I was so spoiled fall of 2021 and had to a chance to take TWO girls trips! My first one was with my Traverse City girlfriends and we went to Savannah, Georgia. Click this link to read all about that! Just two weeks later I had a chance to take a last minute trip out to Los Angeles with my best friends from college for one of their birthdays! We were extra spoiled because one of our nuggie babes lives in Bel Air in an amazing apartment and we got to stay with her and she was our own little LA tour guide. She’s lived in LA for 6 years now and she took us to so many great places, here is our weekend in detail!
Brunch at Élephante in Santa Monica
We picked up the birthday girl from the airport and headed to brunch at Élephante in Santa Monica.
Y’all know I love elephants so I was already sold before I walked in, but holy shit, it is so beautiful here!
Every sitting area is a bit different from the other and they are all stunning.
We started with some awesome cocktails and also got a few of their appetizers.
I just went to their website to type out exactly what we got, but it looks like they switch up their brunch menu quite often. The food was incredible so I can imagine anything you get will be great. Click here if you want to check out their menus. They serve brunch 7 days a week!
This was seriously the perfect place to start off our girls weekend in Los Angeles, and I couldn’t recommend Élephante Beach House more!
Spend the Day Exploring Malibu
After brunch in Santa Monica, our cutie tour guide drove us up to Malibu. We got super lucky and didn’t have bad traffic once (a true miracle) and it only took us 30 minutes to get to the beach in Malibu, this is not normal so plan for about an hour. We spent the day on the beach and exploring a few awesome places!
Drink Champagne on the Beach
Our first mission was to grab a great bottle of champagne and enjoy it on the beach in Malibu. There is plenty of beaches along Highway 1 and plenty of parking as well! It was an overcast chilly day but the company was so amazing we didn’t care! (Keep in mind we were here in November.)
The sun did start to make a couple of appearances throughout the day and it was so beautiful!
Lunch at Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market & Patio Cafe
Oh, Malibu Seafood, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. Their saying here is, “We don’t serve breakfast because we are out catching lunch!” and seriously they mean it! Everything is so fresh and incredible. We had fish tacos, Clam Chowder in bread bowls, jumbo shrimp, potato salad, and scallop ceviche and it was all. so. damn. good.
They also have an awesome fish market if you are staying in an Airbnb or for a longer stay. If the yummy food isn’t enough to get you here, this is the view of the ocean while you enjoy your lunch! Malibu Seafood is right off Highway 1 and you can’t miss it!
In my opinion, Malibu Seafood is an absolute must when in Los Angeles!
Drinks at The Malibu Cafe at Calamigos Ranch
We didn’t think the day could get any better until we stopped at The Malibu Cafe at Calamigos Ranch. To get there we drove through the Corral Canyon and it was soooo beautiful. The Calamigos Ranch is a super fancy and beautiful wedding venue but The Malibu Cafe is open to the public.
We had really awesome cocktails here as the sun went down…
While we sat on this beautiful deck? What even is this thing? I don’t know but we loved it!
Overall, I couldn’t recommend making a stop at The Malibu Cafe more, it was so fun and beautiful!
Dinner and Drinks in Studio City
Dinner at Yume Sushi Bar
We went back to the apartment to shower then made our way to Yume Sushi Bar in Studio City. We sat outside and it was the perfect little sushi bar. When we first arrived I didn’t think it looked that special, but they sure proved me wrong! Everything was great. We all started with a bowl of their miso mushroom soup and it was awesome.
Next, we had their blistered shishito peppers, so yum and so fun because each one was a different spice level!
All of the rolls here were so fresh and yum but my favorite was the Yume Roll. It had spicy tuna with cucumber, topped with tuna, avocado, sautéed mushrooms, arugula and garlic chips! It’s also topped with their special yume sauce and this was one of my favorite sushi rolls I’ve ever had!
Drinks at Firefly
I obviously know Los Angeles is cool and has really awesome bars but it really hit me when we walked into Firefly. I was blown away. This was such a sexy and beautiful bar that in some areas reminded me of a library in London and others outdoor dining in Mexico, how did they do both!? I don’t know, that’t LA for you.
We got lucky and snagged a couple of spots at the bar and hung out here for hours laughing and drinking Old Fashioneds until we were all tired and went home.
Brunch at Bacari W. 3rd
We woke up Saturday morning and the day before felt like an absolute dream. How could anything we do come even close to the magic of yesterday? Two words for you, BACARI BRUNCH, at Bacari W. 3rd. This entire place is an absolute mood from the moment you walk up to the door and the moment you walk out. I mean look how cute the entrance is!
It is so adorable in here and it’s the perfect place for brunch! We saw so many people having the time of their lives here and we were absolutely one of those tables.
Our server was incredible, the food was delicious and the bottomless beverages were everything and more. Not only were they bottomless, you didn’t have to stick to the same drink so you could go from a couple of mimosas, to sangria, to white wine, back to mimosas, and that’s exactly what we did!
I was too busy drinking my giant mimosas to get a lot of photos of the food but they serve it tapas style and there are so many great options to choose from!
We ordered about ten different things and my favorites were the chef’s french toast, bacari fries, shrimp and polenta, and the shawarma tacos! All so damn yum. As for the table favorite, it was definitely that chef’s french toast, it was to die for!
Let’s just say we left brunch the happiest we’ve ever been in our lives…
I didn’t know there was multiple Bacari’s, but now I know and want to visit them all!
Drive Around Los Angeles and Gawk
We were so lucky to have our own little LA tour guide and after brunch she drove us around to see all the gorgeous houses and streets!
Watch the Sunset in Bel Air
Like I stated earlier in this post, we were extra spoiled and we had an incredible place to stay at in Bel Air. This apartment was such a dream! The neighborhood had insanely beautiful houses and there were gorgeous views of the mountains and the ocean!
We decided to relax and lay out in the sun for the afternoon and hung out here until the sun went down.
I am so lucky to have 10 years of memories with these amazing babes but this one right here is definitely at the top of that list now!
Dinner at La Cha Cha Chá
Our last night we had to do it big and we had heard so many great things about La Cha Cha Chá so we decided to try it out for our last dinner. This is a gorgeous and stylish restaurant with a badass terrace and they have modern Mexican cuisine and cocktails, located right downtown Los Angeles.
We got there before it got too busy but by late evening this place was popping so definitely make a reservation. This was the most expensive place we went to on our trip but it was worth it for the ambiance. The food wasn’t our favorite of the trip and we didn’t have the most friendly service here unfortunately, but we would still go back but probably just for cocktails and apps!
I did a little research and found out this is their second location and their first one is in Mexico City! I would love to go to that one someday too.
Ice Cream at Salt and Straw
OH MY GOD I COULD WRITE AN ENTIRE BLOG POST ABOUT MY LOVE FOR SALT AND STRAW. This ice cream shop chain was started in Oregon and this shit was so damn good. The have them all over Los Angeles so no matter which neighborhood you’re in, you’re most likely around the corner from one. I think I sampled like ten flavors and they were all amazing, but I landed on getting three mini scoops and got the Mint Freckled Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Gooey Brownie and Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough🤤.
Brunch at Metro Cafe
For our last brunch we made our way to Metro Cafe in Culver City. Élephante or Bacari W. 3rd but it still was awesome brunch! That’s what’s so great about Los Angeles even if it’s not the best it’s still amazing!
It was the perfect brunch for a bit of a hangover and I absolutely loved my avocado toast!
They were so short staffed and it was just two people serving the entire restaurant and we were so impressed with them! Even though it was crazy, we had great service and enjoyed our brunch there.
After brunch we just wanted to cry that it was over. I always love my travels but this trip will forever have a special place in my heart and is one I will never forget with my best girls! Have you been to Los Angeles on a girls trip? What was your favorite place? Thanks so much for reading along and click here if you’d like to to read about my other travels!
