California: Foreigners Guide

North America
Written By Hailey Pryor

Many foreigners we meet have aspirations to spend their vacations seeing all that California has to offer. We’ve made a short list of things to do, see, and eat while in the state we’ve lived in for many years.

NAPA

STAY

  • Meadowood (in St. Helena)

  • Senza

  • Recommend to stay in Yountville or St. Helena

BREAKFAST

  • Model Bakery (English Muffin)

LUNCH

  • Charter Oak (Burger)

  • Gotts Roadside

  • RH - come here for the ‘scene’ rather than for the food

  • Brasswood

  • Oakwood Grocer

  • Oxbow Market

  • R&D - while it’s now a chain, the first one started in Napa

DINNER

  • French Laundry

  • Press

  • Don Giovanni

WINERIES

  • Harlan

  • Promontory

  • Ashes & Diamonds*

  • V Sattui*

  • Futo

  • Rudd

  • Davis*

  • Lokoya

  • Robert Mondavi

  • Hall

  • Quintessa*

  • Kenzo

  • Artesa*

  • Del Dotto

  • Zaken

  • Chappellet

  • Aubert

  • Robert Sinskey*

*These wineries also have food and can serve you lunch. You should only realistically do a maximum of 4 wineries a day, so booking a winery that serves lunch can help you knock out two birds with one stone.

OTHER

  • If you have time, you can spend a few days in Healdsburg and eat/stay at SingleThread or the new Montage.

SANTA BARBARA

STAY

  • Rosewood Miramar

BREAKFAST


LUNCH


DINNER


SEE

  • Los Olivos wine tasting

  • Carpinteria beach

LOS ANGELES

STAY

  • Hotel Bel Air

  • Four Seasons Beverly Hills

  • Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire

  • Casa Del Mar

  • Terrenea

BREAKFAST

  • Eggslut (The Slut)

  • Great White

  • Elephante

LUNCH

  • Tocaya

  • Loqui (Mushroom Tacos)

  • Gjelina

  • Rose Cafe

  • Sugarfish (Trust Me)

  • Wurstcuche

  • Bay Cities Market (Godmother Sandwich)

  • Nobu Malibu

  • The Window (Burger)

  • Stella

  • Fathers Office (Burger)

  • Grand Central Market

DINNER

  • Felix (cacio e pepe, alla a’matriciana, sfincone)

  • Capo

  • Osteria Mozza

  • Toscana

  • Milo & Olive (garlic knot)

  • Baltaire

  • Dialogue

  • Scopa

  • Madeo

  • Republique (chicken)

  • Raos

  • Forma

  • Tar & Roses (oxtail dumplings)

  • Le Comptoir

  • Providence

  • Spago

  • Wallys Wine Shop in Santa Monica

  • Manchego

  • La Vecchia

  • Jon & Vinnys

BARS

  • Casa Del Mar (hotel bar with live music)

  • Chez Jay (dive bar)

  • Tony Ps (dive bar)

SEE

  • Griffith Observatory

  • A Show at Hollywood Bowl

  • Rosenthal Wine Tasting

  • Malibu Wines

  • Getty Museum

  • Getty Villa

  • Abbott Kinney Street (food & shopping)

  • The Grove (food & shopping)

  • The Magic Castle

  • Bike the Santa Monica Boardwalk

  • 3rd Street Promenade (food & shopping)

  • Malibu Pier

  • Rodeo Drive

  • The Last Bookstore

  • Temescal Canyon Hike

  • Hollywood Sign Hike

THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE OF LA:

  • Terrenea & Wayfarers Chapel

  • Cielo Wines

  • Universal Studios

  • Catalina Island

  • Temecula

  • Laguna Beach

  • Newport Beach

  • Joshua Tree

  • Palm Springs

  • Santa Barbara

  • San Diego (& SD Zoo)

  • Paso Robles Wine Tasting

  • Solveng

SHOWS OR MUSIC VENUES

  • Hotel Cafe

  • Vibrato

Hailey Pryor
Previous

How we do it