This must be Malibu
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Few places are as stamped on the public’s retina as Malibu. The name instantly conjures images of lavish homes and wide beaches bathed in the glow of a warm sun dropping into the Pacific Ocean. But Malibu has always offered more than what’s in your mind’s eye. Scratch the surface and you’ll find independent boutiques, trails winding through peaceful patches of riparian landscape and lots of great restaurants and bars. Yes, there are plenty of ways to spank your credit cards on designer labels or in celeb-packed cafes, but there’s also a fair helping of down-to-earth soul between those Santa Monica peaks and the Pacific waves.
Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now.
Tragically, the city has been associated with a less dreamy vision: that of wildfires. Many of those famous oceanside stilt houses were reduced to rubble in the 2025 Palisades fire, and lone brick fireplaces and mailboxes are still among the only signs of erstwhile habitation in some communities. (Malibu has history when it comes to wildfires. The 2018 Woolsey fire scorched slightly less than 100,000 acres, the biggest of some 30 fires in the last 90 years.)
But the city has slowly been recovering. Although the fate of several landmarks, including the Reel Inn, is still uncertain, other celebrated spots such as Duke’s have reopened for business — and now rely on visitors for support. So let this be the call to explore the coastal town. If you want to make a staycation out of it, the upscale boutique Surfrider Malibu is in the heart of the action by the pier. The hotel has partnered with Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back program, so a portion of your reservation rate goes to the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation.
There are several ways to get here. You can join the hordes heading west on the 10, winding down the windows when it curves into Highway 1 at the Santa Monica pier by the wonderfully named Moomat Ahiko Way (which means “breath of the ocean” in the language of the area’s original inhabitants, the Tongva). Or, you can take the back road in, via Point Mugu at the north — or one of the winding, epic routes that bisect the mountains north to south from Calabasas and the Conejo Valley. Either way, come inhale some of that ocean air and linger a while. Malibu rarely disappoints.
What's included in this guide
Anyone who’s lived in a major metropolis can tell you that neighborhoods are a tricky thing. They’re eternally malleable and evoke sociological questions around how we place our homes, our neighbors and our communities within a wider tapestry. In the name of neighborly generosity, we may include gems that linger outside of technical parameters. Instead of leaning into stark definitions, we hope to celebrate all of the places that make us love where we live.
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What L.A. neighborhood should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com.
Grab a breakfast burrito at local favorite Lily's Malibu
Malibu Breakfast
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
Lily has been slinging her breakfast burritos since 1989, and the lines at her unassuming restaurant are as regular as ever three-and-a-half decades later. The hefty slabs come with a range of fillings — bacon, chorizo, ham, machaca (carne asada), peppers or sausage — and, as she promises on her website, are stuffed “with far more protein than rice.”
Grab any one of them, slather it with her fiery salsa, and settle down at a table to check out the black-and-white photography of pier struts, epic waves and surf kids. You’ll be set for most of the day.
There are a bunch of neighboring businesses in the Point Dume Village here worth a quick visit. Hit up Abierto, assuming it’s — ahem — open, for curated cookbooks, candles and coffee table tomes on assorted pop culture topics. (That book on French new wave makes for perfect performative beach reading.) Then stop by Laya for the gingham bikinis, bright cotton towels and chic cover-ups.
Grab any one of them, slather it with her fiery salsa, and settle down at a table to check out the black-and-white photography of pier struts, epic waves and surf kids. You’ll be set for most of the day.
There are a bunch of neighboring businesses in the Point Dume Village here worth a quick visit. Hit up Abierto, assuming it’s — ahem — open, for curated cookbooks, candles and coffee table tomes on assorted pop culture topics. (That book on French new wave makes for perfect performative beach reading.) Then stop by Laya for the gingham bikinis, bright cotton towels and chic cover-ups.
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Stand up on a surfboard at Surfrider Beach
Malibu Beach
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
It might only be for a few seconds, and you might be hunched over and wobbling, but you really will stand up on a board at Surfrider Beach. The waves are so regular, reliable and forgiving that you’d be hard-pressed not to pop up. But if you don’t, that’s fine too. There are worse places to gently bob up and down, waiting for a wave and admiring the view of the pier and ever-present mountains.
You’ll be part of a long line of surf pilgrims, many of whom have been captured on film, most notably in the 1978 classic “Big Wednesday.” In October, when what passes as Malibu’s “winter” approaches, locals are still having board meetings, only this time in Halloween costumes. Some have cameras strapped to the front of the board, making their own surf vids.
The cove is part of the larger Malibu Lagoon State Beach area. Amble north to explore 22 acres of wetlands and marshes, and an estuary that’s a feeding ground for some 200 birds, including native types and migratory species like terns and meadowlarks. The parking lot is super convenient — if you’re awake early with those larks and manage to snag a spot.
You’ll be part of a long line of surf pilgrims, many of whom have been captured on film, most notably in the 1978 classic “Big Wednesday.” In October, when what passes as Malibu’s “winter” approaches, locals are still having board meetings, only this time in Halloween costumes. Some have cameras strapped to the front of the board, making their own surf vids.
The cove is part of the larger Malibu Lagoon State Beach area. Amble north to explore 22 acres of wetlands and marshes, and an estuary that’s a feeding ground for some 200 birds, including native types and migratory species like terns and meadowlarks. The parking lot is super convenient — if you’re awake early with those larks and manage to snag a spot.
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Upgrade your beach essentials at the Malibu outpost of Maxfield
Malibu Boutique
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
If you’re looking for “very, very cool, expensive clothes,” in a shop full of “really wild, great stuff,” hit up Maxfield. That’s how Catherine O’Hara remembered the place for Vogue after spending an afternoon at the Melrose branch to get costumed up for her role as Delia Deetz in 1988’s “Beetlejuice.”
The boutique, which was established by Tommy Perse back in 1969, hasn’t lost any of its curated charm. Today, in the Malibu outpost, you’ll find all kinds of covetable and super rare items, including Rolexes, Celine purses, Miu Miu bags, and accessories for the chicest dogs this side of Rodeo.
It’s a trove of eye-catching objets d’art; on a recent visit we spied Jacques Marie Mage animal rings, a 2008 Birkin, and a jeweled Hermès ashtray (at $9,500). One table on a recent visit was stacked with vintage Iron Maiden, Metallica and Rage Against the Machine tees in pristine condition with a price tag (of around $700) to match. A Cars’ 1982 tour shirt was a little more realistic, at $400. Thoughtfully curated books (like an Annie Lennox retrospective) make a more affordable gift.
Almost everything is for sale, aside from a few pieces of furniture including an amazing mirrored sunglasses display case with a leather bench for sitting and posing (which was picked up from a garage in Paris). Just don’t expect to get any selfies in those Chrome Hearts sunglasses unless you take them home; the store has a ban on photography and filming for social media.
The boutique, which was established by Tommy Perse back in 1969, hasn’t lost any of its curated charm. Today, in the Malibu outpost, you’ll find all kinds of covetable and super rare items, including Rolexes, Celine purses, Miu Miu bags, and accessories for the chicest dogs this side of Rodeo.
It’s a trove of eye-catching objets d’art; on a recent visit we spied Jacques Marie Mage animal rings, a 2008 Birkin, and a jeweled Hermès ashtray (at $9,500). One table on a recent visit was stacked with vintage Iron Maiden, Metallica and Rage Against the Machine tees in pristine condition with a price tag (of around $700) to match. A Cars’ 1982 tour shirt was a little more realistic, at $400. Thoughtfully curated books (like an Annie Lennox retrospective) make a more affordable gift.
Almost everything is for sale, aside from a few pieces of furniture including an amazing mirrored sunglasses display case with a leather bench for sitting and posing (which was picked up from a garage in Paris). Just don’t expect to get any selfies in those Chrome Hearts sunglasses unless you take them home; the store has a ban on photography and filming for social media.
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Bounce around the boutiques at Malibu Country Mart
Malibu Shopping
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
With dozens of shops, restaurants and fitness studios set among peaceful courtyards and free parking spots, Malibu Country Mart is a relaxing place to drop a few hundred bucks without blinking. There’s a lot here within a two-minute stroll: upscale chains like Brandy Melville, John Varvatos and Oliver Peoples alongside Malibu-only offerings like Blue Salt for beautiful basics favored by Meghan Markle.
Fuel up with something green and healthy at SunLife Organics (the SoCal juice bar started life in Malibu), then hit up Aloha Collection for a slice of Hawaii and a new travel bag or Aroma 360 for room diffusers. Stop by Toy Crazy for the kids — or just leave them with your partner in the outdoor playground while you take turns shopping. Alfred Coffee, which now has 22 locations in L.A. since opening on Melrose Place in 2013, is here for your caffeination needs — whether you’re after their “world famous vanilla latte” or not.
Fuel up with something green and healthy at SunLife Organics (the SoCal juice bar started life in Malibu), then hit up Aloha Collection for a slice of Hawaii and a new travel bag or Aroma 360 for room diffusers. Stop by Toy Crazy for the kids — or just leave them with your partner in the outdoor playground while you take turns shopping. Alfred Coffee, which now has 22 locations in L.A. since opening on Melrose Place in 2013, is here for your caffeination needs — whether you’re after their “world famous vanilla latte” or not.
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Grab a viral mystery sandwich at Surf Canyon’s Casita Basqueria
Malibu Sandwich Shop
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
Wander up Cross Creek Road from Malibu Country Mart, past a hardware store, and look for the Surf Canyon sign. Here you’ll find a cluster of small businesses in an unassuming collection of sheds and small homes, offering pottery classes, yoga and gifts. Highlights include Malibu Sandals, where colorful shoes and bags are stacked by a vintage Donkey Kong arcade, the Black Butterfly boutique, whose items are as well curated as their playlists, and Viola Gardens’ pretty Art and Ecology Studio.
Come at 11 a.m. and you’ll be part of the morning rush for the Insta-famous sandwiches at Casita Basqueria, a food store specializing in Basque cuisine. Chef and owner Sebastien Pourrat, who grew up on a farm in southwest France, serves up a different type of sandwich each day. On our visit, it was bocadillo de pollo, a duck fat roasted chicken sandwich.
Pourrat, who cuts a stylish figure in white jeans and sweater and artfully tousled hair, says he often has as many as 80 people at the door. The viral madness started on Nextdoor, he says, but once it migrated to TikTok it was game over. Each day, when the sandwiches are gone, they’re gone. If you arrive too late, console yourself with some of the shop’s chorizo, gourmet salt or crackers.
Come at 11 a.m. and you’ll be part of the morning rush for the Insta-famous sandwiches at Casita Basqueria, a food store specializing in Basque cuisine. Chef and owner Sebastien Pourrat, who grew up on a farm in southwest France, serves up a different type of sandwich each day. On our visit, it was bocadillo de pollo, a duck fat roasted chicken sandwich.
Pourrat, who cuts a stylish figure in white jeans and sweater and artfully tousled hair, says he often has as many as 80 people at the door. The viral madness started on Nextdoor, he says, but once it migrated to TikTok it was game over. Each day, when the sandwiches are gone, they’re gone. If you arrive too late, console yourself with some of the shop’s chorizo, gourmet salt or crackers.
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Fuel up on beer and lobster at Broad Street Oyster Co.
Malibu Seafood
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
The Broad Street Oyster Co.’s lurid pink and yellow cartoon-y signs are now up in Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach, Grand Central and San Francisco, but it all started in Malibu in 2019. The eatery’s in an improbable spot — a parking lot behind a dry cleaners and a shoe repair shop and a fair walk from anywhere resembling the ocean — but it does the seafood shack vibe well. Tables are clustered in two big tents hung with fishing nets and buoys and stocked with Heinz ketchup and malt vinegar. Orders are announced via megaphone from a guy under a pirate flag and a neon “Surf’s Up” sign. Thin Lizzy blasts away. Business is brisk, but our server told us its recovery has been slow since the fires.
Dishes plunder the high seas: fish and chips, live urchins, oysters served in tin foil containers of ice, a seafood tower that runs from $175 to $350. Takeout bags are emblazoned with “world famous lobster roll,” and despite the hubris, those rolls could give a few places in Maine a run for their money. The fish tacos with Fresno aioli have just enough crunch and kick. Wash it all down with a beer from Smog City or Golden Road, or one of the “party wines,” a collaboration with Los Olivos vineyard Coquelicot that comes in a can that looks suspiciously like a Bud. Oh, and that parking lot? It’s full of car chargers if you’re here on an EV road trip.
Dishes plunder the high seas: fish and chips, live urchins, oysters served in tin foil containers of ice, a seafood tower that runs from $175 to $350. Takeout bags are emblazoned with “world famous lobster roll,” and despite the hubris, those rolls could give a few places in Maine a run for their money. The fish tacos with Fresno aioli have just enough crunch and kick. Wash it all down with a beer from Smog City or Golden Road, or one of the “party wines,” a collaboration with Los Olivos vineyard Coquelicot that comes in a can that looks suspiciously like a Bud. Oh, and that parking lot? It’s full of car chargers if you’re here on an EV road trip.
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Take a fairly easy hike to the (still lightly flowing) Escondido Falls
Unincorporated Santa Monica Mountains Hiking Trail
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
The hike to Escondido Falls is a two-part affair. First, you’ll need to snag a spot at the PCH-adjacent parking lot and walk for a mile or so uphill along a quiet road. You’ll pass a variety of multi-squillion-dollar homes, glimpsing infinity pools with ocean views and other trappings of 0.01-percent life.
Then, when you reach the top of the hill and find the Edward Alberto Escondido Canyon Trailhead sign, the walk takes a sharp turn to the bucolic and becomes a fairly easy romp of a couple miles through riparian woodlands under shady oak trees. The roar of the Pacific Coast Highway becomes a distant memory, even if you’re only a couple of miles into the expansive Santa Monica Mountains.
You can tackle the trail by hiking, biking or horseback riding. It’s flanked by coastal sage scrub and crosses over a small stream several times before it reaches the 150-foot limestone falls, where a small bench in the shade awaits. There are actually three sections of falls, but the upper two are on private land.
Then, when you reach the top of the hill and find the Edward Alberto Escondido Canyon Trailhead sign, the walk takes a sharp turn to the bucolic and becomes a fairly easy romp of a couple miles through riparian woodlands under shady oak trees. The roar of the Pacific Coast Highway becomes a distant memory, even if you’re only a couple of miles into the expansive Santa Monica Mountains.
You can tackle the trail by hiking, biking or horseback riding. It’s flanked by coastal sage scrub and crosses over a small stream several times before it reaches the 150-foot limestone falls, where a small bench in the shade awaits. There are actually three sections of falls, but the upper two are on private land.
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Grab lunch with a view at Malibu Farm on the pier
Malibu American
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
Malibu Farm Pier Cafe is a bit of a California unicorn: a genuinely decent restaurant on a pier, offering gourmet grab-and-go options with a view to match. Its sister restaurant, Malibu Farm, at the beginning of the pier, are for those times you crave a more leisurely sit-down meal.
You can take lunch here in many directions; they do a range of surf (lobster mac and cheese) and turf (zucchini crust pizza) for starters. The 21 Mile Crab Cake is a popular choice and a nod to the fact that Malibu used to be renowned for “27 miles of scenic beauty” but had six miles knocked off that accolade a few years ago.
Hedge your bets with the stoplight tacos, a trio filled with hanger steak and salsa roja (red), butternut squash and habanero salsa (yellow), and chicken with salsa verde (green). They all come with corn, cheese and black beans and individually are all goers.
You can take lunch here in many directions; they do a range of surf (lobster mac and cheese) and turf (zucchini crust pizza) for starters. The 21 Mile Crab Cake is a popular choice and a nod to the fact that Malibu used to be renowned for “27 miles of scenic beauty” but had six miles knocked off that accolade a few years ago.
Hedge your bets with the stoplight tacos, a trio filled with hanger steak and salsa roja (red), butternut squash and habanero salsa (yellow), and chicken with salsa verde (green). They all come with corn, cheese and black beans and individually are all goers.
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Tour the stunning, historic Adamson House
Malibu Historical Landmark
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
You can’t really see it from the road, but Adamson House is a stunning piece of Spanish Colonial architecture occupying one of the most prime pieces of Malibu real estate. Sandwiched between the lagoon and Surfrider Beach, it’s an exquisitely designed two-story building set among peaceful gardens that also sits on the National Register of Historic Places.
The house was built in 1930 by Rhonda Rindge Adamson and her husband, Merritt Adamson. She was the daughter of Frederick Hastings Rindge and May Knight Rindge, whom you’d be justified in knowing nothing about but who were the last owners of the Malibu Spanish land grant. In other words, everything you see in every direction was once theirs.
Guided tours of the property run every hour from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays on a first-come, first-served basis. They reveal every ornately tiled, wood-paneled crevice of the place. The house was designed by Stiles O. Clements, whose Art Deco work embellishes the Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theater, among other L.A. landmarks.
Don’t miss the tiled floor that looks like a rug in the loggia and the views from the singularly shaped windows throughout. And take time to wander among the abundant and varied plant life in the gardens; the free brochure has a key identifying the plant life, including oleanders, palms, sycamores and the wonderfully named pink snowball and cow-itch trees.
The house was built in 1930 by Rhonda Rindge Adamson and her husband, Merritt Adamson. She was the daughter of Frederick Hastings Rindge and May Knight Rindge, whom you’d be justified in knowing nothing about but who were the last owners of the Malibu Spanish land grant. In other words, everything you see in every direction was once theirs.
Guided tours of the property run every hour from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays on a first-come, first-served basis. They reveal every ornately tiled, wood-paneled crevice of the place. The house was designed by Stiles O. Clements, whose Art Deco work embellishes the Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theater, among other L.A. landmarks.
Don’t miss the tiled floor that looks like a rug in the loggia and the views from the singularly shaped windows throughout. And take time to wander among the abundant and varied plant life in the gardens; the free brochure has a key identifying the plant life, including oleanders, palms, sycamores and the wonderfully named pink snowball and cow-itch trees.
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Explore Greek and Roman art at the Getty Villa
Pacific Palisades Museum
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
J. Paul Getty’s hilltop collection of curiosities had to close for six months following the Palisades fire, while staff cleaned up indoors and out, removed more than 1,300 scorched trees, and generally put everything back together. Today it looks as good as new, or as new as somewhere modeled after an ancient Roman home can look.
The Villa is an homage to the Villa dei Papiri, a grand home that was buried by Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. It’s conceived with all the grandeur of the richest of Romans (even the driveway up is composed of massive cobblestones) and comprises an inner and outer peristyle (porches surrounded by columns), multiple prim and pruned gardens and several rooms full of ancient coins, gems, vases, and sculptures. The sarcophagi are quite striking, as is a lovely little statue of the goddess Nemesis with her right foot resting on a conquered foe. You’ll likely find your own favorites among its spacious and well-guarded rooms.
Entrance is free, although you’ll need timed tickets to get in. Parking is $25. The cafe sits atop a tranquil outdoor amphitheater and does afternoon tea in the upstairs space. It’s technically in Pacific Palisades, but if you’re driving this way, it’d be rude not to stop by.
The Villa is an homage to the Villa dei Papiri, a grand home that was buried by Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. It’s conceived with all the grandeur of the richest of Romans (even the driveway up is composed of massive cobblestones) and comprises an inner and outer peristyle (porches surrounded by columns), multiple prim and pruned gardens and several rooms full of ancient coins, gems, vases, and sculptures. The sarcophagi are quite striking, as is a lovely little statue of the goddess Nemesis with her right foot resting on a conquered foe. You’ll likely find your own favorites among its spacious and well-guarded rooms.
Entrance is free, although you’ll need timed tickets to get in. Parking is $25. The cafe sits atop a tranquil outdoor amphitheater and does afternoon tea in the upstairs space. It’s technically in Pacific Palisades, but if you’re driving this way, it’d be rude not to stop by.
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Wander through sea caves big and small at Leo Carrillo State Park
Unincorporated Santa Monica Mountains Tide Pool
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
The beach at Leo Carrillo is a wonderful place to explore at low tide, comprising a vast tide pool plateau, several secret coves and a network of tunnels and crevices carved into the rock from those endless Pacific waves. Some spaces are wide enough to pull a beach cart through; others require some worm-like wriggling.
The views from atop the rocks are pretty spectacular, too, and the surfing is decent if you brought a board and some water shoes (it’s a rocky wade out to the waves). The park comprises a bunch of campground spots shaded by sycamores and trails extending into the backcountry as far as the Nicholas Flat Natural Preserve.
So who exactly was Leo Carrillo? He was a conservationist and longtime member of the California Beach and Parks commission. He was also an actor and played the Cisco Kid’s sidekick Pancho in the 1950s. Feel free to keep that one in your pub quiz back pocket.
The views from atop the rocks are pretty spectacular, too, and the surfing is decent if you brought a board and some water shoes (it’s a rocky wade out to the waves). The park comprises a bunch of campground spots shaded by sycamores and trails extending into the backcountry as far as the Nicholas Flat Natural Preserve.
So who exactly was Leo Carrillo? He was a conservationist and longtime member of the California Beach and Parks commission. He was also an actor and played the Cisco Kid’s sidekick Pancho in the 1950s. Feel free to keep that one in your pub quiz back pocket.
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Revisit Point Break history over a fish taco at Neptune’s Net
Seafood
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
Looking to grab some seafood and a beer at the place where Tyler agreed to teach Johnny Utah to surf? This is your spot. The roadside diner has been a pop culture must-visit since Lori Petty’s character relented to Keanu Reeves in “Point Break” (and was also immortalized in “Gossip Girl,” “Fast & Furious” and 1982’s “Losin’ It” with Tom Cruise).
You come here for film history, but also to grab an IPA from a wall of fridges hidden behind fishing nets before settling down to varnished wooden tables with something from the expansive menu. Fish tacos, clam chowder, cheeseburgers, tuna melts, seared ahi plates and salads are among the choices.
It’s as busy as it is unpretentious: Cutlery is plastic; condiments are dispensed from giant containers labeled “cocktail,” “tartar” and “ketchup,” and restrooms are three Porta Potties in a shed out back. Bikers love it. There’s a parking lot for cars and another for the steel steeds ridden by many a coastal rider.
Eat the food hot and fresh at one of the tables or drive it five minutes to the lovely Sycamore Cove Beach. Just up the road from here is a sandy dune hill that people love to slide down for some post-lunch fun. By the time you reach this area, you’re at the quieter end of Malibu. There are only a few more twists, turns and beachy coves left before the mountains finally run out and the road curves inland around Point Mugu naval base on its way to Oxnard.
You come here for film history, but also to grab an IPA from a wall of fridges hidden behind fishing nets before settling down to varnished wooden tables with something from the expansive menu. Fish tacos, clam chowder, cheeseburgers, tuna melts, seared ahi plates and salads are among the choices.
It’s as busy as it is unpretentious: Cutlery is plastic; condiments are dispensed from giant containers labeled “cocktail,” “tartar” and “ketchup,” and restrooms are three Porta Potties in a shed out back. Bikers love it. There’s a parking lot for cars and another for the steel steeds ridden by many a coastal rider.
Eat the food hot and fresh at one of the tables or drive it five minutes to the lovely Sycamore Cove Beach. Just up the road from here is a sandy dune hill that people love to slide down for some post-lunch fun. By the time you reach this area, you’re at the quieter end of Malibu. There are only a few more twists, turns and beachy coves left before the mountains finally run out and the road curves inland around Point Mugu naval base on its way to Oxnard.
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Grab a beer and catch a band at Aviator Nation Dreamland
Malibu Bar
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
Dreamland is pure Malibu — right down to Pamela Anderson “Baywatch” poster in the entryway — and has been a prime hangout since Neil Young’s day (the building used to be called Crazy Horse Saloon). Look for the retro Aviator National colors opposite the end of the pier and you can’t miss it.
Inside, locals lounge on couches, wicker chairs and statement vintage furniture in the wood-paneled space, nibbling at pizza and tacos and working their way through cocktails named after 1970s tunes, like a rum, coconut, and lemon Island Girl and the bourbon-powered Wild Horses.
At the bar, tenders pour local beers under the watchful eyes of a giant tiger mural. On the menu: lagers from Malibu Brew Co., a Belgian Shuffle from Los Angeles Aleworks and several IPAs from woman-owned Cali brand Sandy Beer. Outside, fairy lights twinkle and a red-and-yellow neon DREAMLAND sign keeps it lively.
Take a moment to admire the decorated wooden ceiling beams and vintage posters as you wander around. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a band. There are a couple each month. The Black Angels and Aussie retro rockers Jet have graced the stage. On the evening I visited, an extravagantly costumed band worked their way through some of the Specials’ back catalogue to an ecstatic crowd.
Inside, locals lounge on couches, wicker chairs and statement vintage furniture in the wood-paneled space, nibbling at pizza and tacos and working their way through cocktails named after 1970s tunes, like a rum, coconut, and lemon Island Girl and the bourbon-powered Wild Horses.
At the bar, tenders pour local beers under the watchful eyes of a giant tiger mural. On the menu: lagers from Malibu Brew Co., a Belgian Shuffle from Los Angeles Aleworks and several IPAs from woman-owned Cali brand Sandy Beer. Outside, fairy lights twinkle and a red-and-yellow neon DREAMLAND sign keeps it lively.
Take a moment to admire the decorated wooden ceiling beams and vintage posters as you wander around. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a band. There are a couple each month. The Black Angels and Aussie retro rockers Jet have graced the stage. On the evening I visited, an extravagantly costumed band worked their way through some of the Specials’ back catalogue to an ecstatic crowd.
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Hit up Nobu for yellowtail sashimi by the ocean
Malibu Sushi
(Catherine Dzilenski / For The Times)
With three restaurants in Vegas, a spot at Hotel Del Coronado and recent openings from Toronto to Rome, Nobu seems to be everywhere these days. There are more than 50 of them now, and the buzz shows no sign of abating. In fact, the Malibu outpost was packed on a recent Friday lunchtime, with Tommy Hilfiger valiantly providing the requisite celeb spot.
Crucially, though, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’s airy, chic, waterfront temple to sushi and selfies is still the spot for a quintessentially Malibu end to the day. Settle into one of the comfortable tables — outside if you can snag one — and order with abandon. It’s all good. And don’t skip the sides; dishes like colorful roasted cauliflower and the artichoke salad are equally as moreish as the fishy options.
Pro tip: Ask for one of the patio tables with armchairs if you intend to linger over a few drinks in the evening. The seating is more laid-back and they’re in their own area by the ocean — too hot and sunny at lunchtime but perfect for sunset. Either way, reserve your spot way ahead of time. Nobu Ryokan is nearby if you don’t fancy the drive home and can afford the $2,000 nightly rate (with a two night minimum).
Crucially, though, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’s airy, chic, waterfront temple to sushi and selfies is still the spot for a quintessentially Malibu end to the day. Settle into one of the comfortable tables — outside if you can snag one — and order with abandon. It’s all good. And don’t skip the sides; dishes like colorful roasted cauliflower and the artichoke salad are equally as moreish as the fishy options.
Pro tip: Ask for one of the patio tables with armchairs if you intend to linger over a few drinks in the evening. The seating is more laid-back and they’re in their own area by the ocean — too hot and sunny at lunchtime but perfect for sunset. Either way, reserve your spot way ahead of time. Nobu Ryokan is nearby if you don’t fancy the drive home and can afford the $2,000 nightly rate (with a two night minimum).
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