By Kevin Wilkerson, Former Hermosa Beach Resident
As someone who has spent quite a bit of my adult life living in Hermosa Beach and the adjacent Manhattan and Redondo, I know a few things about its bars and nightlife some of the current residents do not. For instance, did you know used to be a lively cantina with a patio bar right on The Strand where little-used Nobel Park is now?
Or that the spot now occupied by Vista was, for a very long time, a classic old-syle dimly-lit restaurant and bar with leather booths that had some of the best food and drinks in all the South Bay?
Well yes, and while that cantina is still around – it’s La Playita, now behind the park almost like it’s hiding from everyone – and the Mermaid is gone, there are still some traditional places in Hermosa Beach. But there’s a lot that’s changed, too, and this blog post brings you the changing face of Hermosa Beach nightlife while also reflecting on the past and what’s still there after all these years.
Hermosa Beach Long-Standing Bars That Are Still Standing
With some places in Hermosa Beach it would take an earthquake – or a fire – to uproot a bar and not even the latter always works (get it long-time locals!?). One of those places is Baja Sharkeez. Locals refer to it as “the black hole” because it’s the kind of place where you may wander into after a day at the beach and not emerge until someone gets on the PA and announces its last call. A super-casual cantina with solid drinks and superb food it’s been the number one hangout since it took over for Pier 52 so many years ago.
It also owns Tower 12 across the street, which is a more refined lounge and the original host bar of PubClub LIVE!, the live video podcast of this website.
Additional familiar watering holes are American Junkie (history quiz: how many of you remember when it was Sangria with its legendary post-AVP parties??), Patrick Molloy’s with a new and much improved patio, Hennessey’s Tavern (which was originally one small room with a one-man band named Wade Preston playing on Sunday afternoons) and I don’t think the Lighthouse Cafe with its daily lineup of bands will ever disappear. It has to be the longest-standing bar in Hermosa Beach, dating back to 1940. Palmilla, also owned by Sharkeez, is still there and is a great place to get a well-made cocktail and upscale food. Waterman’s is no more tho it is to become one of those – to use a buzzword so popular among some sophisticated critics and PR people – a chef-forward restaurant called Brick and Mortar.
The Underground Pub And Grill and the more elegant Fox & Farrow in the front of it (run by “the Twins,” super-friendly brothers from Phily) are still cranking it at 14th & Hermosa Ave. I also like Barnacles on Hermosa & 8th, a come-as-you-are casual locals’ hangout. I had a beer and burger there on my last visit.
New Bars In Hermosa Beach
The coolest new bar is Surfer Girl, a mostly outdoor patio at the Sea Sprite motel. It’s kind of shock to see it, really, something so nice and inviting at what used to be an aged 70s-style motel. There’s a glass-enclosed bar and an upstairs lounge-type room – again, all glass – and an outdoor area where the pool used to be located. It’s right on The Strand with full views of the beach and Pacific Ocean, as well as the ever-changing scene on The Strand with runners, walkers, people on bikes and lots of beach volleyball on the sand. I could see myself spending many hours there and probably will do it one of these days.
Another new – meaning it wasn’t there when I most recently lived there – is Vista. Mostly it consists of an outdoor eating and drinking area in what was once the Mermaid’s parking lot. Also right on The Strand at the end of Pier Plaza, Vista provides the same great views as Surfer Girl while tossing in the Hermosa Beach Pier to the scene.
I can’t believe it took this long to get this kind of bar, but it’s there now. Tiki Tai is a tiki bar on Pier Plaza (in the former Mediterraneo location). It’s no cheap-looking dive place that serves a few tropical drinks but a full-on, well done, better-not-have-too-many-of-those cocktail places. They really went all out with the decor and the delivery of the drinks. I can say with a certain amount of expertise that the Navy Grog is spot on and quite strong to the point I began to question my naming the Old Tony’s Fire Chief as the South Bay’s strongest cocktail. I must point out, tho, that this is not a Hermosa Beach pick-up bar; it’s more suited to a date night or going there with friends. It’s also not cheap, tho the $20 drinks do contain more alcohol than your average Hermosa Beach cocktail.
There area also a half dozen or so nice restaurant/bar/lounges on Hermosa Ave. – chef-forward places – and what locals call Upper Pier Ave. Tho for the most part, the singles scene remains on Pier Plaza.
There’s A Lot Of Live Music In Hermosa Beach
One very positive change is that nearly every place has live music, whether it be full bands (Lighthouse) or a single musician playing during the daytime. The Beach Cities have a lot of really good musicians and it’s great to see them have these opportunities and the people like hearing live music, too. It’s a win-win for everyone. If you’re there on a Wednesday night, I highly recommend going to the South Bay Jam at Lighthouse Cafe, which is weekly open-mic night of sorts for local musicians and singers. It goes from 8-11 and is free of charge so just charge in there and enjoy the music.
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