Abbott Kinney is a street in Venice that has some amazing shops, restaurants, and places to get some great cocktails. You would be able to walk to Abbott Kinney (+/- 1 mile) from any of the hotel blocks or take a no more than 5 minute uber! While you are there, here are some places to explore: Nati - a boutique clothing store. We love it here; however, the employees can be really pushy, so definitely be in the mood to try something on. Farm Rio- Jesse's favorite store... great for any last minute "colorful cocktail" outfits Cha Cha Matcha- Maddy recommends getting an iced matcha latte with one pump of their "purple drink" Salt & Straw- amazing ice cream that is only on the West Coast. Highly recommend the ooey gooey brownie (it is UNREAL) Alfred's - great coffee shop. Known for their Vanilla Iced Latte. They also have great breakfast burritos. Other great food spots include but are not limited to: Butcher's Daughter, Only the Wild Ones, Mother Den, Piccolo, Gjelina, De Buena Planta
Another one of our favorite streets is Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. This is a great street because you can walk to it straight from Santa Monica beach and if you are feeling very touristy (and want somewhere with big crowds, you could check out the Santa Monica pier on the way as well). It is an adorable street with fun stores and shops to go into (highly recommend the store Burro) and some cute lunch places. Our favorite is Bardonna - if you like caesar wraps they make an excellent one! And, if you don't do anything else on Montana Ave, you must go to La La Land Kind Cafe. This is a coffee shop with unbelievable coffees and matchas and the best thing about it is they pride themselves on being a "kind cafe," so everyone there is so sweet AND they hire teens/ young adults who have been in the foster care system. Oh, and ask for "La La Froth" on your drink. We love it there! You really cannot go wrong if you are walking around and stop into a food place -- everything is delicious!
We are obsessed with farmer's markets and religiously go to our two favorite ones: Saturday morning: There is a farmer's market in Marina Del Rey (right next to our apartment, actually) and very close to all of the hotel blocks- right on the intersection of Via Marina and Panay Way. There is a vendor at the FM that makes amazing breakfast burritos (excellent ratio of eggs to veggies to meat) as well as another vendor with phenomenally refreshing açaí bowls. Sunday: The Brentwood Farmer's Market is a very popular in the heart of Brentwood. It is from 9:00AM-2:00PM so if you wanted to check it out after brunch (if you aren't leaving LA right away), we highly recommend! The market is located at 741 S Gretna Green Way.
Wallflower is our favorite restaurant in Venice and it is so amazing that it gets its' entire own recommendation. If you are here for another night and need to get dinner, we HIGHLY recommend this restaurant. The vibes are fun and the food is to die for. You really can't go wrong with anything that you order; however, here are some item recommendations: japanese curry, duck spring rolls, fried tofu (is amazing whether you are a vegetarian or not), chicken satay, branzino, rendang mamak (braised beef), nasi goreng (fried rice). So, basically, just get the entire menu lol. They also have amazing cocktails. This restaurant is on Rose Ave. which has some other really cute restaurants & there is a Jeni's ice cream across the way from Wallflower, which makes it that much better.
Recommend a short Uber ride for all of these places: Great White - amazing sit down cafe right across from the famous "Venice" sign that frames Venice Beach! Known for their breakfast burrito Flake (on Rose Ave.) - super cute and are known for their egg croissant sandwiches. Layla Bagel -excellent open faced bagel sandwiches - unique and pretty new to the area! Pop's Bagels - in Culver City OR Brentwood... another open faced breakfast sandwich place that will not disappoint! Superba - on Lincoln Ave. Really good, classic breakfast place and also "very LA". Can't really go wrong with anything you order. You *could* walk here but it would be down some busy streets. Homestate - in Playa Vista. This is a Jesse & Maddy staple and is where they go after their 8:45AM Saturday morning yoga class at Sweat (also highly recommend if you feel like getting your hot yoga on). It is a breakfast place that specializes in breakfast tacos! Gjusta - (on Sunset Ave)... phenomenal!
Below are some recommendations for places to go and eat throughout the weekend that are near the hotel blocks: hair salon recommendations: Drybar (inside the Marina del Rey Waterside plaza - 4712 1/2 Admiralty Way) Carlton hair salon (also in the Waterside plaza next door to Drybar) nail salon recommendations: Sugar Nails (on Abbott Kinney) Main Attraction Nails (2654 Main St. Santa Monica, CA 90405) - fastest mani/pedi of our lives restaurant recommendations: Heavy Handed- incredible new burger spot in Santa Monica- 2912 Main St. Santa Monica Cha Cha Chicken - Jamaican food (known for their jerk chicken) - 1906 Ocean Ave. Santa Monica Kazunori (amazing handroll place) - 4635 Admiralty Way HiHo Cheeseburger - 4625 Admiralty Way (next door to Kazunori) Uovo (amazing pasta place) - 4635 Admiralty Way (also next door to Kazunori) Sugarfish - an LA sushi staple - 4722 Admiralty Way