FIG in Santa Monica Revamps Menu, Adds Wood-Fired Oven

It’s been 18 months since chef Yousef Ghalaini stepped in to lead the team at FIG in Santa Monica, and in that time he’s been slowly bringing his own flavors to the table. Now that lots of the small details are in place, it’s time for one big push into both a new menu and dining format, with the colorful kitchen ready to fully fire up their new wood-burning oven.

Formerly working at The Bench at The Lodge in Pebble Beach, Ghalaini has a background in Middle Eastern flavors that he’s been extending to FIG since he arrived in late 2014. Now his new menu is all the way there, working everything from za’atar breads and hummus to a $31 pomegranate lamb shank. The fully updated menu is below.

There’s also room on the revamped bill of fare for lots of wood-fired options like roasted beets, plus lamb merguez sausage pizzas and the restaurant’s long-running $29 half chicken, which was formerly roasted and now is grilled over live fire. That’s thanks to the restaurant’s (relatively) newly installed wood oven, shown above behind glass.

FIG sits inside the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, keeping daily hours from 7 a.m. to early afternoon, with a dinner run from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

fig-new-menus.pdf