Snug Harbor

2323 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA  90403

My friend and I decided to check out Snug Harbor for Labor Day pancakes because he's often seen long lines outside the place, which indicates it's pretty special.

I'd never heard of it, and it doesn't seem to have a Web site, but the Yelp reviews were very positive, so my hopes were high.

Parking was a bit of an issue, even on a very slow and quiet holiday. There might be some parking in the alley in back, but we drove through there and couldn't really figure out where it was, so we ended up parking about a half-block away on Wilshire.

We got there around 9:30, and though there were no inside booths available (the place is very small; maybe 10 booths total), there was patio seating, and after confirming it was a nonsmoking patio, we were more than happy to sit outside.

The patio area is nice; small but very shaded and MUCH quieter than inside, which is deafeningly loud. However, the patio furniture is dimestore plastic stuff, and more than once one or the other of us would shift slightly and cause drinks to spill.

The service was very prompt and very friendly. We both ordered Snug Harbor's version of the 2+2+2, and when I couldn't hide my disappointment that the banana pancakes were pancakes with bananas on top rather than cooked in the batter, the waitress suggested I go for the chocolate chip pancakes with bananas, which sounded perfect. They have an impressive list of flavored sausages, so I got the chicken mango. My friend got blueberry pancakes and bacon with his combo. I also had regular coffee, while he had orange juice.

Within 10 minutes, our meals arrived. They were certainly pretty to behold:

The meal ultimately looked better than it tasted, however. The sausage was fantastic and the eggs were fine, but the pancakes were hardly thrilling. The texture was okay, but the taste of the pancakes on their own was very bland. I had expected the chocolate chips to be in the batter, but as you can see, there was simply a small, melted pile on top beneath the sliced bananas. This meant that there was way too much chocolate concentrated in a very small area and no extra flavor at all anywhere else. My friend voiced no complaints about his blueberry pancakes, but there, too, the blueberries were simply clustered on top, and not in a very generous portion, either.

The price, however, wasn't bad at all; our bill came to just over $28 before tip, which seemed reasonable given that we both substituted flavored pancakes in our combos and we each had a beverage, though of course it wasn't that much of a bargain given that the pancakes were rather disappointing.

Snug Harbor offers very good service and has a nice little patio area that is pleasant despite extremely cheap and uncomfortable furniture. The food itself, however, was simply average, not at all bad but not the least bit exciting. I have no real desire to go back and certainly wouldn't wait in line for the privilege of having another breakfast there.