Say it ain’t so: Birdie G’s in Santa Monica is closing at the end of 2025, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
According to chef-owner Jeremy Fox (who also runs nearby Rustic Canyon), the critically acclaimed restaurant—and Time Out’s pick for the best restaurant in Santa Monica, as well as No. 22 across all of Los Angeles—has not been immune to the economic downturn related to this year’s devastating wildfires, among several other long-term factors, including location and the overall size of the space.
Birdie G’s first made its debut in June 2019, about nine months before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. From the get-go, the sprawling, industrial-modern restaurant located steps away from Bergamot Station earned recognition from local and national media for Fox’s family-friendly, farm-to-table comfort food, which draws inspiration from the chef’s experiences growing up in a Jewish family in the Midwest.
The restaurant is named for Fox’s daughter Birdie and grandmother Gladys. Over the years, Birdie G’s has earned local and national recognition for its inventive dishes and cooking techniques. Personally, I always looked forward to its seasonal dishes made with housemade hoshigaki, or Japanese-style air-dried fuyu persimmons. From where I stood, the upscale restaurant provided a unique, largely satisfying mix of comfort, value and creativity—a total rarity in Santa Monica, a land of mostly boring Italian restaurants, fast-casual spots and other tourist-friendly fare.
For several years, the day-to-day kitchen was also run by Matthew Schaler, whose inventive takes on terrines, both actual and trompe l’oeil, and other unique seasonal dishes drew the attention and admiration of Times critic Bill Addison, as well as yours truly. (After taking a much-needed break from the industry, Schaler can now be found cooking at Tomat in Westchester.) Other longtime staple dishes at Birdie G’s include the matzo ball soup made with carrot miso, lamb a la Saless (now available as a special one night a week) and rice pudding topped with farmers’ market fruit and other seasonal garnishes.
Fox attributes the restaurant’s closure to a number of factors, including the restaurant’s location and lack of street parking. (For what it’s worth, Birdie G’s offers $18 valet parking and there is often parking along neighboring 26th Street.) Originally, the unfinished complex that houses Birdie G’s was supposed to include a boutique hotel, other restaurants, shops and a parking structure, per the Times. The pandemic ultimately stalled those plans, leaving Fox with a 5,000-square-foot space for 180 diners and a would-be base of hotel guests, shoppers and other regulars that never materialized.
The pair of entertainment industry strikes in 2023 have also led to a drop in business. More recently, the wildfires have also led to a decline in tourism to Santa Monica and reduced business from regulars. Many of the restaurant’s most loyal customers were or are residents of the Pacific Palisades, which has only recently begun the years-long process of rebuilding.
In recent months, Fox has done everything from adding a burger onto the menu—despite having a love-hate relationship with the crowd-pleasing dish—to experimenting with a short-lived brunch service over the summer that included challah French toast, matzo brei and bagel platters. During the wildfires, he also contributed to relief efforts by running a series of chef’s specials, with proceeds going to World Central Kitchen. Some months, sales were good; other times, not so much. The chef-owner also revealed to the Times he’d been weighing closure since the end of the year.
The only bright spots? Longtime fans have three and a half months to enjoy the restaurant’s market vegetable relish trays and “world-famous” slices of rose petal pie while it’s still around. Fox also plans to experiment with more boundary-pushing chef’s specials. The restaurant is also preparing an all-star lineup for its popular wintertime dining series, the Hanukkah-inspired 8 Nights, which pairs a visiting chef with a local chef to craft a one-night-only special menu. As of writing, the only confirmed participant is Wiley Dufresne, the chef behind New York City’s critically acclaimed, now-closed wd~50.