Comments (0) Best High-Art Patio (1979) - 2010
Michael's
There was a time when art in restaurants signified more than the $3,000 ceramic dildo for sale at the gift shop of Bazaar. We have fond memories of the downtown art bar dominated by John Chamberlain's crumpled-automobile sculpture, the big Jonathan Borofsky at the original Katsu, and the rolling art installations at the old West Beach Café. But Michael's — art, the real stuff, Rauschenberg, Stella, Graham, Hockney, all those guys, even in the men's room upstairs — the exuberance of the 1970s. And the shaded patio, a sculpture garden really, is crammed with every tasteful garden whimsy you could possibly cram into a small Santa Monica backyard. They serve food here, too. 1147 Third St., Santa Monica. (310) 451-0843, michaelssantamonica.com. —Jonathan Gold
