Best Restaurant to See Celebrities in Los Angeles: The Ivy

Probably the top restaurant for spotting celebrities in Los Angeles is The Ivy in Beverly Hills. It’s clientele is a who’s who of Hollywood’s A-List Celebrities.

It seems to put the Ivy in a bit of an odd position.  One one hand they have a strict “no photo” policy to protect the privacy of their celebrity clientele and they will run you off if they see you too near the restaurant with your camera… but not until after you get that shot!  Apparently, many of the celebrities aren’t at the Ivy for the food.  They came to be seen and have the paparazzi that hang out across the street catch of shot of them dining on the patio for the tabloids.

For example, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck made it a point to be seen there together after they postponed their wedding in 2003.  Reporters said it was s deliberate move on the part of the couple to be seen together and put rumors they had broken up to bed.

If you are after good food and service at a reasonable price, then scratch The Ivy off of your list. The LA Times once wrote in a review that the food was awful and the service bad.  And the prices are so high that they don’t even publish them on their online menus! The Ivy is about seeing and being seen.  It’s large open outdoor patio makes it perfect for doing just that.

So just who might you expect to see at the Ivy?  Here’s a partial list of celebrities spotted there:

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Jack Nicholson, Paris Hilton, Rachel Hunter, Lindsay Lohan, Tom Cruise, Nicole Richie, Beyonce, Penelope Cruz, Madonna, Jack Nicholson, Mandy Moore, english actor Patrick Stewart, Demi Moore, Tori Spelling, Tim Burton, Angelica Huston, Kevin Sorbo, Ray Romano, Faye Dunnaway, Jennifer Lopez, Jacqueline Smith, Steve Martin and so many more.

The spot across the street is part of the show at The Ivy as well.  It is frequently clogged with paparazzi hoping to catch a shot of a celebrity or two to sell through the news wires to tabloids like US Weekly, In Touch or the Daily Mail.

The Ivy is located at 113 N Robertson.  Technically I think it is in West Hollywood, but it’s close enough to Beverly Hills to say that as well. Parking is valet parking and it will be difficult to find a space in the area otherwise.

If your wallet is full, then book a reservation for a meal there (it’s unlikely you will get a table without it).  If not, then head on down and browse the multitude of shops on Robertson and gawk at the celebrities dining at the Ivy from across the street.

If you would rather spend your time in Los Angeles near the ocean but still hope to catch a glimpse of a celebrity, then check out Ivy At The Shore.  It’s near the Santa Monica Pier at 1541 Ocean Ave.  While it is not quite as much as a celebrity hot spot as The Ivy in West Hollywood, some big name celebrities have been spotted there including Danny DeVito, Sean Penn and Peter Fonda.

Oh, and if you are visiting Los Angeles to tour the movie studios, then you might want to see if you can spot some celebrities at the Smokehouse in Studio City.  George Clooney and Andy Garcia are among the A-List celebs known to frequent it.  It’s location across the street from Warner Brothers Studios and proximity to Disney Studios make the odds of catching a celebrity grabbing lunch pretty good.

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