Looking for Love in Laid-Back Hermosa Beach

Hermosa Beach is for lovers.

At night, the pretty South Bay city--one of the few beach areas to upgrade its downtown area without losing its unique style--becomes a destination for singles looking for love. With so many bars, restaurants and dance clubs huddled together, it’s like Hollywood in miniature, but with a romantic beach backdrop.

Hermosa Beach hot spots such as Sangria, Cafe Boogaloo and Aloha Sharkeez are key draws, and each offers an alternative for people tired of the same old scene. Folks hoping to meet someone have ample options, given the multitude of bars and clubs within walking distance. The nightclubs are packed on weekends and will be particularly crazed for this long weekend.

Hermosa takes the Fourth of July’s spirit of independence seriously, hosting today’s wild Ironman competition, which includes pounding a six-pack, surfing and surviving a mosh pit. This weekend is also noteworthy because the Strand celebrates another endless summer with a jillion house parties, like a Mardi Gras for the beachcombing set.

But don’t let the long lines of cars parking in lots adjacent to the promenade scare you. They move quickly, and it’s good to go as early as possible. On a normal weekend, 10 p.m. is fine. For this weekend, play it safe and arrive early.

Maybe it’s a spell cast by the ocean air, but the people strolling around the promenade look healthier and happier than you might find in Hollywood. Women feel free to rock some belly, and there’s plenty of it to go around. In Hollywood, it seems, you still have to have Twizzler-size hips, but in Hermosa, you can let your hair down. Good thing, because there’s so much fun to be had. I’ve been kicking it as a tourist in Hermosa for about a decade and favor such old-school haunts as the Mermaid, a beachside piano bar in which time seems to stand still. But to really assess the state of the scene, I asked Chris Pike to be my tour guide.

Pike, who owns such South Bay spots as Sangria, the Side Door and Los Muchachos, grew up in the area and is widely credited with energizing its nightlife in the last decade. We decide to meet at the teensy-weensy watering hole the Side Door, a few minutes from Hermosa in neighboring Manhattan Beach. It’s a good launching pad for the next phase, the trip to downtown Hermosa for a taste of Sangria. The chic restaurant serves food till 10 p.m., and then it transforms into a full-blown dance club, with DJs spinning hip-hop and house music.

Pike, who also owns Las Palmas in Hollywood and Joya in Beverly Hills, says he was an unlikely guy to start an empire. He says he was a “lazy, surfer, artist punk” until his father’s pleas to study business kicked in. His family had owned the truck fleet Pike Trailer Co. for 96 years, and Pike ran it for four years after his father retired. With a degree in business management, he began opening nightclubs in 1989. When he and partner Kevin Barry opened Sangria in ‘95, it was just before an overhaul of Hermosa Beach’s downtown, which resulted in additional parking, a new Beach House hotel and a walking promenade that extends to the pier. Sangria was an instant hit, and dozens of places have opened since.

Around the same time Sangria opened, the way-cool blues club Cafe Boogaloo debuted. Its owner, Steve Roberts, is a local legend, apparently the best bartender around. The down-home cooking and touring blues acts quickly made it a favorite Hermosa club.

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After hanging out on Sangria’s patio a spell, Pike and I go on a walking tour of the action.

Sangria’s Pier Avenue neighbors include the equally popular Aloha Sharkeez, a jumpin’ spot that, as with Sangria, people start lining up for by 10 p.m. We walk past the Lighthouse, where a Sublime cover band is singing “April 29, 1992” to a foot-stomping crowd. Once a jazz club, the Lighthouse still has a jazz brunch on Sundays and entertainment nightly, including karaoke on Mondays and reggae on Tuesdays.

The nearby bars include Patrick Malloy’s and, on the Strand, two old-school favorites: the Mermaid and the Poop Deck. The Poop Deck is a dive’s dive, and the Mermaid represents old Hermosa. It’s been there 50 years, and little has changed. There are also the Beach Club, Brewski’s, Hennessey’s Tavern, Fat Face Fenner’s Fishack and one of Hermosa’s fixtures, the Comedy & Magic Club, where Jay Leno still fine-tunes his act on Sundays. The sushi places get raucous too; among the favorites are Paradise Sushi, Club Sushi, Sushi Sei and California Beach Sushi.

We make our way to Cafe Boogaloo just in time to hear Deborah Coleman sing the blues, and the Virginia singer is as good as they come. The club is packed with music fans and the smell of Cajun food. We continue walking down Hermosa Avenue, where we find more locals hanging at Dano’s Beach Grill, Besties, T.J. Charly’z and Ein Stein’s, all revealing Hermosa Beach hasn’t lost its edge. The birthplace of such punk bands as Black Flag, the Circle Jerks and Pennywise, Hermosa Beach still has plenty of ‘tude. If you’re looking for the Dickies-wearing, chain-swinging, tattooed set, you might want to try Besties on a Saturday.

We amble along Pier Avenue and end up at Los Muchachos, a Mexican restaurant owned by Pike, Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge and pro volleyball players Jeff Bellandi and Eric Fonoimoana. The simple eatery is another reminder of why Hermosa’s so cool. It’s got a variety of scenes, and many places don’t charge cover fees, so you can keep cruising till you find the one that suits you.

Surf’s up.

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Scenes From Hermosa Beach

Most venues are 21 and older at night:

Aloha Sharkeez, 52 Pier Ave., (310) 374-7823.

Besties, 1332 Hermosa Ave., (310) 318-3818.

Cafe Boogaloo, 1238 Hermosa Ave., (310) 318-2324.

Comedy & Magic Club, 1018 Hermosa Ave., (310) 372-1193.

Dano’s Beach Grill, 1320 Hermosa Ave., (310) 937-5686.

Ein Stein’s, 1301 Manhattan Ave., (310) 379-3943.

Fat Face Fenner’s Fishack, 53 Pier Ave., (310) 379-5550.

Lighthouse Cafe, 30 Pier Ave., (310) 372-6911.

Mermaid. 11 Pier Ave., (310) 374-9344.

Poop Deck, 1272 the Strand, (310) 372-1300.

Sangria, 68 Pier Ave., (310) 376-4412.

T.J. Charly’z, 1332 Hermosa Ave., (310) 372-2194.