Lights, camera, chow down.
Hollywood's biggest stars embody the "work hard, play hard" lifestyle, but when it comes to A-listers letting loose, not just any place will do. Bold-faced names in Los Angeles live large and they expect their favorite haunts to do the same. As such, there is an exclusive circle of hotspots in Tinseltown that can consider themselves the go-to for celebrities. And E! News has the lowdown on every single one.
This is Old Hollywood glam like never before. Picture a grand art deco hotel at the very top of the Sunset Strip, where the industry's most powerful comes to do business. Rarely is a star sighting here just for pleasure—they're most often meeting with agents, managers or directors to discuss a role or endorsement. And the view of the sparkling city below doesn't hurt either.
VIP Eats: It's a hotel bar, so everything here is overpriced. Stars can pick from the $95 seafood tower, the $40 entrees or the side of French fries for $13 (yes, that's basically $1 per fry). Bottles of champagne, to celebrate a newly-sealed deal, go for hundreds. But the biggest draw here is the ice cream sundae menu: You pick your flavor, throw on toppings like Oreos or Butterfinger, add whipped cream and hot fudge and enjoy.
VIP Treatment: Privacy is extremely important here, and the Tower Bar management is diligent in making sure that stories and sightings don't leak unnecessarily. Think of all the business deals being done on the down low. There is a strict no pictures policy (yes, that means Instagram too—sorry, would-be star spotters). This is also a huge hotspot come award season, as many attendees camp out at the hotel while they get ready for the big event.
Sure, this restaurant is indoor-outdoor, but the real draw is the giant oceanfront patio. Nowhere else in LA has a better vantage point to watch the sunset—at least, nowhere else that also allows you to sip rosé and drop hundreds of dollars on sushi. Now that the Soho House has an outpost in Malibu, this seaside drag makes for a star-studded one-two punch.
VIP Eats: The Kardashians can take their pick from the $56 lobster salad, $58 king crab or $78 strip steak.
VIP Treatment: When A-listers (cough...Kardashians...cough...Mariah Carey) come to Nobu, they're immediately treated to their own private digs. The back room of the restaurant can be entirely blocked off by security and even has its own patio. All the better to admire the sunset without the watchful eye of fellow restaurant-goers.
This is a New York transplant that's been given the full Hollywood treatment. It's the rooftop full monty: City views, cool breezes and hot clientele. If you've seen a member of Young Hollywood photographed dining out lately, chances are it was at Catch.
VIP Eats: Everything here is luxe, but a few extra-pricey items are the $155 seafood tower, $93 Alaskan king crab or the $90 ribeye. Celebs also love the Hit Me Cake, a decadent mix of chocolate and ice cream that oozes out when you hit it, making for the perfect Instagram—everyone from Lucy Hale to Sofia Vergara has enjoyed its excess.
VIP Treatment: The restaurant can fit a whopping 700 people, but owner Mark Birnbaum says the number one goal is to make it feel like an intimate dining experience when A-listers come by. That can mean anything from seating stars in a private room, moving giant hedges to create walls or even pulling down curtains to separate dining areas. The most coveted table on the rooftop is behind a cage of sorts, and they always save it for any last-minute star drop-ins. And yes, there are always last-minute drop-ins.
Where do you go if your position on the Hollywood A-list is solid and you're looking for a cozy, candlelit vibe that also happens to be tucked into your tony seaside enclave of Pacific Palisades? This old time-y Italian restaurant that has also managed to keep its luster for years on end.
VIP Eats: Handmade pasta is the house specialty, but if you really want to splurge then get the $90 lobster, the bite-sized $35 ahi tuna appetizer or the $50 dover sole.
VIP Treatment: There is—surprise, surprise—a private room. Rihanna once rented it out for a six-hour long karaoke party. But the best spot in the house is undoubtedly one very particular table in the back, right by the chef, where Kim and Kanye, among others, have done date night. Stars who are regulars get treated to all sorts of special dishes and are allowed to use the private side entrance to come and go.
The front door of Craig's might, on any given night, contain the highest concentration of paparazzi in greater Los Angeles. Hanging out outside the restaurant entrance is your best bet for a celeb sighting in West Hollywood. Once inside, the stars (one of the more A-list rosters in the city) dine on guilty pleasure foods in a refined, white tablecloth dining room.
VIP Eats: We said this was the cheat day spot and we meant it. All the biggest celebs are splurging on dishes like carbonara pasta with truffle (for $36), scallops ($40) and, when they're really looking to put the guilt in guilty pleasure, the pizza laden with truffle sauce.
VIP Treatment: A lot of stars go to Craig's because of the paparazzi (it's like a catwalk where you also get to eat French fries), but those looking for a little more discreetness can pull their cars around to the private back alley and receive an escort into the restaurant (through the kitchen) by trustworthy staff members. Security can even close the gate to the back entrance, so that stars can safely pile into their rides without exposing a new relationship or giving off the impression that they hit the wine a little too hard.
Gracias Madre is an all-vegan Mexican restaurant that serves organic tequila, yet it's consistently packed with star status. Celebs sit in a gorgeous outdoor patio decked out with string lights, tiled fire pits and chic vintage throw blankets aplenty. It's also directly across the street from Craig's, meaning the block can turn into a paparazzi-filled red carpet of sorts.
VIP Eats: The most shocking thing about this restaurant is that its prices are decidedly un-A-list. In fact, they're actually quite reasonable. Regulars tout the sweet potato flautas, the quinoa bowls and of course the guacamole.
VIP Treatment: Stars use the same entrance as everybody else here, but they are allowed to bring in bodyguards to surround their table when necessary. And yes, they always sit outside.