Restaurants in LA

[jacqi]

Hoping Splinter or other LA experts can help. Will be in LA for 2 days pre-cruise and would like a couple of suggestions for some good restaurants ...maybe even something unique. Staying at LAX Embassy Suites but will have rental car to move around. Also for shopping (not Rodeo Drive) where would you send us to have a different type of shopping experience. Not looking for Walmart, Kmart, etc. Thanks so much

[Splinter]

I don't go downtown or to the LAX area much, so can't advise on the restaurants. Actually the theme restaurant at LAX is pretty popular, you might want to try that.

 

I would recommend Farmer's Market...funky, great produce, souveniers, wonderful take out (with tables for eating) of every type food imaginable, good bakeries, etc. The Grove shopping center is next door for more conventional shopping.

[KAYEF]

Be sure to go to Farmer's Market..............btw, there's a lot to eat there!!

 

If you're from a part of the country that doesn't have CHEESECAKE FACTORY restaurants....................they are FANTASTIC.

 

We like the one at Marina DelRey, but there are several. At the marina you are on the water.:)

 

Enjoy!!

[sunsetme]

yes Farmers Market and The Grove are a great place to go for the LA experience!

[snie]

What would you recommend to do for people just staying in LA one night (a Friday in Dec)?

We arrive at ~6pm and are boarding the cruise ship the next afternoon.

 

Thinking of staying near LAX or the cruise terminal, but haven't booked yet.

[jacqi]

Thanks for the feedback regarding dining and shopping. Have putthe farmer's market on my list of places to see. I checked out the website and it clearly gives you a great line-up of what's there.

 

Snie.......check some of the previous posts where SPLINTER has posted many different options for an LA experience. We are also going to be in LA pre-cruise. We booked the Embassy Suites LAX north for $50.00 per night thru http://www.priceline.com. We leave from the San Pedro cruise terminal and were told that there is really not much to see and do there so we opted to stay near the airport and are renting a car to get around. We are also doing the Getty Centre (check website) while in LA. Good Luck

[snie]

Thanks, I'll check out Splinter's posts.

[Satisfaction]

The area around the LAX hotels is not pedestrian friendly or are there any interesting restaurants that I have found. Not far away (about a ten minute drive) are Marina Del Ray and Venice Beach. Venice Beach is a great place to kill some time. Great people watching and there are quite a number of good and interesting restaurants and pubs. The Venice Whaler http://www.venicewhaler.com at the end of Washington Blvd on the beach is a nice pub and great place to watch the sun set and take in the scene. Just down the street are a number of restaurants. In Marina Del Ray we had lunch at Calafornia Kitchen which we enjoyed.

 

Hollywood and Beverly Hills are worth experiencing also but may be difficult in a limited time frame.

[Jane110]

Hoping Splinter or other LA experts can help. Will be in LA for 2 days pre-cruise and would like a couple of suggestions for some good restaurants ...maybe even something unique. Staying at LAX Embassy Suites but will have rental car to move around. Also for shopping (not Rodeo Drive) where would you send us to have a different type of shopping experience. Not looking for Walmart, Kmart, etc. Thanks so much

 

For some nice shopping experiences, I highly recommend strolling the shops on Montana Ave in Santa Monica. Also walk along Melrose Ave for some unique shopping and dining experiences. Another nice strolling street is La Brea Ave (not that far from Melrose). There are some nice shops and good restaurants. I like La Brea Bakery for breakfast and next door was a good italian place....I *think* it was called Ca'Brea, but don't remember.

 

These are small, unique boutiques, not a KMart or GAP experience.

 

Jane