Back on the Beach Cafe

String lights, a fireplace, and a lush garden at the Fairmont Miramar make The Bungalow feel less like a hotel bar and more like the best backyard party in Santa Monica, craft cocktails included.

If you looked up beach bar in a dictionary, Big Dean’s on the Santa Monica boardwalk would have a real shot at the photo: cheap drinks, real bar food, and people-watching the Third Street Promenade crowd never quite finds.

Jim Morrison reportedly drank here, the Doors played nearby, and the Whaler has kept pouring cold drinks on the boardwalk since 1979, Venice at its most bohemian and slightly unhinged.