Best Southern American Restaurants in Santa Monica

This was our first time at Maple Block. We started with the peach wood smoked chicken wings—not o ur jam. The texture of the wings was rubbery (especially the drumette), but it had a nice rub and good smoke flavor. The buffalo wing sauce accompanying them was awesome. We then ordered 1/2 lb of brisket, ranch beans, a kale salad, and the night’s special—crispy half chicken with salsa verde. The brisket was delicious—half lean, half fatty just as we had ordered it. The bbq sauce was spot on. Beans are always the test at a bbq place for us and they were stellar, perfectly cooked and creamy with just a hint of sweetness. However, the star of the show was definitely the special—this needs to be on the menu permanently!! Half a smoked chicken, fried to crispy perfection, topped with a refreshing herb salad with pickled white onions (which are better than their red), served with tomatillo salsa. This was the best smoked chicken that we have ever had. A refined dish that doesn’t let you forget that the chicken is the star of the show. FYI, portion size is robust, we took home 3/4 of the chicken, 1/2 the beans, and 1/2 the brisket. It made for a lovely breakfast in the morning.

Fantastic food, great service. Happy to see non alcoholic cocktail options and a kids menu.

We had a really nice experience here. The set up is unique with the bar downstairs and our bartender Haley (sp?) was super friendly and helpful with her recs for the restaurant. The food was really delicious which we actually didn’t expect given the overall theme of the restaurant and complex. We’ll definitely come back here. Oh and the images projected on the exterior of the building are really fun, especially when you catch them on your way out!

We visited on Monday, December 9 for my son’s 21st birthday. I wanna say our server’s name was Isaac. I’m not sure I got that right but he was absolutely amazing. We sat at the table right next to the front entrance. He was the best server. We had a great time and we truly appreciated him making it a great night.