Cobi’s

2104 Main St. Santa Monica, CA

It’s Southeast Asia by way of the California coast. A beautiful floral dining room gives way to a wild, remix of Bali, Bangkok, and Bombay. Dishes land at the table looking like they’ve just been rescued from a street market…burnished, glossy, defiantly alive.

The prawns come out like they’ve been baptized in fire and honey. The lamb curry hums with the slow heat of something that’s been cared for, coaxed into submission. You like heat? The Devil Chicken is one of the hottest dishes I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant, and was fully worth the burn. They also have a beautiful selection for milder palettes, and somewhere in the background, someone’s having the best night of their life over a cocktail that tastes like a beachside hallucination. Save room for the Thai Tea Pudding dessert.