Where is Stiletto in Santa Monica?

Stiletto is at 3200 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405, across from Santa Monica Airport, in the same building as Matilda's bakery. There is a parking lot behind the building.

When did Stiletto open?

Stiletto opened on October 21, 2026. The restaurant is in soft operation and has not announced a grand opening.

Who owns Stiletto and who is the chef?

Stiletto is owned by Sean Martin, who also owns The Cloverfield and Matilda's on Airport Avenue. Chef Patrick Powell runs the kitchen.

Why is the restaurant called Stiletto?

It is named after the Douglas X-3 Stiletto, an experimental research jet built to test sustained supersonic flight at the Douglas Aircraft factory that stood near the restaurant.

What is on the menu at Stiletto?

Live-fire steaks including Rosewood Ranch New York strip and bone-in rib-eye, steak au poivre and a prime rib roast dinner, plus peri peri chicken, steak tartare, bluefin tuna, sticky toffee pudding, a three-martini flight and baguettes from Matilda's next door.

What are Stiletto's hours?

Hours are still settling. Google lists 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, while soft-opening reports differ, so call (310) 437-0872 before you go.

Does Stiletto take reservations?

Reservation details are still being reported differently, with a Resy page linked by some outlets and others noting reservations are coming soon. Call (310) 437-0872 to confirm.

A Steakhouse Named After a Jet Opened Across From Santa Monica Airport

3 days ago

3 min read

There is a new steakhouse across from Santa Monica Airport, it is named after an experimental jet, and the bread on the table was baked that morning in the same building.

Stiletto opened on October 21 at 3200 Airport Avenue. It takes its name from the X-3 Stiletto, the research aircraft built to test sustained supersonic flight at the Douglas Aircraft factory that stood, in the restaurant's own phrasing, just steps away.

One Owner, Three Restaurants, Two Buildings

The press has described Stiletto as coming from “the team behind The Cloverfield and Matilda's.” That is true but understates it. All three are Sean Martin's.

Martin was born in Wexford, Ireland, worked in hospitality across Europe, and owns a London pub called The Pregnant Man. He took over the old Spitfire Grill at 3300 Airport Avenue from an owner who had run it for about thirty years, roughly a week before the first pandemic lockdown, and opened it as The Cloverfield, named for the airfield's original name. He opened Matilda's, named for his daughter, at 3200 Airport Avenue. Stiletto is in that same building.

Patrick Powell runs the kitchen.

Fire And Finesse

That is the restaurant's own summary of itself, and the longer version from its press materials describes “a cooking style that is elemental but a point of view that is lighter, more expressive, and a little less traditional.” The site frames the room as shaped by the history of the hangar it occupies but built for Santa Monica now.

In practice that means live fire, a loosely British spine, and a menu that is more interesting than steakhouse shorthand suggests.

To start. Matilda's baguette with butter. An Ortiz anchovy and Gordal olive gilda. Pickled jalapeño and Comté gougères. Steak tartare.
The ones that are not beef. Bluefin tuna with melon, cucumber and mint. Barbecued leek with crab, lemon and hazelnut. Grilled hispi cabbage with Cantabrian chile butter.
The beef. New York strip and bone-in rib-eye from Rosewood Ranch, steak au poivre, and a prime rib roast dinner.
The British streak. Savoury mince on toast, pork schnitzel, peri peri chicken, baked gnocchi with Taleggio.
Dessert. Sticky toffee pudding, strawberry pavlova, lemon ice with raspberry, chocolate mousse.
To drink. A three-martini flight.

Early diners single out the roasted corn, the carrots and the cauliflower, which is unusual attention for vegetables in a room built around a grill. The fries are cooked in olive oil.

One Address, Two Businesses, Almost No Overlap

Matilda's runs mornings. Stiletto runs nights. The bakery's baguettes land on the steakhouse tables a few hours after they come out of the oven, which is the kind of vertical integration most restaurants can only buy.

A terrace is planned for summer 2027.

If You Go

Stiletto, 3200 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Hours: unsettled. Google lists 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Canyon News reports soft-opening hours of Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 p.m. plus Sunday noon to 4 p.m.
Phone: (310) 437-0872
Reservations: also unsettled. The Infatuation links a live Resy page. Three other outlets report the restaurant's own site still shows reservations coming soon.
Parking: a lot behind the building

Given that both the hours and the booking method are reported differently depending on where you look, call before you drive over. The restaurant is in soft operation and has not announced a grand opening.

Sourcing

Ownership, the name origin and “fire and finesse” come from Yo! Venice and Palisades News. Chef Patrick Powell, the soft-opening hours and the website language come from Canyon News and Pearl. Menu items come from those outlets and from The Infatuation's preview by Cathy Park, published October 21, 2026, which states the publication has not yet dined there. Sean Martin's background and The Cloverfield's history come from The Argonaut. Vegetable and fries observations come from public Google reviews. Address, hours and phone come from Google Business Profile, checked October 25, 2026. Food Journal Magazine has not eaten at Stiletto.