California cuisine rules the menu at Summer House Santa Monica, pizza at Stella Barra

Publish date: 2024-08-10

Jeff Mahin grew up dining “West Coast-style” and wanted to open a restaurant that reflected that. “The most Californian menu I can think of is a 10-top table in someone’s backyard with someone grilling,” says the Berkeley, Calif.-born chef.

Rather than invite strangers over to his place, earlier this month Mahin and his business partner opened Summer House Santa Monica in North Bethesda’s blossoming Pike & Rose development.

The sprawling bistro leans heavily on lighter dishes such as rockfish in a delicate dashi broth; made-from-scratch baked goods like buttermilk biscuits and English muffins; and an impressive array of vegetable-rich dishes.

This is the second outpost of Summer House Santa Monica, which Mahin and Francis Brennan founded in Chicago in 2013. Though Maryland is a new market for the duo, they made fast-friends with local farmers, from whom they source most of their ingredients.

The interior is reminiscent of your richest friend’s parents’ beach house, with stark-white rafter ceilings, a bar stocked with mostly domestic wines and a “Countdown to Summer” calendar. The only thing missing is sand and a foosball table.

The menu is mostly small plates. “Nowhere on the menu does it say entree, because all of these dishes are meant to be shared.”

The tone is undoubtedly more moody, with dimmer lighting, black tufted leather couches, hardwood floors the color of bourbon and a hip-hop soundtrack. (“You’re likely to hear some profanity in the music,” Mahin says).

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The menu is slightly more wallet-friendly and includes pizzas made with the same dough Mahin uses for his French bread, resulting in plush-yet-crusty bites. One of the restaurant’s finest pies is topped with pork sausage and red sauce made in-house, mozzarella and fennel pollen. Fresh burrata with wood-grilled red grapes should not be overlooked.

This marks the fourth location for Stella Barra, though at the moment it’s the East Coast’s one and only. Holley Simmons (Express)

Summer House Santa Monica and Stella Barra Pizzeria, 11825 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda; 301-881-2381 and 301-770-8609, summerhousesm.com and stellabarra.com.

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California cuisine rules the menu at Summer House Santa Monica, pizza at Stella Barra