Melrose Avenue. Even the name sounds pretty idyllic, right? Having heard about its quintessential LA vibe, quirky shops, and delicious brunch spots, we made a beeline for the street having woken up with slightly heads from our night out in Santa Monica.
Grabbing brunch on Melrose Avenue
Our initial intentions were to go and grab brunch before hunting down a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus where we could conveniently tour round Beverly Hills and Hollywood (or even go for one of those cheesy – yet so me – TMZ tours that attempt to hunt out a celebrity. Well, that didn’t turn out quite as planned, but it was definitely for the best.
We hopped out of a Lyft at a cute little restaurant for brunch, which we happily went for thanks to the patio seating in the sun. Seriously, I would get very comfortable with melting in late October – hello sun. I later saw the restaurant was British themed, complete with flags and a UK map on the inside, and it was aptly called the Village Idiot – make of that what you will.
Feeling famished, we hurriedly ordered in smoked salmon eggs benedict and lattes (twinning once again), and it was delicious. Just look at those potatoes, and potatoes really are my weakness. Honestly, you know you’re in LA when your server doesn’t bring you tapwater, but ‘reverse osmosis’ water… of course.
Having had a fail in attempting to discover the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus as it only had a couple of stops on Melrose and comes only once every 30 mins, we decided to give it a swerve in favour of Uber-ing our way around some of the stops we wanted to visit instead. We began on Melrose, and found that one of the most fun things about the street is simply discovering all of the cool murals and street art along the avenue.
Finding murals on Melrose Avenue
That Paul Smith pink wall
Then, of course, we found that wall – the fucking pink wall! I was honestly in shock at how seriously it was all taken. Firstly, there is a sign listing out rules for how to treat the wall. Then, there’s an attendant. There was also a line up for using the wall. It was honestly ridiculous!
But, when in Rome…
Pretty much wherever you look along Melrose is Instagrammable. It’s pretty impressive how the city is almost entirely a creation for the app and phenomenon.
Melrose Place
Walking a little further up past the trendy and bars restaurants of the city, we stumbled across Melrose Place. It’s the most beautiful little shopping area I’ve probably ever seen. Surrounded by neatly manicured gardens and stuffed with adorable boutique shops, I only wish I had the money to shop in them! We headed into Glossier for a peek, before walking along the street.
Such beautiful entrances to the shops.
See what I mean by everything being perfect for Instagram?!
We ended our time on Melrose Avenue off with a browse around some gorgeous consignment stores before grabbing a juice and heading on to the next stop – Beverly Hills.
How do you like to spend your time on Melrose Avenue? Let me know!
Not sure how I’ve never heard of this place but WOW I want to go! It’s all so pretty!!
Totally going down the California posts rabbit-hole on your blog…but it makes a LA-native like me very happy! I was in Melrose earlier this year; I went to the Pink Wall, but there wasn’t a queue for photos (then again, I went on Sunday, so maybe that’s why). Just across the street is Carrera Cafe, which specializes in latte art; I got one with palm trees, and the cafe’s interior is pretty Instagrammable, too. Melrose is a pretty (and expensive) part of LA, which I rarely go to, but it’s a fun spot to go to while in town!
Thank you for reading! I love all the murals around Melrose, such a cool place in LA