I was excited to try out Ashland Hill (thanks so much to Jenn and Localite LA!) Ashland Hill is a warm, stylish restaurant located in the heart of Santa Monica. It's a gastropub meets take out food, featuring specialty beers. You order at the counter and take a number and head to the back patio to find seating.
I don't drink so I can't tell you about the alcohol menu but we ordered the virgin Bloody Mary's which were OMG SO GOOD! They had a good kick and deep savory tomato flavor, with a huge, full length celery stalk. Super recommend.
Next up was the Avocado Toast which tasted like no other avocado toast that I've had before. It features ricotta, caramelized onion, and roasted mushrooms on top of sourdough toast. I loved the umami blend of the tart dressing with the rich meaty mushrooms, topped off with the buttery avocado.
The chef offered up the Heirloom Tomatoes as our next course and I loved the beautiful plating. There were super generous portions of prosciutto added, we couldn't even finish it all. The heirloom tomatoes were earthy and almost smoky in flavor. Paired with the rich saltiness of the prosciutto and perfectly topped off by the fresh herbs and pistachio pesto.
The green salad was super fresh and features little gem lettuce, radish, avocado, arugula, chopped herbs and a mustard vinaigrette.
We ended the meal with the Fried Chicken Sandwich, which was HUGE. It features beer battered chicken, pickles and coleslaw. The sandwich was paired with parmesan fries, which tasted kind of like McDonalds fries (this is a compliment, mcdonalds fries are my absolute favorite!), except better because they were topped off like parmesan!
We should've saved room for dessert but we were stuffed! We ended the meal with a delicious cappuccino. Check out the foam! The coffee was perfectly soft and creamy and the perfect way to end the meal.
I wish I lived closer to Santa Monica so I could stop by more often!
Ashland Hill - 2807 Main St. Santa Monica, CA 90405
Phone number: (310) 392-3300
