Hermosa Beach Pier California - Best Restaurants, Bars, Events, And Late-Night Activities

Hermosa Beach, California is located in a portion of Los Angeles County named the South Bay and has an average air temperature of 74 degrees fahrenheit during the summer months and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Hermosa Beach was originally incorporated in 1907 and is as rich in history as it is in culture. The Hermosa Beach Pier is a mecca to surfers and thousands of vacationers every year and is home to several international sporting events including the International Surf Festival and the AVP Hermosa Beach Open. This area is identified by the laid back and cool nature of those that are lucky enough to live here.  Hermosa Beach is a beautiful destination for a vacation for anyone young and old.  There are lots of shops and restaurants and just all around fun available.  This hub will take a look at the best restaurants, bars, night life, and events on and around the Hermosa Beach Pier.

As you may assume, there are plenty high end restaurants, sports bars, steak houses, and seafood places that have made the Hermosa Pier home. One of the best features, is that daily rules usually allow dining and drinking in beach attire. So some patrons arrive in skimpy bikinis to have lunch. This is always a plus in my book. Here is a short list on some of the best fare that Hermosa Beach has to offer:

Mediterraneo: Boasting cuisines from Spanish, Italian, Greek, and French influences, this upper tier restaurant is well worth every penny. They offer a full Tapas bar for dinner and have upscale dining areas inside as well as a patio outside. I would recommend the hot tapas dish called "Gambas" which is grilled black tiger shrimp with paprika oil. For more information their website can be found by following this link: Mediterraneo.

Paisano's Pizza & Pasta: New York style everything! They serve New York style pizza and pasta and have a great selection of genuine Italian sodas and Stewart's classic fountain sodas. After your pizza or pasta, enjoy a huge slice of New York cheesecake or Spumoni ice cream. Their prices are decent and there is a really laid back atmosphere. Hit them up here, Paisano's HB.

Big Mike's Philly Steaks And Subs: Best South Bay Sandwich winner over so many of the last years it is hard to keep track. This was my favorite spot on Sundays to go pick up a foot long Philly Cheese Steak sandwich with seasoned fries before heading home to watch the NFL. They will make your sandwich any way you want and the bread is baked fresh daily. The walls are covered with autographed pictures of tons of celebrities and icons that have made their way down the strand to Mike's.

Paradise Sushi: What would a pier be without an awesome sushi restaurant. There are a couple higher priced places in the area, but by far the best experience I had with sushi in Hermosa Beach was at Paradise Sushi. Order a huge Saki Bomb the next time you swing by for dinner. Their prices are good and the fish is fresh. Good service also if you get there a little bit before 7:00 PM. If you get there too late, it becomes a bar and is really crowded.

Cantina Real: What a great little dive cantina. Some of the best Mexican food you will ever eat. This little place has been on the pier for a long time and is always a great place to get some delicious food and have a fat margarita. See their menu and other cool photos at Cantina Real.

There are way too many good places to list, and some of the other places will be listed later in the bars portion of this hub.

While there are several hotels and hostels in the area for you to stay, in my book there are only two worth mentioning. Here are the best in Hermosa Beach:

The Beach House Hotel Hermosa Beach: This hotel is the best of the best. On the sand hotel with unbelievable views. These rooms are extremely popular during the AVP Open Hermosa Beach because hotel guests can lounge on their own balconies and watch the tournament action! This is a full service hotel right on the beach within walking distance of everything. Here is a helpful link to their website, Beach House Hermosa.

Shade - Hermosa Beach: Shade is a luxury boutique hotel about two blocks away from the Hermosa pier and is technically in the neighboring city of Manhattan Beach. Not to worry, it is really close to everything to do with the Hermosa Beach pier. This hotel is very swanky and is full service. The bar is jam packed at night with some of the hottest bodies in Hermosa. It is a smaller hotel, so the rooms fill up pretty fast. They are on the web at, Shade.

Well, obviously people at the beach know how to party when the sun goes down and there are different hang outs for all tastes. From classic dive bars, to metal bars, to live music and funk, sports bars, you name it the Hermosa pier has it.

Aloha Sharkeez: Is alive and well, and bigger, after a fire that burned it down a few years ago. Sharkeez is located next to Sangria which is another great upscale bar. It is a sports bar at it's best and don't be surprised to find girls walking around in bikini tops during the night. They are just more comfortable that way. There are lots of huge plasma TVs and plenty of entertainment. Great prices on beer and they can make you any drink you wish. I would recommend trying the drink called an Adios M___ F___er. You will have to fill in the blanks yourself as this is a G rated hub. But that is the name of the drink, and it is titled that because it is delicious and after you drink a couple of them, you are gone!  One of the best bars in Hermosa.

The Mermaid: Refusing to change after all of these years, The Mermaid is one of the best dive bars in the South Bay. They serve pretty good seafood and have a great selection of beer.

The Poop Deck: Want to hang out with AVP volleyball pros or just have a great time in a place with a really cool and laid back atmosphere? Then this is your place. It faces the ocean and has a great view.

Patrick Malloy's - Voted best happy hour several times, this place is an Irish pub that also puts on a really good show for St. Patrick's Day.

Hennessey's Tavern: This English/Irish pub is located at the end of the plaza and faces the beach. They have an upstairs open air patio that gives a 180 degree view of the beach. This was my favorite sunset spot when I lived in the South Bay. They have Guinness on tap and have all of the Irish and English attitude you would expect to find in London.

There are year round events on the Pier to keep anyone involved, but by far the height of the social season is the summer time. Here is a peek of some events you might plan on attending:

Fiesta Hermosa: This has been around for 35 years and is an arts festival that takes place twice a year. Once on Memorial Day and the other is on Labor Day.

AVP Hermosa Beach Open: This was one of my favorite experiences and attractions while living at the beach. The entire tournament is a sports event that is covered by ESPN and is attended by tons of vendors handing out free stuff. Also, it is pretty cool to swing by the Poop Deck and get to hang with some of the professional men and women volleyball players.

International Surf Festival: An international surfing competition that takes place in early August every year.

Here is a short video showing some of the highlights of Hermosa Beach. This is really a beautiful place to live and a great place to visit.