Redondo Harbor & Pier

Many towns with a marina and pier can be found along the Southern California coast, but none are quite like Redondo Beach. It isn’t pretentious like Newport Beach or ultra-hip like Venice. It’s just a beach town where you can take the family to enjoy a seafood meal at a view restaurant and take your pick of numerous activities, with none of them expensive and many of them free. Redondo is best described as authentic, affordable and family-friendly.

The Harbor & Pier area stretches along Redondo’s marinas for several blocks between the Hermosa Beach boundary at Herondo Avenue and the Redondo Pier at the end of Torrance Boulevard. The quiet northern half of this stretch include three of Redondo’s four large marinas (King Harbor, Portofino and Port Royal), the two largest hotels (Portofino and the Crowne Plaza), several large restaurants (the Chart House, Baleen, Joe’s Crab Shack, Ruby’s Diner and On the Rocks) and one saltwater lagoon (heated and chlorinated Seaside Lagoon).

Just south of the main parking garage (Harbor & Pacific) is where the crowds thicken at the Redondo Pier and International Boardwalk. It’s there that you’ll have a choice of about 30 places to eat or drink (with an accent on seafood and beer), plus many more places to shop for anything from shiny pearls to colorful kites.

Along one row of the Boardwalk are 16 shops, ranging from charming to cheesy, that lead to Quality Seafood, a two-story cornucopia of fresh seafood that’s delivered daily from local fishermen. It’s the largest seafood market on the West Coast, and although the picnic-table seating in this partially open-air restaurant is basic, the prices—five bucks for a whole crab!—are hard to beat. Right next door is the Fun Factory, a retro arcade filled with many of the same games your parents or grandparents played. Most still cost only a quarter a play and prize tickets can be redeemed for—what else?—a big stuffed animal. There’s even a Tilt-A-Whirl.

Just beyond the Boardwalk, you’ll stroll past the ticket booth for the Voyager, the largest of the many boats you can take out to sea, and Kincaid’s Bay House, one of Redondo’s best view restaurants. All along the long and wide pier, families enjoy the sea breezes at picnic tables and fishermen cast their hopes seaward (no permit is required for pier fishing). Where the pier curves back toward land, it splits into two arms, each with an assortment of restaurants and shops.

Side-by-side are the pier’s newest and oldest restaurants: Maison Riz, a Japanese restaurant shaped like a ship, and Tony’s on the Pier, a 1952 landmark restaurant known for its Mai Tais. Like nearly all of Redondo’s pier and marina restaurants, these are independently owned restaurants with fabulous views and seafood. But you can also settle for a funnel cake or a hot dog-on-a-stick between meals, or have a beer at Brixton nightclub, Kilkennys pub or Naja’s Place (777 kinds of beer), which all host live bands.

Once you’ve had your fill of food, drinks and entertainment? Simply walk down to the wide, white-sand beach that stretches all the way to Palos Verdes.

HelloLosAngeles tip: Events at the Harbor & Pier include Antique Car shows every Friday night at Ruby’s (April to September) and Summer Concerts on the Pier (Tuesdays/Saturdays, 6-8 p.m.).

- by Bob Cooper, Los Angeles Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.