One thing goes hand in hand with Los Angeles…brunch! NYC may say they love to brunch as much as we Angelenos, but with our sunny skies and beautiful landscape, we will definitely roll out of bed if a mimosa is waiting. These days people even use the word brunch as a verb (myself included). I even prefer to brunch it up than go out at night!
Sonoma Wine Garden is the epitome of a Los Angeles brunch. With a lot of booze, a ton of food, and a little bit of ocean view, it doesn’t get much better. Head to the roof of Santa Monica Place where you are in your own secluded area (and there is plenty of parking). As you walk into Sonoma Wine Garden, it’s filled with an energy that is joyful, carefree, and relaxing, all in one. The patio goes on for days and with a slight ocean breeze, you will want to stay for days too.
We parked ourselves on the upper tear of the patio and I ordered up the bottomless mimosas which come in multiple flavors like the Bellini with peach nectar, my favorite, the Sound of Music with Austrian elderflower syrup, the Sekt Marielle with apricot nectar and the mimosa we all know and love dearly with orange juice. There’s also a Bloody Mary, a Michelada, coffee and a very tempting coffee libation with baileys, kahlua, fresh coffee, topped with whipped cream. My favorite part? You don’t have to chase anyone down for a mimosa refill. They are available and happy to top you off!
I loved how the menu has a great mixture of breakfast items and lunch items (a true brunch). You can order up a garden frittata to steak & eggs to a sunrise brunch pizza (with a sunny side up egg) to even a pappardelle with sausage fennel ragout. There is something for everyone.
We had an appetizer of their Ahi Avocado Salad. I have always been a huge fan of this dish. It’s big chunks of ahi over an avocado cream with and small bits of cucumber. It all sits on top of a few endive leaves, so you can make lettuce cups. It’s the perfect starter to any meal.
We then ordered up the chicken and waffles, which came with paprika-maple syrup, the chilled oysters and prawns, which came with a 1/2 dozen west coast oysters and prawns served with shallot mignonette, spicy cocktail sauce, tabasco, and a side of the grilled double cut bacon that is cooked with brown sugar, mustard spice, and fresh rosemary. It was my breakfast version of surf ‘n turf. Sometimes when I order oysters, restaurants can skimp on the sauces. Not here. I loved all the different variations that I was able to produce and the prawns were huge! Now, the bacon…it was salty, savory, and sweet all in one. It was difficult to hold myself back from ordering more. Let’s just say Tyler dove right into his chicken and waffles and didn’t come up for air, until it was done. I took a bite and the light fluffy, sweet waffle worked so well with the crunchy, savory chicken. We had a great mix.
Sonoma Wine Garden, truly has everything you need to brunch happily. With free flowing mimosas, an amazing mixture of dishes, and a perch above Santa Monica, all you need is to add the great company and your Saturday or Sunday is set!
