Dine LA Winter 2025 recap: Socalo & Jame

I’m not entirely sure when I participated in my first Dine LA (maybe in 2013 or 2014?), but I know that for nearly a decade, I pored over the list of participating restaurants, studying the menus and deals to find the best ones. And when I lived in NYC, I regularly convinced my friends to do the East Coast equivalent (NYC Restaurant Week). What can I say? I love a prix fixe menu that’s a good deal.

Sometimes the Dine LA participants are great, and sometimes they…aren’t as inspired. It really depends on the season. Luckily, this Winter’s selection included two places I’d been meaning to check out and heard great things about — and on top of that, each reservation made for Dine LA this time supported wildfire relief.

I only had time to check out two places, but they were good ones!

Socalo in Santa Monica

💵 $15 per person for lunch

During the height of the pandemic, I ordered a Thanksgiving food kit from SOCALO, but even after the lockdown lifted, I hadn’t stepped foot in this restaurant…until now. SOCALO had a pretty affordable Dine LA menu, so I decided it was time I visited the restaurant in person. The Baja Fish Ceviche (no shellfish!) was really tasty and refreshing. The Santa Monica Street Food Bowl is a very healthy Santa-Monican-post-yoga kind of dish, loaded with veggies, quinoa, and more veggies (I paid $7.50 extra to add chicken). The salsa verde sauce, which is the highlight of the bowl, is hidden at the bottom; make sure to mix it all together to get the full flavor.

Jame in El Segundo

💵 $25 per person for lunch

Nestled in an unassuming strip mall on Main Street El Segundo, Jame is known for having some of the best pasta in LA. The food lived up to that reputation. Originally, I wasn’t going to do the Dine LA menu, but my server convinced me otherwise, saying that the restaurant’s must-try dishes were on there for a bargain: the Kale Salad and the Spicy Rigatoni. Now, these are two dishes I wouldn’t have ordered on my own, but I took the enthusiastic recommendation and requested the Spicy Rigatoni be a little less spicy. The Kale salad is simple but delicious and the Spicy Rigatoni is perfection. The dessert is a warm chocolate chip cookie that the restaurant only makes for Dine LA.

Dine LA formally ended on Feb. 7th, but some restaurants are extending their prix fixe menus for a few days; check Dine LA’s IG for which ones.