Sogno Toscano Cafe´& Wine Bar

"Offering a breezy outdoor patio along Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue, Sogno Toscano hails from New York City and serves delightful Italian sandwiches crammed with quality imported ingredients on schiacciata bread. The sandwich with mortadella, arugula, and spreadable burrata is the one to order. Think of it as a coffee shop version of All’Antico Vinaio with a lot more seating." - Matthew Kang

"Sogno Toscano calls itself a “lifestyle cafe.” We don’t know what that means. But if eating cured meat accurately describes your lifestyle (or you just need a Westside spot for lunch and a strong espresso), you’ll love this place. The Santa Monica cafe serves solid panini with chewy focaccia and imported cold cuts. These are pricey for their size—each one costs roughly $25—but they’re full of ingredients someone like Giada De Laurentiis would smuggle back from vacation. Think aged pecorino from small Tuscan villages, salame milano, and sweet onions. We like the Bufalina, which balances milky bufala with silky, salty ribbons of parma ham." - sylvio martins, jess basser sanders

"A breezy salumi, cheese, and sandwich cafe feels appropriate for the effortlessly casual vibes of Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue. This New York City import arrives with generously portioned schiacciate sandwiches using bread baked by from Bianca Bakery in Culver City. All the ingredients are carefully selected from top Italian producers, like buffalo mozzarella, mortadella, and canned yellowfin tuna in olive oil. Order up some espresso drinks or celebrate with a glass of crisp prosecco." - Eater Staff, Matthew Kang

"There's never been much happening on Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue, unless bowl-sized lattes do it for you. Then along came Sogno Toscano, a so-called “lifestyle cafe.” We're not sure what that means, but if eating cured meats accurately describes your lifestyle, you’ll love this daytime Italian spot. There’s a spacious outdoor patio to stretch your legs, plus a long menu with salumi plates, Roman-style pizzas, and eggy breakfast dishes. That’s all fine and good, but the focaccia sandwiches are what makes this cafe our go-to lunch in the area. There are two types of people here: those sipping strong espresso and those who have transitioned to Aperol spritzes. Either way, pair them with what we like to call a B.I.S. (Big Italian Sandwich). The focaccia is pleasantly chewy, and everything between these slabs of bread reads like something Giada De Laurentiis would smuggle back from vacation. Order the Bolognese if you, like us, prefer your sandwiches stuffed with a mattress of cold cuts (in this case, pistachio-studded mortadella). It also had a thick layer of milky bufala and a generous slathering of pesto to punch everything up. Again, these sandwiches are big, so split one with a friend if you want to save room for a pastry." - Sylvio Martins

"This massive spot on the dining deck of the Santa Monica Place mall has been doing outdoor dining for more than a decade now, and they’re open for weekend brunch and nightly dinner, with an updated menu that includes pizzas, pastas, oysters, and burgers." - brett keating