This weekend, take a mini road trip along Pacific Coast Highway to newly revamped Malibu Pier Restaurant & Bar. Located smack dab on the ocean (watch surfers catch waves right below or to the side of the pier), the coastal, cottage-like eatery and former Beachcomer spot was reinvented by visual consultant Joshua Klein and lined with everything from handmade white, ceramic pendant lamps, to a blue-and-white-tiled floor designed to mimic the pattern of surrounding waves, and a macramé wall hanging by Sally England. Other items include midcentury brass sculptures by C. Jere, a David Hockney lithograph, a 1968 Dennis Hopper photograph of Jane Fonda preparing for her role in Barbarella, and oddities such as a hollow, wooden kayak, and a whale rib found by Klein while walking along Malibu Road after the last big storm. “We wanted it to feel like a beach house, and make it sort of an ode to Malibu” says Klein, who worked for the likes of Ralph Lauren in New York. But, aside from the interior design and jaw-dropping views, it’s the food that makes it worth the drive (and the traffic).

Headed up by Executive Chef Jason Fullilove (who previously worked at Campanile and was Executive Chef at LACMA), the lunch menu is a carefully curated mix of locally-sourced produce and fresh seafood items from clam chowder and fish tacos, to hand-cut pasta with shrimp, and a Malibu burger with white cheddar and avocado. For dinner, order starters such as spot prawn corndogs and white sea bass carpaccio with Meyer lemon relish, and for mains, opt for the Malibu Pier stew with oysters from Prince Edward Island, wild octopus, and saffron, or the Jidori chicken with escarole, morel mushrooms, and Ojai pixie vinaigrette. Just be sure not to miss dessert: butterscotch pudding garnished with chantilly cream and an oak crisp cookie, or go big with the Malibu Pier banana split with carmelized banana, braised pineapple, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, organic strawberries, and topped with candied peanuts. After, burn it all off with a power walk along the beach, or head to the bar next door for a nightcap.

By Jennie Nunn

Pictured: The Malibu Pier Restaurant & Bar
Photo by Jessica Sample

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