Ventura, California Travel Guide

Welcome to my Bite Sized Travel Guides series. What exactly is a Bite Sized Travel Guide, you ask? Well, it’s essentially a short and sweet travel guide, a summarized version of where to eat, where to stay, what to do and quick tips, my favorite “bites” of a destination, if you will. Because sometimes I haven’t spent enough time in a location, or don’t know it well enough, or don’t have enough professional photos from somewhere, to qualify for a full blown travel guide, but I still want to share the spots I do know, love and recommend, as well as ones I have bookmarked for future visits, in a simple, minimal and easy to digest format with small tips and tidbits as well as any relevant and correlating blog posts and links. The Bite Sized Travel Guides are perfect for someone just looking for quick recommendations, and not wanting to scroll through a whole guide and paragraph after paragraph just to find a spot for dinner. The Bite Sized Travel Guides will also be added to and refreshed anytime I re-visit the featured location and have something new to add. I hope you’ll find these bite-sized bites of a destination just as tasty as I do!

Whenever Dave and I mention going to Ventura to someone, we’re often met with a bit of an odd stare and looks of confusion and bewilderment. Like “Huh? There’s something to do there?” “Oh! You mean the place you drive through on your way to Santa Barbara?!” “I didn’t know anything was there!”. In short, the answer is “Yes!” to all of the above. It is on the way to Santa Barbara and there is most definitely something to do there. In fact, there’s a lot of somethings to do there.

Now because we’re always singing Ventura’s praises, and sending Ventura recommendations to people (I feel like we’re the unofficial Ventura spokespeople at this point), I figured it was high time it got it’s own mini guide on my site, not just a brief mention. While one part of me would selfishly love to continue gatekeeping this California coastal gem, I’d also like to not have to type out 20+ suggestions every time someone asks us what to do in Ventura. I’m only partly kidding.

Below, I’m sharing old and new Ventura favorites, what to do, where to eat and everything from the best coffee to cute wine shops and delicious food and the absolute best thrifting to one of our favorite beaches, all the things that keep us coming back to this town again and again.

There have always been some enjoyable places to eat and drink in Ventura, but I have to say, recently, the scene has really exploded with all sorts of new and buzzy places with good food, good bevs and good vibes. In fact, every time we go to Ventura now I feel like there’s at least one or two new places to check out or add to our list to try. Below, are some of our tried and trues as well as new faves + a few spots on our list to still check out.

PROSPECT COFFEE

This is one of my favorite coffee shops, and not just in Ventura, but of anywhere. We may or may not drive to Ventura just to get coffee here sometimes because we like it that much. They usually have a delicious seasonal latte, but their regular coffee is wonderful, too!

SINGING SUN COFFEE

While Prospect Coffee is my go-to in Ventura, this is nother cute coffee shop. Good spot if you need to post up and get work done!

MIDTOWN WINES

Cute neighborhood wine shop selling wine (think local, California, natural wines), beer and some local provisions; they often host fun events on the weekends, too

WILDFLOWER WINERY

Ok, this truly may be one of my favorite wines I’ve had lately. Small batch, low intervention, I can’t stop thinking about how good it was and that I wish we had bought more bottles to take home! They have their own tasting room in town, however, you can also find their wines (albeit for a bit more $$) at Midtown and Buddy’s.

BUDDY’S WINE

Great little wine bar and shop with fun vibes; perfect for grabbing a glass and happy hour bites, either alone, with a date or with a group (yes, this spot really works for any scenario), picking up a bottle, or even just a late night glass of wine at their bar

MODEL CITIZEN

Great spot for happy hour or dinner, seasonally focused ever-changing menu, yummy food, good bevs, aesthetically pleasing space

FRONTSIDE CAFE

Aussie-style cafe perfect for breakfast, brunch or lunch; delicious food (the chicken sammie is amazing), hearty portions (things are definitely shareable here) and super cute space; they do close at 2pm and there can be a wait depending on when you go so plan accordingly

THE JOLLY OYSTER

A small family run business serving up all styles of oysters in a fun little beachside spot; perfect for post-beach day eats (they’re located in San Buenaventura State Beach so we like to do a beach walk and end here) or for a light bite or pre-dinner happy hour; they specialize in kumamoto and pacific oysters so I definitely recommend trying some on the half shell (you can shuck them yourself or get them shucked) but the grilled oysters (all styles) are super delicious as are the fried oysters and they also have plenty of other things on their menu, too

BEACH HOUSE TACOS

Located on the pier, not the best tacos by any means but gets the job done if you need something quick and affordable and you’re in the pier/promenade area; fyi, depending on when you go there can be a bit of a line

STRANGE BEAST

A fun spot serving up delicious bites, sake, cocktails and ramen (on Sundays); highly recommend the ramen if you happen to be there on a Sunday, but also a great spot to grab a drink and some bites (the chicken is a must!) for happy hour or dinner

PARADISE PANTRY

Cheese and wine shop that also serves cozy lunches, dinner and brunch on the weekends; think hearty meals that taste home cooked, like the epic grilled cheese sandwich pictured above; menu changes weekly with new items and seasonal specials

BREWERIES

Ventura Coast Brewing is conveniently located right off the main street so it’s an easy no-fuss spot to grab a beer and, if it’s nice out, their patio is a great spot to sit; a few other breweries to check out include Transmission Brewing (they have a great rooftop and they partner with the pizza spot located right next door, in case you get hungry and need food), MadeWest Brewing, Fluid State Beer Garden and Topa Topa has their HQ + brewery/tasting room here as well as a tasting room right in downtown

Pete’s BREAKFAST HOUSE

(not pictured, sorry, can’t seem to find my photos from here) classic kind of diner with classic kind of diner foods; a local favorite for years and for good reason; has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives; expect a wait on weekends but, in my opinion, definitely worth it

These next few spots don’t have their own physical locations, but I wanted to include them because they’re all serving up something delicious and they’re definitely worth tracking down if you’re in town and they happen to have a pop-up or you’re shopping the farmer’s market!

HEADWINDS BAKE CLUB

Organic sourdough bread, bagels and pastries delivered by bike; however, if you don’t live locally, you can grab a loaf of sourdough at Midtown Wines on the weekends (until sold out) or at the Ojai Community Farmers’ Market.

Salty Tears

Locally sourced seafood catering and pop-ups around town; their grilled oysters were lovely and I’m dying to try one of their crispy rice bites!

LUCIA BAKED GOODS

Naturally leavened sourdough bread and pastries; we’ve only tried the pastries but wow!! I’m still dreaming of the olive oil cake! Found at Midtown Ventura Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays and pop-ups around town.

ON MY LIST TO TRY // Edenic Smoothies, Channel Islands Juice Co., Butter & Fold (organic pastry and coffee bar), Humblemaker Coffee, Hungry Squid Pizza (vet owned pizza spot), Cafe Nouveau (I don’t know much about this spot but I know there’s always a line here so one of these days I’m going to find out why haha), Lovewell Tea and Coffee

SHOPPING

A few of my favorites include-

CALICO CAT BOOKSHOP- for used books

FINDINGS MARKET- a well curated store of goods from local creatives and independent makers

TIKI GIRL- for cute clothes and accessories

FOLKE- for home ware, vintage furniture and goods with a modern minimal Scandinavian meets California aesthetic

IRON + RESIN- high quality crafted goods and wears for the men in your life along with a well curated selection of like-minded products; their clothes are designed with the intention of fewer better and are meant to less and it definitely shows in the quality of their products

DEXTER’S CAMERA- old camera shop; they develop film for $5 a roll!

BLUE RIDGE HONEY- not so much a shopping store as more a local family run bee farm to stop and buy delicious honey at

PATAGONIA- Did you know Pantagonia was started in Ventura? Their HQ and OG store is still here today so you can check out and shop at the very first store which is pretty cool. Plus, they do lots of local community events so be sure to check their calendar for those.

THRIFTING

No lie, Ventura has some of the best thrifting. I kind of always kick myself every time I tell anyone since I’d rather gatekeep this for myself, but alas, I’ve never been good at keeping a secret, so here we are. There are so many thrift stores here that you could truly spend the day just exploring and digging through all of them. Most are right in the center of the downtown area, however there are also a few spread out throughout town. I also love that so many of them go to support various organizations and charities. A few of my favorites include- Coalition Thirft Store (supports survivors of domestic and sexual assault), CAAN Thrift Store (all proceeds benefit child abuse and neglect prevention), SPARC Second Chance Store (95% of all the profits made from this store go directly towards saving animals lives at the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center which is the first no kill animal organization in Ventura County), Goodwill and, last but certainly not least, Cats Cradle because it supports their cat rescue (so you know I’m all about that).

pier + promenade

Of course this area can be a bit crowded and touristy feeling, but it’s a good place for an easy little stroll by the water; accessible and wide path, especially great at sunset and I like that you can stay just around the pier area, or continue on the beach path at Seaside Park in either direction for a longer walk either down to Surfer’s Point Dunes or towards San Buenaventura State Beach and Ventura Beach

THE BEACH

One of my favorite beaches, Emma Wood State Beach, is located right up the road from downtown Ventura. Great for walking, a beach day, catching sunset or even if you want to just sit by the water in your car (parking is right along the side of the beach) and you can also camp here (vehicle only, no tents). Solimar is nice too and there are several other beaches as you continue up the coast. However, closer to town, Surfer’s Point Dunes at the end of the promenade is great to sit and watch surfers (as I’m sure you guessed by the name) and at the other end, San Buenaventura State Beach and Ventura Beach are lovely, too, be it for a beach walk or beach day.

san buenaventura MISSION

Please forgive the subpar photo, I swear I have better ones of the beautiful mission yet I can’t seem to find them so here we are with one of me with it in the background. The church and grounds are stunning and you can visit those along with the museum and gift shop daily from 10am-5pm. There are self-guided tours (it’s $5 for adults) and of course, you can also attend Mass here.

VENTURA SPIRITS

Whether you’ve had any of Ventura Beverages spirits and beverages or not (let me tell you, you’re missing out if you haven’t), you can stop in for a tour and tasting and to find out what they’re all about or simply to restock on your favorite drinks of theirs. I love that they use local fruit to inspire their flavors and they definitely have some unique offerings, like quince liqueur or prickly pear brandy, that I feel like you just don’t really find anywhere else. Their canned cocktails, especially the angeleno spritz, are some of my favorite drinks and we love to use the amaro angeleno in place of aperol when making a spritz.