AREAL Bar / Lounge / Restaurant

Santa Monica / Westside, Los Angeles –

A stylish restaurant without sky-high prices, AREAL attracts a diverse clientele with its sustainable plates, crafted cocktails, and a Happy Hour that promises a lively scene to kick off the night.

The venue’s proximity to the beach is evident in the casual daytime vibe, when trendy bohos and their dogs settle in at the expansive street-side seating area to nosh salmon burgers or lamb Bolognese and people-watch onto busy Main Street.

Inside, a wood-fired oven cooks artisan pizzas, the smell of which permeates the sparse dining room, while a cozy lounge area by the bar lets guests kick back and relax on leather sofas tucked against a jagged stone wall bordered by a large honeycomb sculpture.

The energy heats up on Friday and Saturday nights when a bouncer sets up shop under the hanging palm fronds that provide a buffer from the carousing noise of Main (or maybe it’s the bouncer who does that), and gangs of still-got-it older ladies flirt with the young hipsters and preppier suits who are working on a good buzz over classic cocktails.

DJ brunches on Saturdays help kick off the weekend, while live jazz and local acoustic acts on Wednesdays and Sundays keep the place busy with mellow scenesters all week.

With its prime location, farm-to-table fare, and a fresh assortment of booze, AREAL is good for an entire evening or just as a stylish blip on the barhopping radar.