I’m sure you’ve heard about Malibu Beach in movies and television shows – the fine sand, different shades of blue beautiful waves, happy people soaking up the warmth of the sun – so have we, and we’ve never been. So we decided to spend a date at Malibu Beach before our friends’ wedding weekend celebration.
This blog post will share an itinerary from our day at Malibu Beach. Spoiler alert: yes – the water and sand is similar to the movies.
Our Stay
We stayed at The Hyatt Regency at Westlake since we were going to stay there for the wedding & it worked out perfectly because it’s less than 30min drive to Malibu and they are dog-friendly!
The hotel was modern, clean, and had a grand fountain in the lobby welcoming you. Other perks included them serving a full breakfast and coffee by Starbucks (which was convenient in the early mornings). The hotel had a well-manicured lawn for Sumo to run around by the pool and the hotel staff was very friendly.
Malibu Farm Pier Café
We got up early & arrived to Malibu Pier Café right before lunch time. I’d recommend coming before rush hour because the parking lot filled up quickly (we came on a Friday).
Upon arrival, there are 2 restaurants – you have the Malibu Farm Restaurant and the Malibu Farm Pier Café at the very end of the pier. They vary in menu offerings so I’d recommend checking out the service hours for brunch, lunch, & dinner.
We got brunch at Malibu Farm Pier because we wanted to dine at the end of pier with the ocean surrounding us. We ordered the chicken + bacon + ricotta burger, crab cake sandwich, and clam chowder. I also ordered the honey latte – it was the caffeine kick I needed. Loved the crab cake sandwich and the honey latte, the clam chowder was a bit watery for my liking. Overall, would come again and would like to try the restaurant next time!
Shopping & Coffee
There were many quaint shopping areas in Malibu! We stopped by the Malibu Country Mart to shop and loved the vibes. There was a mix of larger retailers and boutiques and you still felt like you were a part of the beach with the architecture and the landscape. We took our time, shopped, and even did a mini-shoot with Sumo and the pumpkins.
El Matador State Beach
Thomas read great reviews about the El Matador State Beach so we waited for the sun to go down a little bit before checking it out. It’s one of the most popular beaches in Southern California because of the rock formations and the arches. It wasn’t too crowded when we went but there were other photo shoots going on from swimsuit brand photography, proposals, and engagement shoots – which was cool to see!
There’s a designated parking spot and the only down side was that no dogs allowed so Sumo stayed in the car (unfortunately, because he loves the beach).
We quickly took a few photos together and if Sumo wasn’t waiting, we probably would have stayed longer to see the sunset.
The water was calm and soothing, and it was golden hour as we were leaving. Everything was gorgeous.
Wrapping Up the Day
We ended our Malibu Beach date with sushi! Drove back to Westlake, where there seemed to be more options and got a nice sushi dinner at E+ MON after reading the positive reviews and inhaled our meal. The service was attentive and the quality of the fish was really fresh.
Malibu Beach offers a nice slow paced and casual rhythm. Everyone seems to take their time, indulge in small talk and conversations, and pause to take photos of the ocean and the sand. We visited in early October and the weather was nice and hot, in the high 80’s actually! Next time, I’ll come back to try Malibu Farm restaurant and be prepared to enjoy the beach longer – and visit a dog-friendly beach for Sumo.
Let me know if this inspires you to take a day trip to Malibu!
Love,
Shayna
