It’s pretty easy to fall in love with Ventura, taking us all of about 15 minutes. No joke.
Getting around town on a bike or by walking is highly recommended. Not because there is tons of traffic, rather how relatively closes places are together. Most of the places we recommend are with 1.5 miles of the house.
Here are our top recommendations for how to spend your time while visiting.
Mid-Town Ventura generally defined as the neighborhood with Main Street to the north and Thompson Avenue to the south. Laurel Street to the west and Howard Street to the east. It is a great walkable neighborhood with plenty of shops and restaurants. MidTown is the neighborhood that the home is located in.
Singing Sun Coffee. A local favorite that is walking distance from the house. Expect a line when ordering on the weekends, but it moves pretty quickly.
Timbre Books. A well-curated independent bookstore. For bookstore lovers, there isn’t much more too say. It also has a great kids section. On the same block as Singing Sun Coffee. Closed Mondays.
Santa Cruz Market. If you want to walk to a market (not a supermarket) to grab a few items, this is the place. They also have an amazing beer, wine, and spirits selection. The Green Olive is housed in the market which has great middle eastern dishes for take-out.
Café Nouveau. Only two places in Ventura that I would recommend for brunch and this is one of them. Located about two blocks from house. Food is great, the blueberry corn muffins are amazing. Dining on the patio is quite charming.
The Bench Warmer. Local sports bar. We haven’t been there but our neighbors, Vic and Lisa, swear by it. They often go there for Monday or Thursday Night Football.
Buddy’s Wine Bar. Charming place to pop in a sample some great wines. They also have some local beers on tap and small plates.
Las Delicias de Abuelita. Out favorite taco stand in Ventura. Outside seating or take out. Breakfast burritos served all day too. Closed on Sundays.
Thompson Donuts. As a Californian, I take my donuts very serious. These are legit California donuts.
Main Street is the heart of Downtown. Accessible primarily by foot traffic, Main Street is easy to navigate and a splendid place to stay part of your day.
Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Held year-round. Saturday mornings on Main Street. Smaller version is held on Wednesdays at the Pacific View Mall.
San Buenaventura Mission California’s chain of 21 Catholic missions have a complex history. This mission is still an active parish and also includes a museum to explore its history.
The Bank of Italy Cocktail Trust We have headed over to ‘The Bank’ many evenings for a mixed drink before heading to dinner in Downtown. Seating is available inside and out. Yes, it is located in the old Bank of Italy building.
Rumfish y Vino It’s hard to know what is better, the food or the atmosphere. We continue to return to Rumfish so that we have experience both. While there is inside seating the patio is the spot to be.
Immigrant Son Caffe The brunch is awesome. No reservations, no call ahead seating. Stand in till your table is and and enjoy the warm California sun. They also serve lunch. The owner happens to be one of our neighbors too.
Palm and Boy This coffee house and acai shop is located in Downtown’s El Jardin Courtyard which is overflowing with Spanish architecture and plants. Even if you aren’t in the mood for coffee, walk the courtyard.
Ventiki Tiki Lounge and Lanai All of us that that funky friend that marches to the beat of their own drum. That is Ventiki. Fun atmosphere inside and out. The drinks will take you back to a different era and the food is terrific.
Himalaya India, Tibet, and Nepal food. Repeat winner of “Best Indian Food in Ventura County”, Himalaya is also a California Green Certified business committed to sustainable best-practices.
Patagonia is a Ventura native with its headquarters on the edge downtown. In addition, their flagship store is connected to HQ. You will see locals everywhere wearing Patagonia, it really is a point of pride.
Thrift Shops Downtown’s Main Street is dotted with thrift shops, antique stores, and used bookstores.
The Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Restaurants program recognizes restaurants that are committed to cutting out wasteful single-use plastic and offers a simple, straightforward framework to help them make sustainable choices for our ocean. The result is a community of like-minded restaurants we can promote, support, and lift up as examples of success to influence plastic reduction legislation. The larger we grow our network of Ocean Friendly leaders, the more mainstream the concept of plastic-free becomes.
Below are Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Restaurants located in Ventura. Additional Ocean Friendly Restaurants can are located in Santa Barbara County.
Breweries organized by distance from the house. I have been to all of these multiple times and would recommend them all.
Transmission (0.6 mile from house). Toppers Pizza is in the same building, local pizza chain.
Leashless (1.0 mile from house). Food trucks and live music
Fluid State Beer Garden (1.0 mile from house) Great local selection. Some of the best pizza in Ventura too.
Ventura Coast (1.2 miles from house). Food trucks, tons of natural light.
MadeWest (1.3 miles from house). Well crafted beer with location, location, location. Positioned on Ventura Pier with views of surfers’ point and sunsets.
Topa Topa (1.5 miles from house) Friendly and knowledgable staff with a terrific range of beers. They share a parking lot with Ventura Surf Shop, win win.
Golf n Stuff also includes go-carts, bumper boats, bumper cars, and a game room.
kidSTREAM is the Ventura County Children’s Museum located in Camarillo.
Memorial Park A short walk from the house, Memorial Park is a city-block in size and is a great place to let you dog roam off leash or walk on-leash. The views of the ocean and Channel Islands from Memorial Park are amazing.
Harbor Cove Beach and Marina Park Beach are two great dog friendly beaches. Marina Park Beach has a break jetty that remove all wave action which also makes a great beach for small kiddos.
Ventura is known as a dog friendly town through and through. Visit Ventura has an entire page dedicated to Dog Friendly Activities.
The Grape We haven’t had a chance to go to The Grape but it looks like a great jazz club and bar with live music almost every day of the week.
Ventura Music Hall Walking distance from the house, the Ventura Music Hall is a staple of the Ventura music scene.
If you’re looking to capture some beautiful memories while you’re in Ventura, Lauren Purves is a local photographer who specializes in portrait and interior photography, as well as lifestyle, family, and couple shoots. Whether you’re a fellow Airbnb host needing stunning photos of your space, or a guest wanting a relaxed beach session or cozy in-home portraits, she’s got you covered. Lauren knows all the best local spots and loves working with natural light to keep things authentic and easygoing. Over the last couple of years, we have worked with her on multiple occasions that included Airbnb listing photos, our daughter’s Senior Portraits and professional head shots. Lauren is also a surfer so you might see her in the lineup at C Street.
The Palmieri Stein Group with Coldwell Banker Realty has been providing real estate services to Ventura County for 20 years. Ariel, Karen, and Sara deliver personalized service and expert market insights. If you are looking to relocate to Ventura County or perhaps, considering a second-home in the area, they are a great resource and are always happy to help our guests. Ariel, Karen and Sara help buyers feel confident in the process of making critical financial and ownership decisions. They offer client education in a patient and custom-tailored manner and provide strategies to position buyers to compete in challenging markets. Working with Ariel on the purchase of our home in 2023 was an absolute pleasure.
Traveling with your dog while staying on Ventura? If your dog needs a grooming, we totally suggest that you check out Aloha Dog Grooming. We have taken our dogs in for grooming when we are in town and have always had a great experience.