larchmont village - small town feel in the middle of LA

(Los Angeles, CA).  Larchmont Village is a delightful retail/dining area in Hancock Park that is located on Larchmont Boulevard and flanked on the north by Melrose Avenue and on the south by Third Avenue.  It’s a great place to have brunch and shop with friends.  You can find general visitor information here.  

I usually come here for the Sunday Farmer’s Market (every Sunday 9 am – 2 pm), casual brunches and shopping for unique gifts.  But the best thing about visiting this area is letting the day leisurely pass you by while you people watch.  Yes, there are often celebrity sightings (usually TV stars) but the real gem is seeing the locals hanging out here with their cute dogs.  People are always running into old friends or acquaintances and that genuine small town feel is rare in a city as large as Los Angeles.  (Also, I’m horrible at celebrity sightings.  I do have a friend who seems to have eyes in the back of his head – he can sniff out any celebrity and identify them correctly if they are within a ½ mile radius, even if they are walking behind him.  It’s quite a talent.)

Below are a few of my favorite places/things to do in the village:

Generally:

·       Farmer’s Market – As noted above, the farmer’s market takes over one of the parking lots on   It’s a small farmers market (unlike the ginormous one in West Hollywood), but it’s sufficient for your basic fruit/vegetable needs.  There are also lovely flower vendors, jewelry vendors, a cheese truck, and the roast chicken/potato guy (yum!).  For families with kids, there’s a musician who entertains the kids with children’s songs and stories.

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       Above the Fold (newsstand; 226 N. Larchmont) – There’s something nice about browsing a large selection of newspapers and magazines and picking up a few to read while you sip your coffee.  I’ve been going to this newsstand for years and it never disappoints.

Food/Drink:  I can’t say that the restaurants at the village are particularly amazing, but they are satisfactory.  Generally, I just like to grab something casual and snag a seat outside to enjoy the nice California weather.  The places I usually frequent are:

·       Noah’s Bagels – perfect for a casual breakfast/brunch.

·       Larchmont Village Wine & Cheese  (223 N. Larchmont)– great wine shop but what I come for are the sandwiches (available from Mon – Sat) at the deli counter.  I am not a huge sandwich eater, but these are probably my favorites in LA.  (The tuna tends to sell out early, but you can’t go wrong with any of the others.  My favorite is actually the Soppressata Salami.)

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           Village Pizzeria (131 N. Larchmont) – love this old-fashioned pizza place.  I can’t say it’s the best pizza but I keep coming back.

·       Coffee Bean (135 N. Larchmont) - rumor has it that this is where the frappucinos were invented.

·       Le Pain Quotidien  (113 N. Larchmont) – I come here if I want to be “healthy” – but since I usually get the waffle things, it’s a bit self-defeating.

·       Crumbs (216 N. Larchmont) – I’ve been tired of the cupcake trend for years now, but if I get a craving or have to bring cupcakes to an event, I usually come here.  Yes, I prefer these over Sprinkles.  Gasp!

There are actually lots of restaurants on Larchmont ranging from Thai cuisine (Chan Dara) to Greek (Le Petit Greek) to Italian (Louise’s) to Caribbean (Prado), but none of them are really that great.    I would stick with a casual brunch/coffee outing.

Salt & Straw - This ice cream place is a new addition to the Larchmont Village and hails from Portland Oregon.  The lines can get pretty long especially on warm weekends.  I recently waited for 20 minutes to try the sea salt with caramel ribbons and sweet corn buttermilk - very interesting and tasty flavors and creamy texture.  I'm not sure it's worth the long lines but it's definitely good quality ice cream (but my heart belongs to Italian gelato)!

Shopping:

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         Larchmont Beauty Center (beauty supply at 208 N. Larchmont) – one of my favorites beauty supply places in LA.  They have an incredibly wide range of popular and hard-to-get skincare and haircare, as well as cosmetics, nail stuff, and candles.  I can’t come in without getting something!

·       Hardwear Apparel (152 N. Larchmont) – on trend clothing at affordable prices.  They usually have really great sidewalk sales.

·       Pickett Fences & Petticoats (214 N. Larchmont) – great boutique for gifts, especially baby shower or baby gifts.  The clothes are nice – casual chic, but pricey.

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           Library (121 ½ N. Larchmont) – comfy and stylish clothing (e.g., Rag and Bone, JBrand) at high prices.  I usually only like shopping the sale bins, especially the scarves.

      Ampersand Boutique (vintage/consignment store at 658 N. Larchmont) – I like browsing here to see if I can score a great vintage bag… so far no luck yet, but I enjoy browsing!

     Landis Gifts & Stationary  (138 N. Larchmont) - another great boutique for gifts.

I’ve noticed a lot of new shops coming into the village, which is good and bad.  I am concerned the village will lose its unique feel if retail chains start taking up the store fronts, but so far, they’ve been only letting in more specialty boutiques (like Diptyque) or fancy coffee places (like go get em tiger).  

Let’s hope they retain their small town feel forever!

They often have pet adoptions on weekends.  It's always super tempting to take one of the cute puppies or kittens home!

For parking, there’s metered parking and lots on Larchmont, but I usually just park along the parallel streets (e.g., Arden or Lorraine) and get 2 hours free street parking.