Bower Surf Club opened September 10 at Santa Monica's Colorado Center, bringing Australian beach-culture influences together with Baja-style seafood and burgers, including a version made with Vegemite-laced onions. The 6,500-square-foot restaurant has 200 seats, and owner Dave Harper is positioning it as a social gathering place as well as a dining business.
Harper, an Australian-born restaurateur and surfer, is behind the project, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. His previous Westside businesses include Amigo Coffee Roasters, El Chuco Restaurant and Bar, and Bondi Harvest Cafe. Bower Surf Club occupies space inside the Colorado Center, an office and social complex at 2501 Colorado Ave.
Harper told the Daily News the restaurant was designed to be “light” and “breezy” rather than formal. Its menu crosses several culinary traditions, offering breakfast, salads, sandwiches, bowls, burritos and pancakes alongside fish, pasta, roast chicken and burgers.
A Menu Built for Beach Days
Breakfast includes the Aussie Brekkie, built around eggs, avocado and toast or an English muffin with a choice of bacon, sausage or mushrooms, plus a Brekkie Burrito with eggs, avocado, cheese, potatoes and pico de gallo. The Bower Burger pairs grass-fed beef with white cheddar, pickles, dijonaise and onions seasoned with Vegemite, while fries are served alongside.
The K38 Baja fish tacos offer a choice of grilled or tempura-battered Pacific rockfish with cabbage, mango pico de gallo, smoked crema and corn tortillas. Coffee from Harper's Amigo Coffee Roasters is also available.
Named for a Legendary Australian Wave
The name draws on Harper's Australian background: Bower Surf Club refers to Fairy Bower, a right-hand point break at Cabbage Tree Bay near Manly Beach.
Harper has said he wants the Santa Monica restaurant to operate as a community hub, not simply as a place for meals. That ambition gives the new business a local role within an office complex whose existing amenities include spaces intended for gathering and recreation.
A Restaurant in a Changing Office District
Bower Surf Club is opening in a substantial commercial setting. According to BXP, Colorado Center is a 1.14-million-square-foot, 15-acre creative office complex with an outdoor gathering space, an on-site café, tennis courts and underground parking. The office-campus context predates the restaurant: Boston Properties announced in 2021 that Roku had signed a 10-year lease for 72,000 square feet there, a corporate office deal rather than a restaurant opening. The launch also comes as Santa Monica works to revive commercial activity. The City of Santa Monica says retail vacancies are near 16 percent and office vacancies are around 35 percent. On March 20, 2025, the city temporarily suspended several restaurant rules, including limits on operating hours, alcohol service and indoor and outdoor seating, as part of an economic-recovery response after the Palisades Fire, according to a city announcement.
