exceptional. Good. Ambiance. Everything.
   

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4. Y

   Yoko

   Orange County

   5 reviews

   4.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Food was really good. Service was all right, but we got sat in front of the bathrooms and it smelled a little bit weird.
   

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5. M

   Marissa

   Omaha

   4 reviews

   2.0

   4 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Overall the service was terrible. I won’t go into details but we tried to leave before our mains came out (well minus mine because they forgot to put in our order and then as my husbands came out they told me mine was 86’d). Our experience was not great and for the manager to not come over to apologize and address it with us was unfortunate.
   

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6. A

   Amy

   Detroit

   4 reviews

   4.0

   4 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   Waitress was very average. Food was outstanding! One of our favorites!
   

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Los Angeles

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Elephante in Santa Monica was absolutely perfect for our date night. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted warmly by the staff and seated at a table with breathtaking sunset views. The ambiance was vibrant yet intimate, setting the tone for an unforgettable evening. The food was exquisite—each dish bursting with flavor and beautifully presented. Combined with the top-notch service and the dreamy environment, it felt like a scene out of a movie. I can’t recommend Elephante enough, whether for a romantic evening or just a night out with friends. This place truly elevates the dining experience!
   

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8. T

   Tamela

   New York City

   9 reviews

   4.0

   9 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Great time and drinks and food for groups and sharing and trying new things. If you are looking for an energetic vibe with cool people and great food, drinks and service this is it. If you are looking to have serious conversations or first dates where you are trying to get to know someone, you might want to try the front room which is a little quieter and not the garden balcony because the whole place is VERY loud but great vibe. Cool coach seating for larger parties.
   

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9. j

   joanna

   San Diego

   6 reviews

   1.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   Before coming to this restaurant iMessage the restaurant that we were celebrating a birthday and if it is possible to get a slice of cake with a candle. They responded with if I ordered a dessert they could add a candle and bring it out to the table. Which I responded that would be great. Our waiter Jesse seem to have gotten really busy and wasn’t keeping up with our table.At the end of our meal after we receive boxes for food to go. I placed an order for a tiramisu, one latte and one Matcha. We received the tiramisu without a candle and after that we received our check. This is really frustrating because due to the fact that Jesse our waiter Hardly came to our table and checked in with us, it never gave me the opportunity to remind him about the candle. So once I ordered the tiramisu, I was hoping that maybe it was in our notes or communicated better to him that we were expecting a candle on the cake for somebody who we were celebrating. On the check, I saw that our Matcha and latte weren’t added. After about six minutes we finally saw our waiter flagged him down and brought it to his attention. He then said that he would get that for us and took back the check. About 10 minutes later we got two lattes. On the second check, he added two lattes versus one latte and one matcha. We let the person know that we an ordered one latte and one Matcha. About five minutes after, our waiter came to our table and that’s when I let him know that we didn’t receive Matcha, he said he would go ahead and look into it. On the second check, he added two lattes versus one latte and one Matcha. I received my matcha 30 minutes after placing the order, by then my group had already finished the tiramisu and had finished their coffee and were just waiting on me which then made me rush and not enjoy my matcha as we had tickets for a gallery at 4pm. Very disappointing experience, the lack of consideration, attentiveness and communication, were very disappointing.
   

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10. S

    Shannon

    Los Angeles

    8 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    8 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4

    The host and doorman outside were not friendly or welcoming. Very pretentious and cold. Once we arrived upstairs the mood was better. All hostess were nice and friendly. Food was great. Ambience beautiful.
    

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