Welcome to Los Angeles
I was born in Santa Monica, California and although I quickly became a Florida girl I’ve always been back and forth to the City of Angels. Not only have us Gibson Girls visited L.A. a number of times, I have multiple friends living in the area who worked hard at hunting down their favorite, trendiest, local places just for you!
L.A. is massive and this guide is long— I am working tirelessly on creating neighborhood guides for you to make your stay in this massive city a little easier, but for now, these are just a few of our favorite places.
SOME CLASSICS
Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles An LA classic - several locations lol
Sprinkles… duh
In n’ Out its a classic and if you don’t go to LA, get it animal style, trust me, it’s the best
DOWNTOWN LA
Perch - downtown French restaurant on a roof in downtown. Do drinks at the bar or have dinner- need to make reservations well in advance for food, request the patio at sunset!
The Standard - downtown Rooftop bar - don’t miss the waterbeds by the pool!
The Ace Hotel Roof - downtown Rooftop drinks and food - this one is some of my peers favorites - I’ve never been.
Botegga Louie - downtown An LA staple - get your pizza, pasta and macarons on in style! They don’t take reservations but they’ll text you when your tables ready. While you wait head across the street to the whiskey bar 7 Grand - you enter through the restaurant Mas Malo - it’s upstairs. Have some whiskey and play billiards while you wait for your table at Bottega.
The Edison downtown Prohibition style bar. Nice / fashionable dress code. There will be aerialists there on the Friday you’re here!! Haven’t been, always wanted to go.
Cliftons downtown Supposed to be a multi-level cafeteria with bars and different themes on different floors. Honestly I’m confused on this place but I always hear about it. http://www.cliftonsla.com
Villian’s Tavern - downtown Hipster bar in the arts district downtown. They often have live music.
Faith & Flower- americana, rustic feel
Preux & Proper - a New Orleans style eatery
WEST SIDE
The Roof at the Wilshire Hotel - westside Great views on the roof and more affordable for brunch or dinner.
Chateau Marmont - WEHO Hotel in West Hollywood - more for drinks? Dinner is probably expensive. Super nice hotel I think most famous for when Lindsey Loghan stayed there while shooting her movies lol
Delia’s - such a cool 1920s, Great Gatsby vibe!
Laurel Hardware - Farm to table restaurant and delicious
Catch - a swanky little rooftop where you might be able to spot a celebrity, great food and cocktails.
Jon & Vinny’s - Fairfax, Pizza!
E.P. L.P. - southeastern Asian food and a rooftop restaurant, how much better does it get?
SANTA MONICA/MALIBU/VENICE
The Bungalows - Santa Monica Just what it sounds like - a bungalow style bar in Santa Monica. Grab your floppy hat and get a drink at this hip bar. Usually a long line to get in on the weekends - get there early!
Malibu Wines - malibu Relax in the Santa Monica mountains and drink wine at the tasting room and snack on some appetizers! You can also do the Malibu Wines Safari where you will get a tour of the vineyard (Saddle Rock) and the animals that live there! You will feed alpacas, lamas, zebras and a giraffe you may recognize from his appearance in The Hangover and other movies.
Paradise Cove or Malibu Farm Paradise Cove is a restaurant literally on the beach — if you sit outside your chairs are in the sand. Supposed to have great fish tacos, I love their chicken ones. Malibu Farm is a farm to table casual salad/sandwich place on the Malibu pier. They have brunch too. Might be good places to go after a Malibu hike?
Chomp Eatery - Santa Monica I’ve never been here but their menu looks good and they serve juices in light bulbs! http:// www.chompeatery.com/food/
The Rose Venice
Waterfront Venice
Neighbor Venice- an adorable little bistro you cannot miss
Elephants Santa Monica - great Italian
Hatchet Hall - Culver City (kinda on the way to the Santa Monica area) MEAT LOVERS ONLY! This menu is totally meat centric but the coolest place. Then pop over to The Old Man for drinks after dinner
Butcher’s Daughter - VEGAN/VEGETARIAN super beachy vibe and great for those herbivores
Gjelina - rustic, new American cuisine
Lunetta Santa Monica - an upscale dining restaurant if you’re feeling a little fancy pants
Scopa Venice - gastropub!
Little Prince
SILVER LAKE / LOS FILEZ
Cliffs Edge - silver lake Cool outdoor restaurant - never been - seems too expensive/gourmet for dinner but brunch looks better/less expensive
Kettle Black - the cutest place and the best food, make sure to get the garlic cheesy bread!
Sawyer - right next-door to Kettle Black and has a killer happy hour and delicious food. Sarah and I like to come here for happy hour then eat at Kettle Black but the food here is great too! Almost mediterranean.
Atrium- indoor/outdoor restaurant with great wood features perfect for your instagram and LA inspired food
HOME - My best friend works here! The food is so delicious. Mostly and outdoor restaurant under trees and umbrellas and they have four different kinds of fries.
HOLLYWOOD / BEVERLY HILLS
Good Times at Davey Waynes - hollywood 70s themed bar in hollywood — theres a bar that serves drinks out of a vw van and you enter the bar through a refridgerator. Outdoor and indoor space. Gotta get there early to avoid a line.
The Commissary @ The Line Hotel - mid wilshire Awesome breakfast - best breakfast burrito. Never been for dinner. Probably need reservations. It’s a hotel in a green house basically - cool spot.
The Ivy or Craig’s - hollywood/ beverly hills If you want to go to a place celebrities are seen at often. I’ve been to both and never seen one but anyways both are expensive. Ivy is super cool garden like restaurant — Hollywood/West Hollywood and Craig’s is a nice italian spot — big booths, white table cloths, great food.
Lono Hollywood
Hike to the Hollywood sign...
Hike on Runyon Canyon - most popular LA hike and you may spot celebrities,
Escondido Falls or Los Liones Trail for an ocean view
Good Times at Davey Wayne’s - totally funky 70s style bar
Elephante - not only does it have amazing Italian but it also has some killer drinks
Commissary - drinks in a green house or by a pool, this place is sooo LA and sooo good.
No Vacancy - this bar channels the old days of Hollywood in its decor and its cocktails
Tiki Ti - A hawaiian themed bar and a landmark in LA
Cliffons
Doheny Room - Hollywood glam meets Americana style and gives you this amazing bar
Perch - Rooftop in Downtown
Adults Only - This place has a pool, a hidden entrance, and plays cult classic movies in the background, if you don’t go here did you even go to LA?
Dirty Laundry - Former speakeasy turned classy night club
The Gally - this place is exactly as it sounds, there are porthole windows all around and a total nautical themes bar
Ace Hotel Roof Top
Brick & Mortar
Breweries There’s Golden Road, Angel City, and more.
Sassafras - hollywood Bar - southern inspired saloon
Silver Lake
This is a Hipsters Paradise! There are so many cute, unique coffee shops, boutiques, and restaurants for you to take your pick from. Some of my favorite happy hours like Sawyer and Kettle Black are located here as well as The Silver Lake Stairs, or the Micheltorena Stairs which are painted staircases that represent love and tolerance!
Beverly Hills
Soooo typical L.A. and you’re probably like yeah whatever, but Beverly Hills is a great place to wander around, there are the typical shops that are totally unaffordable but there are some other super cute boutiques and restaurants around the area. Also, the Flats are a great place for an evening stroll or light workout!
Venice Beach
You could go to Santa Monica or Malibu but Venice is totally underrated. The beach is packed with cool vendors, there is a skate park where you can sit and watch kids ripping it all afternoon, the beach is huge, you can rent bikes or rollerblades and just enjoy the boardwalk and the restaurants are great!
Santa Monica
This is where I was born! So naturally you should just go see where yours truly was brought into this world, but other than that, Santa Monica is great for shopping and the pier! The Santa Monica Pier is filled with old school carnival games and a wooden rollercoaster, it is so much fun!
Los Filez
My best friend, Sarah, lived here for years and it was such a great area! Just minute away from Griffith Park, Los Filez has lots of great restaurants and hiking trails. It backs up to Silver Lake so you can kill two birds with one stone!
Lets start with the typical touristy things
Hollywood Blvd.
Chinese Theater
Sunset & Vine
Rich and Famous Bus Tour
Now on to the other cool things!
Plays Pantages is the biggest theatre where the national touring shows go. If you don’t want to break the bank but want to see other good, professional shows try The Ahmanson, The Mark Taper Forum (both downtown) or The Geffen in Brentwood near UCLA
Santa Anita Horse Racing - arcadia
Venice/ Santa Monica / Marina Del Rey Walk on the pier or rent bikes/ rollerskates. Venice has the Venice canals we could walk by or you can ride in gondolas - may be expensive though. Think there are places to kayak, paddle board or go on boat tours too.
LACMA museum
Broad museum Need to make reservations a month in advance and buy tix for infinity room if going
Walk of Fame / Hollywood Blvd
Shopping Maybe in Larchmont or on 3rd St in West Hollywood or Abbot Kinney in Venice— unique boutiques and stores OR if you want to go to Melrose area (if I remember correctly - haven’t been since I was 16 lol) they have boutiques and shops but more expensive - celebrity spotting area
Beach
Universal Studios
Disneyland - if this seems too daunting, its worth noting that DisneyLAND fits in DisneyWORLD’s parking lot and the weather in LA is fantastic.
The Getty Center - museum
Rodeo Dr If you want to window shop in Beverly Hills lol
The Last Bookstore Cool bookstore downtown has a couple little “art installations” idk what to call it lol
Descanso Gardens
Comedy Shows - Laugh Factory or Comedy Store
If it’s Summer —- Catch a concert outdoors at The Hollywood Bowl or The Greek Theatre, or see a movie outdoors at The Hollywood Cemetery