Penthouse, Santa Monica

Daily Special: Fingerling Potatoes and Truffle Flatbread

Penthouse is located on the top floor of the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, CA. I wanted to surprise Chris with a great place to celebrate Valentines Day, and I had heard good things about this beachside hotspot.

Let's just say I was not disappointed.

Eighteen floors high with windows all along the perimeters of the restaurant, the atmosphere is full of light and fresh ocean breeze. 

As if sweeping views of the Santa Monica coastline weren't enough, the food is unbelievable.

The chef starts your night with an amuse-bouche. This is a (very) small, bite sized hors d'oeuvre served at the beginning of the meal and compliments of the chef. These items are not on the menu, and change daily depending on what the chef is featuring that particular evening. With that unexpected opener, I knew this was going to be good.

Another highlight was the Blackberry Pineapple Sidecar Martini. The tartness of the freshly muddled blackberries paired perfectly with the sweetness of the pineapple juice. The base of the drink is Hennessy VS Cognac, a little Cointreau, and a splash of lemon. Garnished with a single pineapple leaf, this drink is classy and simple. A new favorite added to the list.

The cocktail list is expansive, but if nothing suits your fancy the mixologists here will happily create a custom drink based on your tastes and preferences. Christopher once asked for a rum based drink and the bartender created a kumquat (a citrus fruit) drink that was out-of-this-world. 

The only drawback to this is that these drinks have no official name, so you aren't able to order them from anywhere else. Actually quite clever, as it has brought us back to Penthouse on several occasions just for the hand-crafted cocktails.

That square pan on the right is the one and only gnocchi side dish. It was honestly the best thing on the menu and I still get cravings for it pretty regularly. I've never in my life liked gnocchi, and probably would still be holding to that statement had my hubby not ordered it for himself. After seeing the expression on Christopher's face after his first bite, I decided to give it another chance.


This was like nothing I had ever tried before. The texture, which is normally the turnoff for me with normal gnocchi, was melt-in-your-mouth fantastic. We ended up ordering another round of the dish and could have probably ordered a third (don't judge!).

Sadly, we found out a few months later this is a seasonal dish, and the summer gnocchi is prepared slightly different. It was still great and definitely worth ordering, however, the winter version is still our favorite.

I recommend making reservations, preferably planned around sunset, in order to make the most of these gorgeous coastline views. Penthouse also offers Breakfast and Lunch, as well as a separate Lounge menu that features cocktails and small bites for sharing. Needless to say, this is one of our favorite restaurants, and a go-to hit for out-of-towners.