Mélisse on Wilshire Boulevard has held two Michelin stars and sustained a reputation as one of the most serious restaurants in the Los Angeles area for years. The cooking is French in technique and Californian in ingredient — the same seasonal, farmer-sourced approach that defines the region's best restaurants, applied with genuine rigour. The tasting menu is long and the service formal, making it a place for a deliberate occasion rather than a casual dinner.
Reservations are essential and should be made weeks in advance. The price reflects the ambition: this is not the place for a spontaneous meal, but if you want to eat seriously in Santa Monica, this is the top of the list.