Father’s Office – Santa Monica, CA

I’m at a stage in my life where getting carded is a compliment – you really think I could be under 21?! – so when I was asked for ID walking into Father’s Office, I thanked the guy at the door.  After confirming that I was at least a decade older than he was, he laid the ground rules of how things at the Office work:  order at the bar and no substitutions.

Since Father’s Office is a bar that serves food rather than a restaurant that serves alcohol, no one under 21 is admitted.  The lack of table service may seem unconventional outside of fast food but, again, this place is a bar.  If you see a table on your way to place your order be sure to grab it, as the space is tiny with only a handful of tables and a few stools at the bar.  Sit down immediately and send one member of your party up to place the order.  Sending someone in your stead will allow him or her to take the browbeating when they ask to alter a dish from what is written in the menu.  Chef Sang Yoon is infamous for not giving an inch when it comes to his food.  You get it how he prepares it or you get out.

There is only one burger on the menu and along with the thirty-plus microbrew selections it is why people visit the Office.  The Office Burger ($12.50) is made of dry-aged strip steak, Applewood bacon, Gruyère and Maytag blue cheese, caramelized onion compote, and arugula, all on French bread.  Table secured and order placed, the wait was on.  With time to kill, I noticed there wasn’t a bottle of ketchup on the table or a single one to be seen in the entire place.

The burger was ready to pick up at the bar after a not inordinate amount of time.  It was served cut in half on white paper resting in a wire basket.  The burger was nearly the same length of the basket.  The arugula flowed from beneath the French bread and out into the basket.  The caramelized onion compote glistened atop the seasoned patty and melted cheese.  The smell was divine.

The crunch of the French bread with the first bite was a welcomed change from the usual burger buns.  The sweetness of the compote was immediately present and savory patty was cooked to a perfect medium rare.  Father’s Office may be the size of a dormitory closet but it serves up burgers with huge flavor.  Each bite was anticipated and enjoyed as much at the last but in the end the compote was sweet to the point of distraction and was not balanced by the lackluster bite of the blue cheese.  Either more blue cheese or less caramelized onion compote would work for me, but modifications are not tolerated.

The Office Burger isn’t your typical pub burger and Father’s Office is not your typical bar, and while the compote and the attitude are spread on pretty thick, the Soup Nazi type stance is simply part of the charm.  Just don’t get caught sneaking in a bottle of ketchup.

RATING: 4.5

Father’s Office
1018 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, California 90403
(310) 736-2224
www.fathersoffice.com
Kitchen Hours: Monday – Wednesday 5:00PM – 10:00PM
Thursday 5:00PM – 11:00PM
Friday 4:00PM – 11:00PM
Saturday 12:00PM – 11:00PM
Sunday 12:00PM – 10:00PM

Tagged as: bar, blue cheese, burger, burger review, cheeseburger, Father's Office, hamblogger, hamburger, Los Angeles, photo, photographer, photography, photojournalism, pub, Santa Monica