Your guide to the secrets of Beverly Hills. Explore the upscale city from Rodeo Drive to the best restaurants, shops, and other hidden gems in Beverly Hills.
Skip the tour bus and go local: taste rare cheeses at The Cheese Store, find the fairytale Spadena House, and wander the free gardens at Greystone Mansion. For food with a story, order Spago’s off-menu smoked salmon pizza or grab chocolate-covered pretzels from Edelweiss, the shop that inspired I Love Lucy’s chocolate factory episode. All 10 picks below are confirmed current as of July 2026.
A trip to LA isn’t complete without rubbing elbows with the rich and famous in Beverly Hills — and the tour buses parading past movie star homes are fun, but they only scratch the surface. This is our list of the 10 best-kept secrets for experiencing the 90210 like a local. One update since our last pass: Nusr-Et, the gold-steak spot that used to headline this list, has permanently closed. We swapped it for Mr Chow, the longtime celebrity institution just a few blocks away.
A legendary source for cheese, wine, and charcuterie that locals know and most visitors walk right past. Skip the fake Oscar trophy souvenir and bring friends something the rich and famous actually buy.
Tucked among mega-mansions, the storybook Spadena House — built by a Hollywood art director, hence the fairytale look — is a private home today, but the owners are friendly to respectful visitors. Stop by on Halloween if you can time it right.
A Beverly Hills institution that's hosted A-listers for five decades, known for its black pepper shrimp, hand-cut noodles pulled tableside, and original art on the walls. It's the kind of spot where the regulars still outnumber the tourists.
A working gas station that doubles as an architectural landmark — its swooping, wing-shaped canopy has stood since the 1960s and is a designated historic site. Most visitors drive right past it without knowing what they're looking at.
Everyone knows Rodeo Drive for its luxury storefronts, but visiting mid-week improves your odds of a celebrity sighting and VIP attention. Spend seriously at flagship stores like Saint Laurent or Burberry and you may get invited to a private VIC terrace most shoppers never see.
Beverly Gardens Park, home of the famous Beverly Hills sign, also holds one of the largest and oldest ficus trees in the world — planted more than a century ago. The story goes that the city itself grew up around this one tree.
The Beverly Hills institution behind that iconic I Love Lucy chocolate-factory episode — the practice machine Lucy trained on is still in use today. It's also a go-to for celebrities buying gifts. Get the chocolate-covered pretzels.
Spago is one of the top-rated restaurants in Beverly Hills, and it has an off-menu side most visitors never ask about — the smoked salmon pizza with caviar, ordered casually like you already know. Puck also handled the menu for the 2026 Oscars after-party, so the kitchen's still very much at the top of its game.
You don't need to be a hotel guest to enjoy the newly redesigned, unmistakably pink pool cabanas at the Beverly Hills Hotel — the Cabana Cafe is open to the public for all-day breakfast and al fresco meals poolside.
A 1920s Doheny-family estate turned public park, with manicured gardens that are free to explore and have appeared in dozens of films and shows — most visitors to Beverly Hills never make it up the hill to see it. The mansion interior is open only for special events, but the grounds alone are worth the trip.
No, it’s a private residence, but the owners are generally friendly to respectful visitors who stop by to take photos from the street.
Nusr-Et (Salt Bae’s Beverly Hills restaurant) has permanently closed. We replaced it with Mr Chow, a Beverly Hills celebrity institution since 1974.
No, the Cabana Cafe is open to the public for all-day breakfast and al fresco meals poolside.
The gardens and grounds are free to explore. The mansion interior is only open during special ticketed events.