Palm Springs is the California desert’s restaurant hotspot, but it wasn’t always so. For much of the last century, the city – and the Coachella Valley to its southeast – felt like chiefly the realm of retirees and golfers, with ho-hum dining to match.
My, how things have changed. As a nonstop stream of visitors of all generations, cultures and interests seeks desert heat and cultural cool, the restaurant scene has busted wide open. A low-key buzz hovers over the town from breakfast through dinner and after dark, spanning a spin-the-globe selection of cuisines to updated OG classics now loved by a new generation. And almost all of them can be enjoyed indoors or out.
Breakfast
Foodie favorites come and go, yet somehow Cheeky’s has been on top of its game since 2008. Its hidden courtyard (or minimalist, cool interior) is the place “to scene” and be seen at breakfast and lunch, over a seasonal menu that might include yam hash, fried chicken and waffles with maple thyme syrup, or huevos rancheros. Whenever you go, the signature bacon flights are a fun side.
Across town, King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel does zhuzhed-up comfort food: avocado toast festooned with a collage of tomato jam, crispy shallots and more, or a scramble whose bevy of ingredients starts with charred corn, Oaxaca cheese and squash blossoms. It’s all served in an airy, gorgeously restored former diner – or poolside.
And what old Hollywood playground would be complete without a Jewish deli? In the heart of downtown, Sherman’s Deli and Bakery has been dishing out the classics since the 1950s – benedicts, omelets, pastrami and eggs and, of course, bagels and lox – with walls of nostalgic photos to prove it. Slept in? They’ve got you; breakfast is served all day, alongside its daytime menu: a massive sandwich board, generous entrées and towering cakes.
Coffee (and a treat)
Koffi is such a local institution that they might as well just change the spelling. Its multiple locations all seem to be filled with friends catching up over cappuccinos, lattes, tasty teas and snacks like quiches and muffins.
Tucked away off the main drag, fun and funky Gré Records & Coffee is equal parts art space, record shop and coffee bar. It’s easy to get lost in the racks of vinyl, or browsing the latest works on the walls.
Then there’s Frisky Business Cat Café. Its mission is to find forever homes for its resident felines, but you can enjoy hanging out with the kitties over a beverage or plant-based snack from Chef Tanya’s Kitchen (see below).
Lunch
The sandwiches, burgers and salads on the lunch menu at the golf clubhouse restaurant Escena Grill are credible if not groundbreaking – but the views are nothing short of inspirational. Grab a seat by the floor-to-ceiling windows or on the modernist veranda and sip an Arnold Palmer while drinking in the panorama of the San Jacinto Mountains rising in the distance.
From the expansive to the intimate, The Barn Kitchen at Sparrows Lodge is as cozy as it sounds, and in true Palm Springs style you’re never from the pool or citrus tree. Chef Jon Butler’s cooking is approachably gourmet (his previous work includes the legendary Noma in Copenhagen) focusing on Coachella Valley and California ingredients. The smashed cucumber starter brings a kick of salsa macha and peanut, or try the chicken salad heady with tarragon, or the Niman Ranch burger.
Secluded off the central La Plaza, the courtyard at Farm feels like a getaway to the French countryside, complete with sweet or savory crepes, omelets and sandwiches. Rounding out the brunch and lunch menu are sandwiches and “curiosities” like the bacon, chicken and waffle. Splurge-worthy dinner is a more formal, prix-fixe affair.
Chef Tanya’s Kitchen is a point of pilgrimage for local vegans. She founded America’s first nationwide plant-based restaurant chain, and now she dishes out sandwiches, burgers, salads and desserts – many made with her house-recipe seitan – from this unassuming storefront on the east side of town. There’s limited seating in a pop-up next door, so you might want to take yours to go on a picnic or a hike.
Dinner
Lively Lulu sits at the crossroads of downtown, and at some point you’ll probably be there too. The lure is almost irresistible; pops of color lead to an equally colorful crowd in its buzzy, two-story dining room and flashy bar, sipping cocktails and chowing on an All-American menu of salads, pizzas, burgers and signature meatloaf, plus many plant-based and gluten-free options. It’s also open for lunch and weekend brunch, but it really comes alive nightly.
Palm Springs is a steak and martini town, and Mr. Lyons bills itself as “steakhouse classics with a modern edge.” Yup. Atmospheric and clubby, it does steaks, bone-in pork chop, Yorkshire pudding – meat or veggie. At the more casual bar, you might opt for a cheesesteak sandwich made with silky prime rib, crab Rangoon, martinis from dry to espresso or the Single Village Fix: mescal, pineapple gum syrup and lime juice. There’s even a speakeasy, Seymour’s.
Sushi in the desert? Yeah, actually. Sandfish goes the extra mile, pairing Japanese whisky with your nigiri, edamame, yellowtail collar, bao buns and the namesake Sandfish roll (an explosion of spicy tuna, crab, avocado, fried potato threads and delectable garlic and teriyaki sauce).
Some of Southern California’s best restaurants are in strip malls, as proven by Rooster & the Pig. Arrive for the 5pm opening (or prepare to queue) for this creative, contemporary Vietnamese spot featuring spring rolls (fried or fresh), salads like jasmine tea leaves, and large plates made for sharing: shaking beef with cucumber and tomato salad, sautéed eggplant, lemongrass pork noodle bowl or sweet and tangy tiger prawns.
And El Marisol is an honest-to-goodness Mexican throwback, featured on TV’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives for the multi-layered flavors of its chicken in mole. Shrimp doña diabla packs a wallop of spice, or the spinach enchiladas are the definition of soothing comfort food. Wash them all down with generous pours of strong margaritas.
Bars
Palm Springs is practically synonymous with cocktail culture, and there’s no shortage of places to indulge, whether while watching the sunset or staying up late. Many of the restaurants above have great bar scenes, and High Bar sits atop the city’s tallest building, the Kimpton Rowan Hotel; the mountains feel so close you can practically touch them. Or get airborne in a different way at PS Air, a speakeasy fitted out with airplane seats and air travel-themed cocktails, and events from tastings to dance nights and lounge crooners.
The one-block stretch of Arenas Road east of Indian Canyon Drive is LGBTQ party central for locals and visitors alike; among the half-dozen nightspots here, your bar hop might include the nonstop upbeat energy at Chill Bar, show tunes or karaoke at QUADZ, or dancing the night away at Hunter’s.
And mid-century tiki bars have an outsized presence in Palm Springs. Off Palm Canyon Drive, sharp-looking Bootlegger is on the site of the city’s original 1953 tiki bar. Down the street and up the stairs, dim-lit Tonga Hut serves up zombies and pu pu platters under black-light art. The Reef at Caliente Tropics hotel lets you quaff mai tais or the decadent painkiller poolside, as you chow on kalua pork and loco moco bowls. There’s even an LGBTQ tiki bar, Toucan’s, complete with dance nights and drag shows.