Taste London's bold international flavors at Santa Monica's newest restaurant

Main dining room at Edgemar in Santa Monica, a new London-inspired restaurant along Main Street. | Andrea D’Agosto

The stunning new Edgemar occupies warehouse space in a Frank Gehry-designed development on Main Street

Seemingly lifted from the salty ocean air, a sleek new London-inspired restaurant called Edgemar opened in a Frank Gehry-designed development along Santa Monica’s Main Street on August 16. Housed in a barrel-vaulted warehouse, Edgemar’s team boasts both international and local experience, led by executive chef Jared Dowling (formerly of Fat Radish in New York, Waterfront and Winston House in Venice), and chef Jonathan Thoma (formerly of Great White).

The Thomas Greek-designed interior fuses elements of early 20th-century Precisionist art with its wall and bar accents and features a striking arched truss ceiling that reimagined a former power plant built in the early 1900s. Edgemar’s natural light, historic ambiance and thoughtful design bring a refreshing new adult restaurant to Main Street Santa Monica.

The menu draws on a variety of international cuisines, including Japan, India and Southeast Asia, thanks to Dowling’s time in London and Thoma’s upbringing in Malaysia. “London has had a huge influence on my life and I’m really excited about the fluidity of the menus and the multicultural dishes,” Dowling says. “Things are balanced by flavour, not cuisine, and[chefs are]allowed to express themselves in any way they can, with different spices, styles or techniques.”

Dowling was influenced by Lee Tiernan, the former executive chef at St. John in London, whose bakken spices give North African ras al hanout a spicier, richer flavor. “We season the lamb with hot cloves, cumin, and caraway, and then we smoke it over California red oak,” Dowling says. The chef also wanted to emulate Australian chef Josh Niland’s fish butchery, and spent two months training for Edgemar’s halibut rack. Finally, Dowling credits his take on konbu sashimi to his experience at Yess chef Junya Yamasaki’s Koya noodle bar in London. “It’s funny that we both ended up in the same city years later,” he says.

In the raw seafood section, there’s mandarin orange slices and salsa macha on hamachi crudo or Meyer lemon and cilantro on sliced raw halibut. Tempura-fried oysters are returned to their shells and served with yuzu tartar sauce. For starters, Ruby Murray chicken curry, smoked lamb shoulder with house-made flatbread, and stracciatella topped with chilli and pulled on-site with togarashi all seem perfectly appropriate on a hip London menu. “I used to eat curry three or four times a week growing up in London. It’s so indulgent here with the shrimp, especially when you get in the head and squeeze the juices into the curry,” says Dowling.

Four people sit on a red banquette as members of the front of house team at Edgemar restaurant in Santa Monica.

Jackson Davis
The Edgemar team: Bartender Eugene Shaw (left), Gilda Bahremand (center left), Jared Dowling (center right) and Jonathan Thoma (right).

Lobster fried rice fuses makrut lime and English peas, while spaghetti alla chitarra d’uni gets the freshness of shiso and Meyer lemon. When possible, Dowling and Thoma use local produce like Munak Ranch tomatoes and Garcia Farms mandarin oranges. Dessert includes a crispy pavlova with black pepper meringue and a chocolate mousse with mandarin orange, salted whipped cream and Espelette pepper.

The rest of the team brings years of experience to other aspects of the operation. General manager Gilda Bahremand has held management positions at Jean Georges, Butcher’s Daughter and Aman New York. Bartender Eugene Shaw trained at Comme Ca in the 2000s and ended up running bars at Varnish and Scopa. Many of the Edgewater team currently live in or have worked at restaurants in the area, giving them a healthy dose of local knowledge.

Edgemar is looking to bolster Main Street’s burgeoning food scene, currently bolstered by Pasjoli, Crudo e Nudo, Heavy Handed, Cobi’s and Coucou. A late-night menu, happy hour, weekend brunch and weekday lunch will be introduced in the coming weeks.

Bordmar is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at 2435 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA, 90405. Reservations are available at Open table.

A bartender makes a Saigon-Taipei connection, mixing cold-brewed chicory, aged rum and coffee liqueur.