rustic canyon wine bar

the burger reportedly stared its long, wonderful journey at louis’ lunch in new haven connecticut. louis’ has been selling ground beef patties between two pieces of toasted bread to busy office workers since 1900. burger guru george motz profiles them in

good but small portions.. food was very good but overpriced for the portion. very good wine list.

awesome. been there 3 times and each time was greeted by a new menu. my girlfriend and i treat the place like a tapas bar. the small plates are always fantastic; i've tried a dozen or so dishes and savored every bite. that wasn't a euphemism, i actually savored every bite. can't wait til i try an entree. also, the ambience is great, the service is attentive, and the wine is awesome. could eat here every night. save room for dessert.

since i had kicked down the doors of reservation with my food face-plant, we marched head-first in to dessert without hesitation. deciding between the boston cream pie and the pear and quince crostata, i confirmed for sam my knowledge that boston cream pie is indeed a soft cake, and not a crust-topped delicacy.

cosy restaurant along wilshire that offers contemporary american food.

it offers a very creative and unique menu with italian, french and middle-eastern influences.

care and preparation of food is fantastic and always offer solid flavour. some of the dishes tend to be on the rich side, so you may want to consider sharing.

lost its mojo. this used to be a great restaurant, but it has lost its mojo. the food is now mediocre. but the big shock for us in our recent visit was the padding of the bill. we were charged $55 for a $40 dollar half-bottle of wine. when we questioned it and asked how this overcharge could have happened, the response was not believable. this used to be one of our favorite restaurants. it has lost its quality, and now its integrity.

vile. this grossly overpriced and insufferable maelstrom of mediocrity have recently employed luke davin as a junior line helper. luke davin is a failed trainee from a back street chef school (i.e clown college) who has a rampant cocaine habit and beats up women.

avoid.

simple, good. tried to get to ubuntu when chef fox was there but never made it so finally get to eat here. food is solid, not too fancy and good. i liked the interior, spacious, comfortable, large picture window, good service, and not so loud you can't hear.

not for the hungry, silly, pretentious menu, (not) including the secret burger which our server told us we couldn't order, because the chef didn't want to have a burger place-
totally ridiculous experience, felt like an episode of portlandia

good food, not the best value.. the rustic canyon has a bright and modern feel. service is very attentive and friendly.

you can tell there's skill and care in what they do. the menu items are creative, and there's some finesse in creating the food. but it tops out as just good because i think there's small details that keep the food down.

most recently we had the ricotta gnocci and the branzino. the gnocci was a very comforting plate of food although the portion size was a bit small...the nepitella (think mint) that would have really raised the bar was the smallest little sprig of garnish. so then it became like any other gnocci in a tomato sauce.

the branzio was expertly cooked, the lobster mushroom and squash blossom sauce were great, as was the purree but when you charge $27, you really should get a reasonable amount of startch. also the dish lacked acid and became heavy. there are a number of mains that have starch and some that don't. unfortunately i think this is a bit of a let down. if you're catering to the yuppie crowd, just reduce the amount of starch.

so a nice place, just a few adjustments to price, portion and balance and this place could be legendary.

we had an excellent meal and my boyfriend still hasn’t stopped talking about their pasta. i can’t wait to come back and relive the experience.

for now, i’ll consider rustic canyon to be a good restaurant with a solid burger, but will reserve the right to change my mind once i’ve had the original burger.

we finally managed to stop in on the burgeoning eatery empire that josh loeb and zoe nathan have established in santa monica with an evening visit to rustic canyon in santa monica. under the direction of rustic canyon chef evan funke - whom you might find perusing the produce at santa monica's farmers market a few blocks away - the kitchen's focus is on presenting high quality ingredients to diners in simple preparations that let all the elements of the dishes shine.

the niman burger is everything you want in a burger. it's super meaty, juicy, the other stuff between the buns are super fresh ingredients, and the bun is nice and fluffy but with a nice crunch from being lightly toasted.

have the vegetables.. i know a lot of people who've been disappointed in this place, but i wasn't. i had the zucchini flowers (absolutely delicious -- very lightly battered with a minty edge -- not doughy as some fiori can be), the artichokes (they were delicious, but the portion is too small for what they charge, and i noticed that other portions i'd seen while standing at the bar were larger, so i wonder if they weren't running out), and -- best of all -- the roast cauliflower. i took some of the cauliflower home and ate it the next morning for breakfast -- just as good the next day (a good sign of fresh ingredients).

i'm told they have great burgers here, but this place is also really good for vegetarians.