Eating, drinking and dancing
In a city dedicated to food fads and major-league schmoozing, Los Angeles' bars and restaurants will leave you spoilt for choice.
Restaurants
Chateau Marmont
A restaurant every bit as glamorous as the famous hotel; ask for a table in the patio bar.
Sunset Boulevard
(+1 323 656 1010)
La Poubelle
This shabby-chic Hollywood classic has an excellent French bistro menu.
Franklin Avenue
(+1 323 465 0807)
The Ivy
In West Hollywood, this restaurant on North Robertson Boulevard is an LA favourite, popular with celebrities; ask for an alfresco table in summer, and leave room for dessert.
(+1 310 274 8303)
Lucques
This place on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood serves excellent French Californian cuisine.
(+1 323 655 6277)
Pacé
Up in Laurel Canyon, this is the hottest pizza joint in town.
(+1 323 654 8583)
Cut
In Beverly Hills, this restaurant at the Beverly Wilshire hotel on Wilshire Boulevard is run by Wolfgang Puck and is a stylish modern take on the classic American steakhouse.
(+1 310 276 8500)
AOC
In the Fairfax area, this place on West Third Street is a fine French wine bar;
(+1 323 653 6359)
Beacon
This restaurant on Helms Avenue is a highly regarded pan-Asian restaurant worth the detour to Culver City.
(+1 310 838 7500)
Chaya Venice
If you’re browsing the shops in Venice, drop into this place on Navy Street for seafood heaven.
(+1 310 396 1179)
Chinois on Main
Santa Monica has plenty of excellent restaurants to choose from, including this LA classic run by Wolfgang Puck – the US celebrity chef largely responsible for the Asian-Californian fusion food fashion. (Incidentally, Puck's first apprenticeship was at L'Oustau de Baumanière.)
(+1 310 392 9025)
The Lobster
This postcard-perfect restaurant has fabulous views over the beach and Santa Monica Pier, with great seafood to match.
1602 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California
(+1 310 458 9294)
Moonshadows
Out along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, this restaurant is right on the beach and serves simple, fresh seafood; its panoramic deck is a stylish hangout at night.
(+1 310 456 3010)
Geoffrey’s
Perched on a hillside in Malibu, this restaurant has unbeatable coastal views and glamorous cuisine.
(+1 310 457 1519)
The Little Door Restaurant
This hidden Mediterranean gem is romantic and candlelit, with four interjoining rooms and an outside courtyard that's lovely for warmer evenings. The menu represents influences from France, Greece and Italy. If you are dining here, pop into El Carmen two doors down for pre-dinner margaritas.
8164 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, California
(+1 323 951 1210)
Cafés
The Diner
On Sunset Boulevard, The Standard Hollywood hotel’s restaurant is a good pit stop and does an excellent breakfast; it’s open 24/7, for anything from huevos rancheros and Bloody Marys to sushi and steaks in a hip retro-style diner.
(+1 323 650 9090)
The Fountain Coffee Room
Also on Sunset, this café at the Beverly Hills Hotel is open 7am till 7pm and has a 1940s feel straight from the golden age of film; check out the classic soda fountain and banana-leaf print wallpaper.
(+1 310 276 2251)
Doughboys
This bakery and café on West Third Street in Fairfax is extremely popular for brunch and buzzes with clientele all day long.
(+1 323 651 4202)
Toast
Also on West Third Street in Fairfax, Toast is a favourite local brunch spot for a European take on light food (try a BMT, with mozzarella and Roma tomatoes, or French toast encrusted with coffee cake) at tables on the pavement. Open till 11pm.
(+1 323 655 5018)
Abbot’s Habit
On Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, this café captures the area’s arty vibe with turbo-charged coffees and open-mic nights. Great for people-watching.
(+1 310 399 1171)
Jin Patisserie
For afternoon tea in a bohemian Venice setting, head for this intimate garden café on Abbot Kinney Boulevard; there’s a subtle hint of Indochina in its chocolates flavoured with lemongrass, cloves and roasted sesame.
(+1 310 399 8801)
Porto’s Bakery
If you head out to the Valleys at the weekend, drop into this long-established bakery on North Brand Boulevard in Glendale for fabulous pastries, party favours, piñatas and Cuban specialities, including deep-fried plantains stuffed with black beans.
(+1 818 956 5996)
Bars and clubs
Skybar
This open-air bar at the Mondrian hotel on Sunset Boulevard remains one of the top places to see and be seen in LA.
(+1 323 650 8999)
El Carmen
This hip little joint on West Third Street is great for pre- and post-dinner margaritas (and serves several hundred varieties of tequila).
(+1 323 852 1552)
The Brig
This much-loved dive on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice has been radically transformed into a sleek, trendy venue for the area’s shiny new residents; its former boho clientele must be baffled by the DJ booth and shiny metallic surfaces...
(+1 310 399 7537)
Formosa Café
This Chinese-themed club and restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood is as legendary as its former regulars Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Humphrey Bogart. It’s more Raymond Chandler grit than glamorous speakeasy, though.
(+1 323 850 9050)
El Carmen
Funky Fairfax bar with a crazy Mexican theme, perfect for a few margaritas before or after dinner.
8138 West Third Street, Los Angeles, California
(+1 323 852 1552)
The Standard Bar
This ultra-hip hangout on the roof of the Standard Hollywood hotel has quickly become a favourite of California's beautiful people. Laid-back tunes and live DJs make those signature martinis slip down dangerously fast, telescopes allow guests to oglee the LA cityscape, and ping-pong tables offer a diversion from the drinks.
8300 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles 8300
(+1 323 650 9090)