Din Tai Fung

With sweeping ocean views, booths shaped like steamer baskets and the same award-winning Taiwanese menu of appetizers, noodles, dumplings and stir-fried veggies, the relatively new Din Tai Fung inside Santa Monica Place is easily one of the places in Santa Monica for a solid meal with a heaping side of ambience. Keep in mind the food quality falls short of other, more established DTF locations (I received lukewarm soup dumplings, for instance), but it’s hard to beat a golden hour reservation on the patio, where you can catch a glimpse on the Santa Monica Pier’s famous Ferris wheel. On my recent visit, I particularly liked the brand-new shaved snow with fresh mango and chocolate ganache-filled dumplings. As par for the course for a tourist-centric location, the friendly, efficient staff keep things moving; play your cards right, and you can be in and out of here with your belly full and eyeballs sated after about a hour and a change.