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Although Beverly Hills attracts moneyed industry folk, and Hollywood hosts the flashiest bashes, West Hollywood isn’t to be underestimated as a celebrity magnet. WeHo’s excellent upscale shopping and dining opportunities mean that the industry can come here for their two favorite indulgences.
Not far from the Melrose Avenue designer-shopping strip is Nobu, where chef Nobu Matsuhisa dishes his signature mélange of Japanese and Peruvian flavors. Actor Robert De Niro is a co-founder in the successful restaurant, and its clientele includes socialite Kim Kardashian. The menu of fun-to-eat items features Wagyu beef tacos, and yellowtail sashimi topped with slices of jalapeño. Matsuhisa’s L.A. influence expands to Matsuhisa, also on La Cienega Boulevard, and Nobu Malibu, which recently relocated to a stunning seaside space.
Just off the tony Robertson Boulevard shopping area is Cecconi’s, the Italian restaurant that originated in London. The airy patio is ideal for a boozy brunch (Cecconi’s is famous for its bellinis), and the interior dining room is classically good-looking with teal tufted booths and black-and-white marble floors. Bono and wife Ali Hewson have dined here, perhaps on some of the fresh pastas with seasonal vegetables.
Not far from Cecconi’s is the now-famous celebrity dining destination The Ivy. A rotating band of paparazzi are constantly stationed outside the restaurant’s sunlit patio. Any remotely savvy actress knows she’ll be snapped dining on her not-inexpensive plate of chopped salad, toro tartare or Maine lobster ravioli—so go ahead and gawk.