"Backyard barbecues always make for a great birthday. But considering last year you nearly set the house on fire, you might as well let Le Great Outdoor take the reins this time. A meal at this outdoor restaurant in a foliage-covered Santa Monica parking lot feels like an impromptu block party. Everybody hangs out on picnic tables, drinking chilled wine from Argentina, and eating platters of meat, seafood, and vegetables that just came off the grill." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"This outdoor restaurant in Santa Monica is located in a Bergamot Station parking lot, making it an ideal dinner spot when your group suddenly balloons from four people to seven. Snagging a reservation is a smart move here, but with a set-up that includes large picnic tables and giant Santa Maria grills cooking meat, fish, and vegetables in front of you, the energy is very go-with-the-flow. If you want dinner to feel more like a neighborhood block party, head immediately to Le Great Outdoors." - brant cox
"The name Le Great Outdoor sounds like an REI surplus store rather than a beautiful restaurant where your food is cooked on a giant grill in the Bergamot Station parking lot. But that’s exactly what’s happening here. All the meat, fish, and vegetables are grilled in the entirely outdoor kitchen. Everybody hangs out at picnic tables and drinks chilled wine while they pick at goat cheese-topped tartines and blistered lamb chops. It’s as if you stumbled onto a neighborhood block party—but with people who know what they’re doing at the grill." - brant cox, sylvio martins, arden shore, cathy park
"During dinnertime, this entirely outdoor restaurant in Santa Monica gets slammed with families and friend groups sitting on picnic tables and eating meats and veggies cooked on open grills. It's almost like an impromptu neighborhood block party. At lunch, you’ll likely have the place to yourself. The daytime menu focuses mostly on bowls and sandwiches, like charred salmon topped with kimchi and miso dressing and ciabatta sandwiches stacked with roast beef. Just like nighttime service, all the ingredients come off the grill." - brant cox
"When you book a table at Le Great Outdoor, you’re more or less signing up for a backyard barbecue. The kitchen at this entirely outdoor spot at Bergamot Station is a hub of smoky grills, and the dining room is a smattering of al fresco tables. Friends drink nebbiolo and talk about flying to Amsterdam on credit card points, dogs and babies run free, and families pass around giant platters of goat cheese-topped tartines and blistered lamb chops." - brant cox, arden shore, sylvio martins, cathy park