If you drive down Rodeo Drive on any given day, Beverly Hills means little more than fashion exuberance, open top tour buses and photo-ops next to Bijan’s Bugatti. But a few streets away, a more charming village life exists. Mornings begin in line just outside Teuscher where retail workers queue-up with suited agents for espressos and pastries from two of the city’s top bakers. Those in search of full breakfast find a delectable eggs with Wild Nova Salmon at Nate’n Al’s or head to the counter of the Fountain Coffee Room for its caviar omelet in the basement of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
1pm is the perfect lunch time in these parts at the casual Marcel Monsieur where salmon tartare is followed up with a Croque Monsieur or steak frites while at La Scala they toss the best chopped salad in town and still don’t take reservations. Happy hour will have to be taken elsewhere, however, preferably at Bar Bouchon with its park-side terrace and appetizer menu ala Thomas Keller or nearby Hakkasan with its Gilles & Boisssier interiors that lure the posh local crowd.
Once a city that preferred to entertain at home after dark, Beverly Hills is staying up later these days with its new Wallis Annenberg Center that mixes a stage of theatrical and musical events. Down the street, the line outside Sugar Fish grows as texting tweens liberated by Uber duel with first-daters and vaguely familiar actress that all wish reservations were accepted. Luckily, there’s a premium Nozawa Bar in the back that does and is one of the best sushi experiences in town. But for an even longer wait, try getting a table at Maude that proves the toughest reservation in town where Curtis Stone’s restaurant debut on South Beverly Drive does a 9-course meal based on a single ingredient like citrus for February and artichokes for March.
